Church Planning A SuperBowl Party? Don't Tell The NFL
Federal copyright law allows sports bars to show NFL games on screens larger than 55", but churches are not extended the same luxury, says the Washington Post:
"There is a part of me that says, 'Gee, doesn't the NFL have enough money already?'" said Steve Holley, Immanuel's executive pastor. He pointed out that bars are still allowed to air the game on big-screens TV sets. "It just doesn't make sense."Hmmm. Anyone know how to legally transform a church into a sports bar?The Super Bowl, the most secular of American holidays, has long been popular among churches. With parties, prayer and Christian DVDs replacing the occasionally racy halftime shows, churches use the event as a way to reach members, and potential new members, in a non-churchlike atmosphere.
"It takes people who are not coming frequently, or who have fallen away, and shows them that the church can still have some fun," said the Rev. Thomas Omholt, senior pastor of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in the District. Omholt has hosted a Super Bowl party for young adults in his home for 20 years. "We can be a little less formal."
The NFL said, however, that the copyright law on its games is long-standing and the language read at the end of each game is well known: "This telecast is copyrighted by the NFL for the private use of our audience. Any other use of this telecast or any pictures, descriptions, or accounts of the game without the NFL's consent is prohibited."
The league bans public exhibitions of its games on TV sets or screens larger than 55 inches because smaller sets limit the audience size. The section of federal copyright law giving the NFL protection over the content of its programming exempts sports bars, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said.
The issue came to a head last year after the NFL sent a letter to Fall Creek Baptist Church in Indianapolis, warning the church not show the Super Bowl on a giant video screen. For years, the church had held a Super Bowl party in its auditorium, attracting about 400 people and showing the game on a big screen usually reserved for hymn lyrics.
The letter "was really a disturbing thing," said Marlene Broome, a spokeswoman for the church.
NFL Pulls Plug On Big-Screen Church Parties For Super Bowl [Washington Post]
(AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
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Comments:
I seriously hate the NFL corporation, probably more than I loath verizon and almost as much as the RIAA/MPAA/BSA
Why is a chuch spending their money on a tv larger than 55" anyway??
The law in question actually says something to the effect that no screen over 55" can be showing the game unless it's majority use is to show sports...now, I know they are a big evil corporation (Hey, don't wear that suit, it wasn't made by a sponsor!), but, it's the same type of law that prevents a church, a guy with a projector, underground casino's, ect., from making any kind of profit or benefit of their broadcast...I'm with the NFL on this one
@AlteredBeast: Ever heard of projectors? Some are cheaper than 55" TV's & give a bigger picture. Wow!
I really can't understand how the NFL somehow "loses money" or is somehow hurt by a group of people watching it on a large screen TV.
No really. Can someone tell me.
I don't see how the NFL or anybody has the right to dictate how their show is displayed. Their show is on public airwaves which can be received by anyone. As long as you're not charging admission to see the broadcast of the game, the NFL should have no say in how their game is displayed.
@AlteredBeast: It's not a TV, but a large projection screen. Depending on the size of the church you might need a very large screen to even see the pastor.
Our church uses a large primary screen to display lyrics during worship, and then we use live camera shots to allow people in the back to see the pastor's facial expressions. We're not even a really big church (~3000 in attendance per service). The larger mega-churches in the south can easily get to 10,000.
@AlteredBeast: I'm sure they aren't using a television, rather they are probably using a projector in their sanctuary.
And this is an organization that complains about how cable TV is restricting the rights of its fans.
Shouldn't churches be doing, you know, church stuff on Sunday. Isn't keeping the Sabbath holy one of the 10 commandments?
Easy solution: the church should start serving booze. Then it satisfies the criterion!
@NotATool: Thats the rub. They shut down these organizations so they can shut down groups that DO charge for super bowl parties (and its rampant). If they dont try to shut down the churches then they lose standing to shut down the local bowling alley or movie theatre that charges $10 a head to watch it on a big screen
I love how they don't take in to account that people are more likely to watch programs in a social setting, especially programing they might not typically watch. In other words, if I was alone on super bowl sunday, i might not watch it. I'm really just in it for the commradery and free food at my friend's place.
If I were an ad exec, I'd be pissed. They're totally losing out on more viewers.
@arch05: Ha, good point. I actually have one I paid $450 for shooting a 100"+ image at home. I just pictured a church dropping thousands of dollars on a 65" plasma.
My alma mater broadcasts the superbowl every year in the basketball stadium - four jumbo screens. Take that, NFL!
@B: Yes, but the Sabbath Day is also the seventh day of the week, per the 10 commandments. Sunday, being the first day of the week, is just another day...
If I had a big hall and a huge screen I would let people come watch the game but they would have to bring food, lots of hot wings, beer, chips ect heh heh is that wrong? I wouldnt be making any money.
So they'll go home and watch it on their own TV set. What difference does it make to the NFL? If they watch the ads during the show they have gotten their money. In fact, they are probably MORE likely to watch the ads at the church because they can't flip the channels on the giant screen and there's no kitchen to run back and forth to.
Greed is one of the seven deadly sins; too bad the NFL never learned.
Eh. Churches have no business showing national sporting events anyway. I'd rather go to a smaller gathering of friends than a huge corporatized event (I did this once when I was in college, and it took all the fun out of the SuperBowl for me).
Why are curches even allowed to own assets in the first place? A true religion does not need money or assets.
Beer and pretzels in place of wine and bread.
EXCELLENT!!!!
I have a 65" HP DLP and am having over 30 friends to my house this weekend for a Superbowl party.
COME AND GET ME! I dare you NFL.
Oh and I'm recording the game too, and will remove the commercials. And skip the commercials as well!
@laserjobs: Because everyone knows that just because it is a religion, it can't have administrative costs or want to do something special for a congregation.
Rethink that one, you're sounding a little crazy, my friend.
I have a projector at home, and the image is larger than 55". Does this mean I'd be in trouble for inviting friends over to watch a game? If so, that's ridiculous. But, I wouldn't ever be watching a game at home, so I guess I'm not in trouble either way.
While I always appreciate attacks on religious institutions, this seems especially anal on the part of the NFL.
Furthermore, as much as I've always hated going to church, I am amazed that they found a way to make it even less fun to attend. At least the preachers, spewing their theological and political nonsense, actually manage to keep me awake from time to time. The Superbowl, which I've never once watched in entirety, can make no such claim.
If this was pay per view, they might have a point. But the broadcast is FREE. The Network and its advertisers pay huge amounts of money under the presumption the largest audience makes the advertising cost worthwhile. Why on earth would the NFL fight against audience size? Stoopid NFL.
@CreativeLinks: It's opportunity cost. People who watch the NFL in large groups can't count as individual viewers for advertising purposes. It's why there are general prohibitions against rebroadcasting or boradcasting to groups.
The reason there is a sport bar exemption is because the restaurateurs operate a fairly large lobby which helped that exist in the law.
IMHO the NFL needs to be sanctioned for making false statements to the public and misrepresenting the law. In particular the statement: "Any other use of this telecast or any pictures, descriptions, or accounts of the game without the NFL's consent is prohibited." is not legally correct as fair use still applies. If you take a few second clip, perhaps of a particular play, and use it as a basis for critique then it's fair use and the NFL would lose in court. Of course they are banking on the same strategy as the RIAA - they'll sue the hell out of you and use legal stalling tactics until you run out of money and don't even make it to a judgment.
This has got to stop. Copyright is a BALANCE, a deal between content producers and the public. Their protection only comes at the will of the people, it's high time the balance was restored and copyright abusers severely punished for shorting the public.
Just as manufacturers are banned from making false statements, copyright holders should be held to similar standards.
The First Baptist Bar & Grill should be in the clear.
@axiomatic: "Oh and I'm recording the game too, and will remove the commercials. And skip the commercials as well!"
But.. but... you may be skipping the best part of the broadcast!
Alternate View...think about this. Broadcast TV indiscriminatly sends their signal through *my* walls, into *my* home. Once their signals are in *my* home, I can do with them what I wish. Even if it consists of converting their signals into a viewable picture and projecting it onto my 100" screen.
If they don't want me doing this, they need to be more careful about where they broadcast their signals.
Geez, lighten up. They're just doing God's will.
"Executive Pastor" Makes it sound like a business. Wait a minute...
Doesn't copyright govern copies of material (and the redistribution of those copies)? In this case the church isn't "rebroadcasting" or making any other kind of copy.
They're also not charging for access to the material.
When this story ran last year, the church was charging admission. This article doesnt say one way or the other.
At my church, I worship football so i am screwed. The Super Bowl is like Easter to those of us at Our Lady of Holy Scrimmage.
I'm also with the NFL with this one. Most times, Bars pay big subscription fees to have Cable or Satellite at their bar....upwards of thousands of dollars a year.
I guess the church is considered a public place and if that's the case, they must business subscription to Cable or DTV if they want to show to a large audience with a screen bigger than 55".
@jtheletter: Point me to the statute saying that the NFL can't grossly misinterpret their copyright on their broadcasts.
there are laws (usually portions of the copyright legislation in question) that prevent them from sending actual legal threats, but there aren't really any laws that limit their ability to be asshats about it.
For example, it is perfectly within my rights to claim that no one is allowed to copy, paste, or even LOOK upon this post without my permission, despite the fact that it is blatantly untrue.
luckily, my church is applebees!
did i mention that i worship the god of diarrhea?
Hilarious. How will NFL will know? And even if they'll know, will they sue a CHURCH? Ha! Bad PR, no, that would be horrible PR.
On the other hand, people who will attend church already HAVE NFL at HOME. And those who don't, can watch the game with their neighbors.
So it's either, they watch it by themselves on ''small'' screen, or together on a big screen.
NFL's argument won't hold in a court of law. No one signed an agreement with NFL. Most people never even heard about this dumb rule.
IMHO, the Superbowl parties have been and will continue to go on, televised on big screen TVs (larger than 55") that don't have a primary purpose in displaying sports, and to an audience that definitely violates the "private use" verbage. The only thing the NFL is affecting is a church's right to assemble. And I have a problem with this in general.
So, if someone is stating (to a church) that they basically cannot meet together (for virtually arbitrary reasons stipulated outside of the church), isn't that a violation of first amendment rights on several counts?
NFL cry for more money!!!