College Varsity Tv - Have You Signed Your Rights Away?

[Future]

Feb. 3, 2010 (Business Wire) -- Gen2Media Corporation (OTCBB: GTWO), an innovative video technology company offering an Online Video Platform, video production and online video advertising, announces Varsity TV on www.Varsity.com kicked off the New Year with the College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championship using the Gen2Media Online Video Platform. In 2009, the College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championship event was viewed more than 2.5 million times and the most popular of Varsity TV's National Championships. Varsity TV is set to far exceed these numbers as it has already registered 1.4 million video impressions in the first 20 days of 2010. Prominent sponsors on board Varsity TV include Gatorade G2.
Mary Spio, President of Gen2Media, states, "I believe Gatorade selected Varsity.com for their G2 awareness campaign because of the access to Calorie Conscious athletes. Varsity.com provides highly engaging opportunities around endemic athletes, great content, and very customized executions that allow Gatorade to generate buzz about the G2 product."
Every cheerleader entering a Varsity event signs the waiver, including the 'Appearance Agreement". This allows Varsity to video tape all routines, post them for 'free viewing' AND sell the advertising rights to these videos to companies like Gatorade.


Totally get the part where Varsity needs to make money to post the videos for free viewing, so they sell the ad space to large companies who bank on cheerleaders also buying their product. Varsity also sells the portal viewing for a very expensive price per view to overseas countries. Does anyone else get the part of exploitation here? And everyone is comfortable with this? I am not. College cheerleaders....have they violated any university rules by signing this 'Appearance Agreement' allowing a company to video tape and sell the routine? Have High School cheerleaders done the same? And, of course, no video recorders allowed inside....A major sponsor will object!

 

[CheerKatie08]

Yes, they basically own the right to do whatever they want with whatever they film. From the moment you sign, it is THEIR material. For as long as they want it to be. My face wound up on a blanket as an example of attire you can use with your child's face on it at this year's NHSCC when I signed this agreement in 2009. When the competition was over, they gladly gave it to a parent from my old team, but could have easily charged for it because the picture they took of me is technically their property for publication.

 

[ACEDAD]

If I'm not mistaken that is pretty standard language at every event and I beleive similar language even exists in ticket agreements that you buy for all sports like football, basketball, etc.

If they didn't have some version of that language, then every spectator that gets in a shot could say they want to be paid for being on TV.

 

[MissBee]

I actually almost had to take a college cheer team to court over this. Their team competed at an event that my company was a corporate sponsor for. In the waiver the team members signed it said that the comp company and their sponsors had the rights to the images and video from that event. They got mn and sent me a cease and desist letter when I used a pic of their team from that event. We ended up dealing with nd when I included copies of the waivers, signed by the athletes, they didn't have a leg to stand on and dropped it.

 

[MissBee]

aalso, because cheer isn't an ncaa sport, no conflicts with implied sponsorship

 

[cheersafety]

aalso, because cheer isn't an ncaa sport, no conflicts with implied sponsorship

How would this affect "Stunt" athletes or if it ever becomes a Title IX sport? Would that make them professional athletes to the NCAA?

 

[MissBee]

How would this affect "Stunt" athletes or if it ever becomes a Title IX sport? Would that make them professional athletes to the NCAA?

If it were to become an NCAA sport, the athletes would not be permitted to "sponsor" any product, even implied-which would mean that the Louisville Stunt team couldn't be used in any advertising, for anyone. This wouldn't affect the deal with Varsity TV though, because once Stunt is NCAA they won't be allowed to participate in anything but NCAA competitions, Stunt will have it's own Nationals-those teams won't go to UCA or NCA.