The Guardian reported this morning on the growing boycott by press agencies & newspapers of coverage of the Rugby World Cup in France. It all stems from restrictions placed by the International Rugby Board (IRB) on the amount of photos that the media can use when covering matches.

Now I’m no expert on matters like these, and am in absolutely no position to comment on the rights & wrongs of this dispute (although as a fan of rugby, it does strike me as another example of how rugby is still struggling to get to grips with how to act like a professional sport). Dominic Curran from our partner agency Karen Earl Sponsorship had this to say on the matter:

These are exactly the sort of headlines the IRB should have avoided at all costs on the eve of the tournament. For sponsors all forms of media are critical for raising awareness of the tournament and thereby increasing viewing figures. Although the IRB is correct to try and protect their media rights holders, this is the sort of issue that should have been resolved weeks ago.

What I wonder though, is whether sports fans, and especially those online, will care about the dispute?

If they can’t find photos of the matches in the mainstream media, isn’t it possible that they will simply turn to social media and the wealth of user generated content (UGC) it contains in order to find what they’re looking for? When sites such as Flickr & YouTube allow people to upload photos & videos, what is to stop people who attend the games, or any of the events that surround the World Cup, from posting their own films & images on these sites?

Obviously the IRB could scour these sites for such content and force the sites to remove the offending material. But I seriously doubt that they have the resources (or knowledge) to do this; but that probably won’t stop them from giving it a try (sorry!)

Comments are closed.