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Policing Super Bowl Xl: NFL Will Crack Down on Mass Showings

Posted on: Monday, 17 October 2005, 15:00 CDT

By Greta Guest, Detroit Free Press

Oct. 17--Football fans can watch February's Super Bowl at home, in their favorite bar and, if they are lucky enough, at Ford Field in Detroit.

But if you want to rent a theater and charge a few bucks admission for people to watch the game, think again. The NFL bans the mass showing of games outside homes, citing federal copyright law. The league protects its lucrative TV franchise.

Detroit's three casinos and Casino Windsor also will be popular spots to watch the game, but if the casinos try to bring in additional big screen televisions to attract more customers, they, too, would be in violation of copyright laws.

Undercover investigators hired by the NFL will comb the Detroit area in fan clothing, trying to enforce copyright and trademark laws at casinos, movie theaters and other venues large enough to consider mass viewings of the game. The trademark protects the terms "NFL" and "Super Bowl."

Violators would first see a cease-and-desist letter. If that doesn't work, a lawsuit would be on the way, said NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy.

When it comes to the Super Bowl, the NFL wants as many people as possible watching the game that attracts about 130 million viewers worldwide. In key cities, including where the game is played, the NFL has been increasingly vigilant about enforcing the law.

Last year, the NFL had investigators on the ground in hot spots, including Jacksonville, Fla., the host city; the hometowns of the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles; Biloxi, Miss., then home of 12 waterfront casinos, and Las Vegas, McCarthy said.

The higher the viewership, the better the ratings and the more companies pay to advertise during the Super Bowl. A 30-second Super Bowl television ad cost $2.25 million last year, Advertising Age reports.

"Nielsen ratings are based on at-home viewership, which does not account for mass out-of-home viewing. Lower ratings translate to lower advertising rights that the network could recoup," McCarthy said in an e-mail.

"The network pays us rights fees, which could diminish if it does not see the value in broadcasting the Super Bowl. Losing the rights fees could put in jeopardy our longstanding ability to put our regular, post-season and Super Bowl games on free over-the-air TV, something that only the NFL continues to do."

The league stopped the New England Aquarium from showing the AFC Championship Game on its IMAX screen in 2004. Last year, the NFL did a sweep of Las Vegas casinos causing some to cancel their plans to show the game. Others decided not to charge admission and were allowed to show the game.

"We make every best effort to police the activity and try to stop it before we have to take legal action," McCarthy said.

Besides being targeted for mass viewing monitoring, MGM Grand Detroit Casino, MotorCity Casino, Greektown Casino and Casino Windsor are automatically banned from sanctioned NFL and Detroit Super Bowl XL Host Committee events because of NFL rules against gambling.

An estimated $5 billion to $7 billion, both legal and illegal, is wagered on the Super Bowl each year, said Jason Been, an oddsmaker with Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

"The NFL has the opinion that gambling is bad and hurts their business," Been said. "The NFL is always going to have huge television ratings no matter what. The ratings would not be as high without the bets wagered on them."

"We are aware that gambling exists, and we do everything to distance ourselves from it," McCarthy said.

Ironically, the NFL has leased seven acres at Gratiot Avenue and I-375 from Greektown Casino for the invitation-only NFL Tailgate Party on Super Bowl Sunday, in what is called "very much an arm's-length relationship," said Greektown Casino spokesman Roger Martin.

"We are aware of the lot's owner. The tailgate party has nothing to do with the owner and does not constitute an affiliation or endorsement of its activities. There are no trademarks granted," McCarthy said.

Casino operators say they'll do just fine during the festivities leading up to the biggest game in sports -- with or without the NFL's blessing. The Super Bowl is to be played Feb. 5, but the party starts Jan. 30.

"My feeling is the entire city of Detroit and the suburbs will be one big party celebrating the Super Bowl," said Tom Shields, spokesman for MotorCity Casino.

The people who can afford to attend Super Bowl games -- celebrities, high rollers and corporations -- find casinos a huge draw, said Robert Tuchman, president of TSE Sports & Entertainment in New York. Tuchman plans a celebrity poker tournament at MotorCity Casino during Super Bowl week.

"MotorCity, Greektown and MGM will be swamped for the whole week," Tuchman said. "You put it in Detroit in the middle of winter. Where else are people going to go?"

Casino Windsor spokeswoman Holly Ward said its 389-room hotel has been sold out for months. The casino hosts Super Bowl parties every year and is not concerned about breaking any NFL rules.

"We are well aware of all the regulations the NFL has placed on using the Super Bowl name. So we are just being very creative about how we market," Ward said.

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Source: Detroit Free Press

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