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EA files $27 million settlement in lawsuit, cannot renew current NCAA license [Update]
Electronic Arts reached a settlement in a class action lawsuit that dates back to 2008 for $27 million, and will be unable to renew its exclusive agreement with the NCAA, providing the court upholds the settlement terms.The original lawsuit claimed that EA violated antitrust laws by entering exclusive license agreements with the NFL, NCAA, and AFL. The $27 million settlement fund proposed by EA would, in part, benefit those that purchased any EA Sports football game from January 2005 to today. Specifically, customers that bought any of the included GameCube, Xbox, and PS2 games may get up to $6.79 per game, and $1.95 per Wii, Xbox 360, and PS3 game.EA also agreed to stipulations on future license agreements as part of the proposed settlement, as it will not make any exclusive licensing deals with the AFL for five years, and will not renew its current agreement with the NCAA. Additionally, EA won't be able to enter another exclusive licensing agreement with the NCAA for five years. The company's exclusive NFL trademark licensing deal remains untouched in the proposed settlement, which awaits final approval by the court on September 27.Update: As a clarification, EA Sports' future NCAA license will be non-exclusive. EA sent us the following statement: "We made a business decision to settle this lawsuit and put the matter behind us. We look forward to continuing our partnerships with the NFL and NCAA."
Australian networks backing off of HD sports broadcasts?
It's shocking this is still an issue in 2011, but viewers in Australia are struggling with OTA networks that have suddenly decided there's not enough room to broadcast sports programming in HD. The digital switch over Down Under isn't scheduled to finish until 2013, and since each network only has the space to broadcast one HD feed alongside two SD channels, they shuffle a few things to the side. According to an article in The Australian the free to air networks have decided to develop male or female-skewed programming lineups (sound familiar?) of comedy and drama that they think are more appealing. The situation seems very reminiscent to the one here in the US with NBC locking down the Olympics and insisting on tape delays to pump the ratings while ESPN is willing to broadcast the games live, except there it's Fox Sports that will be airing AFL games in HD -- next season.
Australia / India Twenty20 match to be aired in 1080i
In what's believed to be an Australian first, the Twenty20 matchup between Australia and India is slated to be aired in 1080i. The event, which will occur on February 1, 2008 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, will be shot and broadcast in high-definition on Australia's Nine Network. The announcement is coming in the midst of competition between Seven, Nine and Ten to ramp up HD offerings, as Ten is already planning to broadcast every single 2008 AFL (Australian Football League) contest in HD while Seven aims to show the Beijing Olympics in 1080i. Meanwhile, we Americans will be gearing up for Super Bowl XLII.
