Posted on 02/01/2007 12:49:16 PM PST by Publius Valerius
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- The NFL has nixed a church's plans to use a wall projector to show the Colts-Bears Super Bowl game, saying it would violate copyright laws.
NFL officials spotted a promotion of Fall Creek Baptist Church's "Super Bowl Bash" on the church Web site last week and overnighted a letter to the pastor demanding the party be canceled, the church said.
< snip >
But the NFL objected to the church's plans to use a projector to show the game, saying the law limits it to one TV no bigger than 55 inches.
The church will likely abandon its plans to host a Super Bowl party.
< snip >
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league's long-standing policy is to ban "mass out-of-home viewing" of the Super Bowl. An exception is made for sports bars and other businesses that show televised sports as a part of their everyday operations.
"We have contracts with our (TV) networks to provide free over-the-air television for people at home," Aiello said. "The network economics are based on television ratings and at-home viewing. Out-of-home viewing is not measured by Nielsen."
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"It just frustrates me that most of the places where crowds are going to gather to watch this game are going to be places that are filled with alcohol and other things that are inappropriate for children," Newland said. "We tried to provide an alternative to that and were shut down."
Other Indiana churches said they are deciding whether they should go through with their Super Bowl party plans, given the NFL's stance.
(Excerpt) Read more at sportsillustrated.cnn.com ...
Hezekiah 3:16 -
"When thou gatherest together for a Super Bowl TM party in the Church thou shalt not have a screen larger than 3.104444444442 cubits."
Cordially,
Particularly if the NFL is trying to pull this kind of cr@p.
The NFL is going to hell for scheduling most of its games on Sunday.
I guess if this sort of thing gets out of hand (massive public viewing of the Super Bowl at single venues), the suits who run the networks can't charge a gizillion dollars for a 30-second commercial. Which is absurd, because if Soldier Field attracted 20,000 spectators to watch a large video of the game, those 20,000 people would all be seeing the same over-priced commericals as they would have had they been watching at home. Except at home, more people would probably be taking a bathroom break during the ads.
I would think that the NFL would be suing Tivo for allowing anyone recording the game to edit-out the commercials.
Well-said.
To paraphrase Andrew Jackson, "The NFL has made its ruling. Now let it enforce it."
As an earlier poster asked, show us the law!
http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3a8de52128bb.htm
(Baptist Church seized by the IRS because it refused to deduct withholding and payroll taxes from employees' paychecks... so much for that "Separation" thing.)
What law?! Some suit from the NFL says there's a "law" that limits public viewing of their games on 55-inch TVs?...Show us the law.
That stated, it is these churches, not as much the NFL, who shouldn't be showing the Superbowl in lieu of a sermon (which seems to be what is being planned).
The earlier poster was correct. The Sabbath was a foreshadowing of the "Sabbath" who was go come -- Jesus Christ. In Christ the believer finds the "Sabbath rest," which is eternal and perpetual, and not confined to one day of the week.
Perhaps the church that desires to hold a "Sunday School Social" on Sunday evening, dinner, videos and conversation that includes the Super Bowl, no problemo.
Leaving aside the "iffiness" of a Church doing Superbowl on a Sunday, what we have here is a case of pure, distilled greed. As if the bucketloads of money the NFL is making on the Superbowl event aren't enough already.
I hate professional sports. It's all about the money now, the game has been ruined beyond repair, and you don't even get to see the best sports action as the millionaire-athletes are preoccupied with not taking injuries.
Your animals will thank you!
Your church worships on Wednesday? That's a new one.
How can the church deprive the NFL of their money? They've already made their money, having sold the broadcast rights to this game long ago. And what about the hapless sponsors? What if the ratings for this Super Bowl don't justify the network charging a gajillion dollars for 60 seconds of ad time? The sponsors are already committed to paying that.
So, the NFL looks petty for taking this stand. They need to fire their attorneys and their PR department if this is truly a big issue to NFL.
Read on, there is at least one other freeper who agrees that Sunday is the Christian Sabbath--even if what you posted holds, there still is one day set apart from the others in the week (hence the traditional day off on Sunday--and later Saturday). Furthermore, there are at least two additional others who have heard of Sunday being referred to as the Christian Sabbath.
How about if all of those people who choose to watch the game at their church promise to leave their TVs on at home? I wonder if this would satisfy the bean-counters at the NFL. (It's absurd enough, it probably would satisfy them.)
I bet that church also allows its member to play cards, and uses a different translation than the King James. Horrors! Where will it end?!
Your earlier post suggested that you worship on Sunday, but don't refer to that day as the Sabbath. A lot of freepers are in the same camp, but there is an alternative view that there still is a Sabbath, and that it has moved from Saturday to Sunday.
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