No sanctuary for Super Bowl flock: Churches scramble to cancel parties after an NFL warning

Los Angeles Times ^ | 2/3/07 | Stephanie Simon

[nj26]

They were expecting a big crowd this Sunday at Farmland Friends Church in rural Indiana.

The sanctuary would be decked in blue and white streamers, the card tables groaning with sloppy-Joe fixings and bowls of chips. Best of all, the pews would be packed with scores of the faithful: men, women and children, shoulder to shoulder, hooting at a jumbo screen as their beloved Indianapolis Colts coasted — God willing — to victory over the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI.

It was to have been a wholesome evening of fellowship and football.

And it would have been illegal.

Farmland Friends on Friday joined churches nationwide in abruptly canceling its Super Bowl party for fear of violating a federal copyright law that prohibits public venues from showing NFL games on big-screen TVs.

Sports bars are specifically exempted. Churches are not.

The law has been widely ignored for years. Churches routinely draw hundreds of fans to annual Super Bowl parties; some denominations openly use the events as tools for evangelism. The Christian magazine Sports Spectrum even markets a Super Bowl party kit for churches. This year, however, a celebration sponsored by Falls Creek Baptist Church in Indianapolis caught the attention of a National Football League attorney, Rachel L. Margolies.

She ordered the church to cancel its party and remove the trademarked Super Bowl name from its website. The Indianapolis Star picked up the story Thursday — and by Friday, pastors across Indiana and beyond were scrambling to yank down their Super Bowl banners and give away their trays of burgers.

[supercat]

If a church is an establishment, and the church is over 2000 square feet, then the game can't be shown on more than 4 TVs (1 each per room) no larger than 55 inches diagonal. If they are not, then the game can be shown on a TV of a kind commonly used in homes. In both cases, they can't charge a cover.

The restrictions in (B) only apply to "nondramatic musical works". Perhaps the halftime show could be considered such, but I can't imagine the rest of the game qualifying.

[conservative in nyc]

Good point. Technically, it only has to embody a nondramatic musical work. The game has a theme song and they play music before and after the commercial breaks and during highlights. That might also be enough. Not to mention the music used in the commercials themselves.

[conservative in nyc]

By the way, what do you think is a TV of a kind commonly used in homes? I'd say that if Best Buy sells it, it has to be common in at least some homes. Best Buy sells front projectors and screens of up to 144" inches - 12 feet by 9 feet. It was always meant to be a standard that evolves with home TV technology - and true home theater systems are becoming more and more common.

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I don't understand how watching the Superbowl and worshipping GOd can happen at the same time.

[AD from SpringBay]

I don't understand how watching the Superbowl and worshipping God can happen at the same time.

[zook]

If I were in charge of a church and had one of these parties planned, I'd just go ahead with it. Let the NFL sue me. Great publicity for the league!

[onedoug]

Yeah, the hel...uh, the heaven with them.

[HitmanLV]

Here in Las Vegas, the casinos market 'The Big Game.' That's all you see - 'The Big Game.' I think they run into legal problems if they use 'Super Bowl' in some of their marketing for events.

[pchuck]

I will watch the game; however, as with most televised sporting events these days, I have a real problem with the content of the commercials. For example, GoDaddy.com from a few years ago. Another example when Fox was running the World Series, they were promoting the heck out of some shows that had way too much sex in the promotions (not just the actual shows but the 30 second promos). I'd be embarassed in my church watching those commercials and promos. May I also remind us all of a certain "wardrobe malfunction"?

[KarinG1]

Actually I don't have much use for the game, I like the commercials. LOL I'll download them next week and just watch all of them at once.

[OrioleFan]

Boortz said they limit you to one TV no larger than 49 inches.

[CarryaBigStick]

Seems like the ABA will let any idiot become a lawyer these days...

[supercat]

Technically, it only has to embody a nondramatic musical work.

I don't think so. After all, what dramatic musical works don't embody some non-dramatic musical content? I think the term "non-dramatic musical work" refers to the stuff of "phonorecords", as distinct from "spoken-voice recordings".

[conservative in nyc]

I'm far from an expert in this copyright stuff, but I think we both agree that (B) is inapplicable, although for slightly different reasons. As I read it, (A) is the general exception that says you can turn on your TV in public if it's the type of TV that's common in homes without a commercial sound system and you don't charge anyone to watch it, but (B) basically says if you own a business of a sufficient square footage and your TV happens to play any music, the TV has to be 55 inches or less. If it doesn't, you have to pay ASCAP (which licenses most music). ASCAP both charges TV stations for the music they play on the air and commercial establishments if they don't fall within (B) (see #8). Many of the recent copyright laws have been written by and for the benefit of ASCAP.

You and I at home can have any TV system we want as long as we don't invite in strangers, since it's not a public viewing.

[FreedomCalls]

I looked at the copyright laws and there were restrictions on using satellite speakers attached to a television set, but no restriction on having a set (of whatever size) where people may see it in a venue that is open to the public with no admission charge.

17 USC 1 §110 (5)(B)(2): [It is a copyright violation] "if the performance or display is by audiovisual means, any visual portion of the performance or display is communicated by means of a total of not more than 4 audiovisual devices, of which not more than 1 audiovisual device is located in any 1 room, and no such audiovisual device has a diagonal screen size greater than 55 inches

[leadhead]

The restrictions in (B) only apply to "nondramatic musical works". Perhaps the halftime show could be considered such

My guess is that the halftime show will be a non-dramatic, non-musical, non-show.

[xcamel]

thanks

[AD from SpringBay]

I just don't see how it fits in church at all. Watch the Superbowl - or whatever - but it definitely belongs in the 'rendered unto Caesar' category.

[Las Vegas Dave]

A bad publicity move. Lost a lot of fans.

So did Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction.....!

Hope the entertainer formerly know as PRINCE, now known as PRINCE again, keeps it clean.

Maybe the commercials will will be "G" rated?

[Muzzle_em]

Hmm.
What about individuals who have large homes and big screen televisions who invite a mob of friends over for a SB party?
Is that breaking the law too?

What is the world coming to?
FWIW, I've always frowned on churches having Superbowl parties. It is not suitable for the house of God IMO.