Cover 1 Denied Press Credentials by Bills PR Staff

[Phil The Thrill]

I’m a bit late to the party on this one but it appears that the crew at Cover 1 was denied press credentials by the Buffalo Bills PR Staff.

 

 

On Twitter Erik Turner seemed to think that the Bills were not giving press access to any blogs.  However WGR’s Nate Geary talked about this on the Moranalytics podcast.  He said that he knows people from the Bills PR, and the situation isn’t about Cover 1 being a blog or that the team doesn’t respect their work.

 

According to Nate, it’s the fact that Cover 1 uses 90% of the NFL’s intellectual property on their site between film reviews, photos, videos etc for free.  He thinks that under Roger Goodell the NFL wants to protect their IP as much as possible and sees blogs like Cover 1 who distribute content for free potentially detracting from fans purchasing NFL Game Pass.   Because of this the Bills are weary to provide access to outlets that use their content in this way.  

 

I have often been critical of Turner in the past but, I don’t know, I feel that Cover 1 might have a legit gripe.  

 

For instance Jerry Sullivan was issued credentials this year because he has a morning show on 1270 AM The Fan which doesn’t really have the best signal.  While I’m sure his morning show provided a bit of a boost in their ratings, I am sure they absolutely dwarf what WGR and other morning shows in the market draw.  Of course, Sully is (whether people want to believe it or not) a respected journalist in the sports world - especially around Buffalo.  Still, I would believe that an outlet with like Cover 1 - with multiple products such as social media, podcasts, blogs, videos, etc probably pulls in a

much higher audience than 1270 AM or some of the smaller outlets who were issued credentials.  

[AllenLongBall]

Money money money maaaaney       mAAAneee!

[ChevyVanMiller]

If I were to predict the future I would say that within 5 years the over-whelming majority of press passes given out will be to Podcast and online websites. Sort of like how the Grammys snubbed rap music at first, thinking it was just a passing fad of a niche market.

 

The old media is dying and podcasts are both the present and the future.

[CSBill]

Oh well, as long as we have Astro, I’m satisfied.

[Don Otreply]

Likely pressure from the NFL, it seems odd though that the NFL has not issued a cease and desist order if it is an actual IP issue. Lots of organizations nationwide use snips of game footage and output it for free. Twitter is run amok with this sort of usage.

 

Go Bills!!!

Edited August 3, 2019 by Don Otreply

[CuddyDark]

I always thought they would get banned because they go beyond covering the players and get into scheme.

[CommonCents]

4 minutes ago, Don Otreply said:

Likely pressure from the NFL, it sees odd though that the NFL has not issued a cease and desist order if it is an actual IP issue. Lots of organizations nationwide use snips of game footage and output it for free. Twitter is run amok with this sort of usage.

 

Go Bills!!!

Twitter is free, doesn’t cover1 use footage from the NFL and charge a fee for their site? Maybe they don’t, I could be wrong. 

[CaptnCoke11]

Don’t see how they deserve any so probably correct move by the Bills 

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

6 minutes ago, CSBill said:

Oh well, as long as we have Astro, I’m satisfied.

...it is ALL McDermott driven......we've done construction setup/takedown work for the ST John Fisher Camp going back to 1999.....upon McDermott's arrival, we were barred from doing work on the field they were using for practice or anything adjacent until his "all clear"...OBD paid the Union rate for idle labor with no question....we annually hosted a Bills Coaching Staff/Bills Brass dinner at a local venue after camp one evening...McDermott nixed that as well......

[K-9]

2 minutes ago, Don Otreply said:

Likely pressure from the NFL, it sees odd though that the NFL has not issued a cease and desist order if it is an actual IP issue. Lots of organizations nationwide use snips of game footage and output it for free. Twitter is run amok with this sort of usage.

 

Go Bills!!!

I agree. IIRC, the all 22 is only available via subscription to NFL game pass and, by that criteria, the NFL has a legit case. But for some reason, they’ve chosen not to enforce policies against other parties disseminating the all 22 footage. It’s selective enforcement at best. And by that criteria Cover1 has a case. 

 

It sucks for Erik Turner, but if it comes down to a choice between being able to continue his analysis of all 22 or gaining press credentials, I hope he chooses the former. 

[Don Otreply]

Just now, CommonCents said:

Twitter is free, doesn’t cover1 use footage from the NFL and charge a fee for their site? Maybe they don’t, I could be wrong. 

I watch cover 1 for free on this board and YouTube all the time time. Twitter users post nfl snippets regularly, as do every sports news outfit, and it’s put out for free.

 

Go Bills!!!

[CommonCents]

Just now, Don Otreply said:

I watch cover 1 for free on this board and YouTube all the time time. Twitter users post nfl snippets regularly, as do every sports news outfit, and it’s put out for free.

 

Go Bills!!!

So Cover1 has zero fees associated with it? He does all that work using the NFL’s footage just for the sake of teaching fans more about the game. What an awesome guy. 

[Buffalo716]

I don't think I should get press passes if I had a blog or site

 

I don't believe he has press credentials from the  NFL so not super shocked.. surprised he didn't block NFL Twitter yet ?

[SDS]

Jeremy White was served with a cease and desist from the NFL for doing what Eric does. I think this was two years ago. 

 

How Eric has not been taken to court is beyond me. He takes NFL footage for free and tries to charge people money to view that material. 

[K-9]

4 minutes ago, CuddyDark said:

I always thought they would get banned because they go beyond covering the players and get into scheme.

That’s what we all do. At least those of us with more than a casual interest in what’s going on in the game. Heck, that’s what color analysts try to do on a play to play basis. 

 

If anything, Cover 1 generates more interest in the product by engaging fans, educating them, and making the NFL product more interesting. I’d think the Bills would be grateful.

[Don Otreply]

6 minutes ago, SDS said:

Jeremy White was served with a cease and desist from the NFL for doing what Eric does. I think this was two years ago. 

 

How Eric has not been taken to court is beyond me. He takes NFL footage for free and tries to charge people money to view that material. 

Then why is the cover 1 pod cast on YouTube for free then?? 

 

Go Bills !!!

Edited August 3, 2019 by Don Otreply

[MR8]

[Moderator being a nice guy to this strange noob and deleting this unnecessary post. Patience already thin]

[Buffalo716]

3 minutes ago, CommonCents said:

So Cover1 has zero fees associated with it? He does all that work using the NFL’s footage just for the sake of teaching fans more about the game. What an awesome guy. 

He does charge a fee for his premium content so it is not all free. You do need to subscribe for thing's

[CommonCents]

1 minute ago, Buffalo716 said:

He does charge a fee for his premium content so it is not all free. You do need to subscribe for thing's

I was being sarcastic. Essentially he is running a buisness and what he is selling he has no rights to. 

 

How anyone is surprised that he can’t get credentials is beyond me. 

[CuddyDark]

4 minutes ago, K-9 said:

That’s what we all do. At least those of us with more than a casual interest in what’s going on in the game. Heck, that’s what color analysts try to do on a play to play basis. 

 

If anything, Cover 1 generates more interest in the product by engaging fans, educating them, and making the NFL product more interesting. I’d think the Bills would be grateful.

Color analysts do it during the game. Cover 1 want to do it while Bills are still in camp. Who would want to have all their formations out before they play the first game? You don't think teams look at all of this? Why do you think the Bills blocked their own media from showing the Blue vs Red last night?