LAWFUEL – Reports indicate that Australian telecoms company Telstra is to sue Fox Sports in a battle over rugby league media rights.
According to Telstra, Fox Sports is in breach of Telstra’s A$90 million six-year rights agreement with the National Rugby League.
Fox Sports which is jointly owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp and James Packer’s Publishing & Broadcasting Limited, is still making lengthy highlights clips available via its website and via mobile phone.
Telstra is seeking an urgent ruling from the Federal Court to restrict Fox Sports to using only limited footage for news reports, pending a full trial on the matter, according to a statement of claim lodged with the court yesterday.
According to Telstra, no more than 45 seconds of footage from each match should be shown as part of a news report and it should only be available for 24 hours from the end of a match. It is seeking unspecified damages for profits lost.
