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ROYALTIES AND RESIDUALS THE LEGAL SIDE OF TELEVISION RIGHTS Boxers, like performers in the entertainment industry, should maximize their return on their fights, whether from purses, royalties from streaming videos of live fights, or residuals each time films of their past fights are viewed. Whether an undefeated fighter or a below average fighter in demand as an opponent, every time a fight is viewed, it could provide residual income for years. Our focus here is concerned only with the revenue which flows from the digital rights. Promoters' contracts always include language describing certain rights the boxer sells to the promoter. The promoter gets these rights so he will be able to sell them to television. To sell them he has to buy them from the man who owns them in the first place, the boxer. This is accomplished with the following language, which has been extracted verbatim from two prominent promoters’ contracts: (1) First Contract: "Such rights include, without limitation, all rights required to stage and sell tickets to admission to all such bouts, and all ancillary and subsidiary rights such as worldwide rights of record, film, broadcast, cablecast, and otherwise distribute, merchandise and exploit all such bouts in any and all forms in perpetuity." (underlining supplied) (2) Second Contract: "...(ii) the unrestricted right to exploit the bouts worldwide, in perpetuity, through all forms of electronic media exploitation now known or hereafter created, including without limitation standard commercial or noncommercial over-the-air television, basic or pay-per-view, closed circuit and other forms of non-standard television and cassette, disc and other forms of home exhibition; and (iii) all other rights, privileges and benefits incident to or arising out of the foregoing and the promotion and exploitation of the bouts, including without limitation the right to obtain copyrights or other protections throughout the world with respect thereto." (underlining supplied) The promoter, as the event organizer, only acquires control of these rights through his contract with the boxer. The purpose of the specific language in the promoter’s contract above is to give him those rights. The boxers and their managers have to qualify that language by reserving the exclusive right to streaming videos of their fight on the Internet in perpetuity -- especially those fighters who are being encouraged to sign contracts with current fight broadcasters like HBO and Showtime. RESERVING RIGHTS - FIGHT CONTRACTS The first requirement is to create, define, and protect those rights. The second step is to fit those rights into the market to maximize the boxers’ income from his fights. A successful program of rights management has to be introduced by the boxer's manager. The act of producing television coverage of a boxing show (i.e., creating the pictures) and the resulting material are generally acts protected by copyright. The terminology may vary internationally, but the effect is the same. A proprietary right in the sound and pictures of the event is created and belongs, in the first instance, to the broadcaster as the originator of such coverage. The boxer must, in his contractual relationships, secure for himself specific exclusive rights to his fight if it is part of the event created. With the developments in streaming video of live fights on the Internet, it is very important that all boxers secure their positions with contracts which define the rights granted and reserve other rights. NEW INCOME SOURCES FOR THOUSANDS OF FIGHTERS In addition to the additional revenue from millions of boxing fans who view their fights online, this will also create opportunities for significant residuals from repeated viewing online by thousands of other fighters reviewing their films looking for opponents to challenge at GetAFight.com. This is an especially exciting development for thousands of average fighters from the 4-rounders through the 10-rounders who are in such demand as opponents and never make any money on television -- another very strong incentive to subscribe to GetAFight.com's matchmaking. These fights collectively will also create a very significant revenue stream for GetAFight.com by giving value to the many undercard fights which would otherwise sit on the shelf and have no value. Many of these fights were never shown on television, but were taped for televising in case one of the main event fighters got knocked out early. There are many of these fights on the shelf. There are also many which were televised, but which have no value as reruns. They will now. - FightersOnline Home - GetAFight Home |