"The explosion of new media, especially with regard to advertising income, has made competitors out of two traditional allies — news media and professional sports."

Regional news site Twitters live coverage of a baseball game. Place your bets: How long will it take for Major League Baseball’s lawyers to attempt to ban this practice on the grounds of protecting exclusive data rights?

"In the letter, sent Tuesday to Baseball Commissioner Allan H. "Bud" Selig, the nine-year-old group objected to the new restrictions that include limits on the number of game photos online and the duration of time video can be placed on a Web site."

"Major League Baseball wants to ban news sites from publishing galleries of baseball game photos, and media outlets aren’t happy about it."

"If you’re the "bearer" a [Major League Baseball] press pass, here are some of the new, unbearable rules…"

"Photographers at the Indianapolis Star have come up with a novel way to follow the NFL’s guidelines and produce video-like multimedia content — using time-lapse photography to create audio slideshows that look like video."

"The NCAA issued new rules this week that will allow credentialed press to blog live NCAA championship sporting events. The rules, however, limit the number of times reporters can post live blogs depending on the sport they cover." (via Guardian/PDA)

"Australian cricket authorities came under fire on Friday for preventing some news organisations from covering the first test match against Sri Lanka, as a boycott of the event by international news groups continued."

"The World Cup, established only in 1987, is expected to draw a worldwide television audience of 4 billion over the next six weeks and generate $200 million in revenues, according to data compiled by Sportcal, a London sports consultancy."

ITV1 ad revenues are up by an estimated 4 per cent to 5 per cent in September. All 48 Rugby World Cup games are being shown live on ITV, with 26 on ITV1. ITV paid £40m for the exclusive UK rights to the 2003 and 2007 tournaments.

AFP, one of more than 40 new organisations in dispute with the IRB over arrangements for covering the Rugby World Cup, threatened to pull out of reporting on the tournament.

"Sports entities, flush with television cash, are exerting more control over access, and reporters say their ability to provide fans with critical, unfettered analysis has been hampered along the way."

"Major League Baseball has limited ESPN’s access to Tuesday night’s All-Star Game after the network broke an embargo and broadcast news of the players’ selections a few minutes after an exclusive, rain-delayed telecast on TBS."

John McClain of the Houston Chronicle has a hilarious protest against the National Football League’’s new 45-seconds-of-video-a-day rule. (via PaidContent)