Judge says Wis. school sports association can sign exclusive contracts for online coverage

Judge allows limits on Web coverage of Wis. sports

MADISON, Wis. — A federal judge has ruled that the Wisconsin school sports association can sign exclusive contracts for Internet coverage of state tournaments.

U.S. District Judge William Conley’s ruling Thursday came in a lawsuit filed by the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association against The Post-Crescent of Appleton, its parent Gannett Co. and the Wisconsin Newspaper Association.

The sports association sued after the newspaper streamed live coverage of four football playoff games without its permission.

The newspaper had argued that the sports association is a public institution that is constitutionally required to give access to news organizations.

Conley said the case was “about commerce, and not the right to a free press.”