Silence is Golden: Olympic Property Protection in the Age of Social Media

AuthorJason R. Hoskins
PositionJ.D., 2017, Capital University Law School; B.A. Political Science, 2014, Marietta College. I want to thank my parents for their support throughout this process. This Comment is dedicated to all the athletes who make the Olympic Games what they are?the greatest spectacle in all sports. Thank you for inspiring me to get involved in the sport of ...
Pages125-157
SILENCE IS GOLDEN: OLYMPIC PROPERTY
PROTECTION IN THE AGE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
JASON R. HOSKINS*
I. INTRODUCTION
The 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil were the first
Olympic Games to feel the full effect of the social media era.1Twitter
reported that during the Games there were more than 187 million tweets
about Olympic events.2Those tweets were seen both on and off Twitter
an estimated 75 billion times during the same period.3Similarly, Facebook
reported that more than 277 million users interacted with Olympic-
relatedcontent between August 5th and August 21st.4By contrast, NBC,
the long-standing network producer of the Olympic Games,5reported 198
Copyright © 2018, Jason R. Hoskins.
*J.D., 2017, Capital University Law School; B.A. Political Science, 2014, Marietta
College. I want to thank my parents for their support throughout this process. This
Comment is dedicated to all the athletes who make the Olympic Games what they arethe
greatest spectacle in all sports. Thank you for inspiring me to get involved in the sport of
Track and Field, as well as being an inspiration for this Comment.
1Although the 2012 Olympic Games in London were popularly referred to as the social
media Olympics, the 2016 Games in Rio saw an explosion in social media use centered
around the event. See David Lee, London 2012 : London Tweety12The First Social Media
Olympics, BBC NEWS (July 18, 2012), http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-18889406
[https://perma.cc/6M92-N9RQ].
2Elaine Filadelfo, The #Rio2016 Twitter Data Recap,TWITTER (Aug. 22, 2016),
https://blog.twitter.com/official/en_us/a/2016/the-rio2016-twitter-data-recap.html
[https://perma.cc/4ELE-M7QG]. The Olympic Games in Rio occurred August 5 through
August 21, 2016. See id.
3Id.
4Kia Kokalitcheva, Michael Phelps Won Facebook Olympic Gold,FORTUNE (Aug. 22,
2016), http://fortune.com/2016/08/22/facebook-olympics-data/ [https://perma.cc/8LZQ-
NCBU].
5NBC Olympics, NBC UNIVERSAL, http://www.nbcuniversal.com/business/nbc-
olympics [https://perma.cc/67FV-FRH2]. NBC has produced every Summer Olympic
Games since 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. Id.
126 CAPITAL UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW [46:125
million television viewers of the Games.6Although NBC declared these
ratings a success,7the numbers actually reflect a 17% drop in ratings from
the 2012 Olympic Games in London.8
The ratings drop experienced by NBC is representative of the growing
“cord-cutting” trend popular with younger generations.9Millennials
between the ages of twenty-four and thirty consume nearly 47% of their
television content through non-traditional television platforms.10
Meanwhile, those over the age of thirty still consume roughly 80% of their
television content on an actual television.11 With millennials now
composing almost one-third of the U.S. population between the ages of
fourteen and sixty-six,12 it has become necessary for businesses and
organizations alike to identify alternative channels of advertisement to
reach those who have cut the cord.13
Many companies have gone to great lengths to reach the younger
generation that unplugged.14 It has been estimated that U.S. companies
spent $72.09 billion on digital advertising in 2016.15 Many attribute this
increase in spending to the popularity of event-based programming such as
the Olympic Games.16 However, while some are reaping the benefits that
6Eric Deggans, NBC Declares Rio a Media Success Though TV Ratings Were Down,
NPR (Aug. 23, 2016), http://www.npr.org/sections/thetorch/2016/08/23/491024790/nbc-
declares-rio-a-media-success-though-tv-ratings-were-down [https://perma.cc/T6SC-FMG6].
7Id.
8Kokalitcheva, supra note 4.
9Mark Hughes, The Millennial Trends that Are Killing Cable,FORBES (Mar. 21, 2015),
http://www.forbes.com/sites/markhughes/2015/03/21/the-millennial-trends-that-are-killing-
cable/#1aec3f384f8f [https://perma.cc/NVJ6-VB3X].
10 Id.
11 Id.
12 Id.
13 See Ahiza Garcia, NFL Thursday Night Football Livestream on Twitter Is a Hit, CNN
(Sept. 15, 2016), http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/15/technology/nfl-twitter-thursday-night-
football-reactions/ [https://perma.cc/YV76-DMNR]. In 2016, the NFL partnered with
Twitter for the live broadcast of Thursday Night Football games to be aired on the site. Id.
14 See Brandon Katz, Digital Ad Spending Will Surpass TV Spending for the First Time
in U.S. History,FORBES (Sept. 14, 2016), http://www.forbes.com/sites/brandonkatz/2016/09
/14/digital-ad-spending-will-surpass-tv-spending-for-the-first-time-in-u-s-history/#52f920c
56959 [https://perma.cc/RH4U-HHMT].
15 Id.
16 Id.
2018] SILENCE IS GOLDEN 127
high-profile events like the Olympics provide, others are being shut out
entirely.
The Olympic Games are shrouded in protection, insulated from those
wishing to advertise and profit from the event.17 Companies spend an
estimated $200 million for the right to call themselves an “Official
Olympic Global Sponsor.”18 This title comes with many privileges,
including the ability to advertise during the Olympic Games and to use
Olympic properties without the fear of penalty.19 However, those who are
unwilling or unable to afford to become an official sponsor are left off the
advertising podium.20 While millions of people are online discussing all
that transpires during the Games, these companies must sit quietly and
watch or face the consequences.21
With social media becoming an increasingly popular way for younger
generations to interact, those who oversee the Olympics have been left in
the starting blocks trying to adjust their rules and laws accordingly.22 Both
United States law23 and the international rules that govern the Olympic
Games24 have failed to adjust to the social media era. Because of this
delay, companies that wish to join the social media craze are suffering, and
more importantly, the athletes involved in the Olympic Games are
suffering, too.25 Part II of this Comment provides background and
discusses the current mechanism for protecting Olympic Properties both in
the United States and at the international level. Additionally, it examines
17 See Chris Chavez, What is Rule 40? The IOC’s Rule on Non-Olympic Sponsors,
Explained,SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (July 25, 2016) http://www.si.com/olympics/2016/07/27/
rule-40-explained-2016-olympic-sponsorship-blackout-controversy [https://perma.cc/4AKR
-7TL4]; Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act, 36 U.S.C. §§ 220501220529
(2012).
18 Charles R. Taylor & John A. Murphy, Sponsorship and Advertising Trends in the
2016 Rio Olympic Games: Three Things to Watch For,FORBES (Aug. 4, 2016),
http://www.forbes.com/sites/onmarketing/2016/08/04/sponsorship-and-advertising-trends-
in-the-2016-rio-olympic-games-three-things-to-watch-for/#64cd55423eba[https://perma.cc/
JQ9G-GJST].
19 See infra Section II.B.1.
20 See Chavez, supra note 17.
21 Id.
22 See Hughes, supra note 9.
23 36 U.S.C. §§ 220501220529 (2012).
24 Infra Part IV.
25 Infra Part IV.

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