Another year, another conflict over online sports rights. This time AP, AFP and Reuters (NYSE: TRI) are refusing to cover cricket matches involving the Aussie national team after falling out with the sport’s governing body over web reporting restrictions. The trio have suspended coverage of all events and matches over restrictions from Cricket Australia (CA) on the amount of live text updates and pictures that can be published online during the upcoming Test Match series against New Zealand. Reuters has the honour of reporting that CA is restricting the number of stories that can be aggregated to websites not connected to big newspapers, sites like Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO). CA says there is agreement with 99.99 percent of media and talks continue with the rest.

SEE ALSO: Online Media Limits Threaten Coverage On Eve Of Rugby World Cup

CA has a history with the press: in December 2006, it restricted the use of online video on the grounds it went beyond fair use copyright allowances. 

This is exactly the same debate that went on during the Rugby World Cup in France last year where the same agencies were joined by publishers from around the world in a temporary boycott—and it’s likely both sides will be left in a similarly unsatisfactory impasse with serious issues unresolved when the dust settles.

Photo Credit: nellistc