Newspapers angry at increasingly stringent rules governing online sports reporting should stop griping and pay for the privilege, says one digital media owner who’s done just that. Andrew Croker, executive chair of Perform, which holds online rights for plenty of football amongst other sports, said newspapers, who are increasingly using video, are now no different from broadcasters…

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“The broadcasters pay but the [newspaper] journalists get a free sandwich and a parking space,” he told the Westminster e-Forum (via PG). Newspaper editors recoil at the thought of paying to cover an event and argue it is an issue of press freedom, but for Croker their argument is spurious: “They sell this content to their readers. You have to have a commercial agreement.” Through its rights, Perform produces highlights from competitions like the Premier League football via a JV with Virgin Media, in turn shown on Trinity Mirror (LSE: TNI), News International and Guardian Media Group sites.

In the opposite corner, News International editorial director Dominic Young: “It’s nonsensical – the right to report ... from on sporting events on new media platforms ... is not a licensable right.” Newspaper publishers across the globe have been embroiled in rows with sports bodies over access to tournaments and restrictions on coverage, most notably at last year’s Rugby World Cup, when the IRB limited the number of pictures sites could run before a high-profile match boycott forced a compromise.