- Joined
- Sep 9, 2013
- Messages
- 4,670
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on...ers-uses-team-names-logos-without-nfl-consent
Report: HBO's 'Ballers' uses team names, logos without NFL consent
By Jared Dubin | Staff Writer
June 9, 2015 10:47 am ET
HBO's new series features use of NFL logos. (YouTube/HBO)
According to a report from ProFootballTalk, the pilot of the new HBO series Ballers, which stars Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson as a former professional football player that becomes a financial adviser to other athletes, features extensive use of NFL team names and logos without the expressed, written consent of the NFL.
Debuting on June 21, the pilot episode of the weekly half-hour show begins with Johnson's character laying in bed, having flashbacks to his career as a member of the Miami Dolphins, playing in a game against the Buffalo Bills. Both team uniforms are used, without alteration.
The first episode includes a scene from a conference room with a Packers logo on the wall. Later, one of the characters visits the fictional coach of the Miami Dolphins, who is wearing a hat with a Dolphins logo (the old logo, not the current one). The second episode includes multiple scenes at a Dolphins offseason practice, with the players wearing helmets bearing the Dolphins logo (the current one, not the old one).
“HBO is always mindful of other intellectual property owners, but in this context there is no legal requirement to obtain their consent,” an HBO spokesperson said in a statement issued to PFT on Sunday afternoon. HBO confirmed that the NFL has no involvement in the series.
As noted in PFT's report, this is notable because the NFL reportedly pressured ESPN into canceling the 2003 series Playmakers because of its depiction of a football league that bore a more-than-passing resemblance to the NFL. Among other topics, Playmakersexplored domestic violence, the addictive nature of painkillers and hardcore drugs, and the treatment of homosexual players in the locker room.
According to PFT, "The first episode of Ballers focuses in part on an NFL player who has sex in the bathroom of a nightclub with a woman he had just met, and who then beats up a fan who confronts the player about keeping the bathroom occupied for an extended period of time." This is notable because HBO, like ESPN, has a rights deal with the NFL related to the production of the yearly training camp series, Hard Knocks, and the NFL has that aforementioned history of not looking kindly on shows that depict the league in a less than positive light.
Here's the official trailer for Ballers, which shows Johnson in a uniform which resembles the Dolphins', but does not feature any logos:
Report: HBO's 'Ballers' uses team names, logos without NFL consent
By Jared Dubin | Staff Writer
June 9, 2015 10:47 am ET
HBO's new series features use of NFL logos. (YouTube/HBO)
According to a report from ProFootballTalk, the pilot of the new HBO series Ballers, which stars Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson as a former professional football player that becomes a financial adviser to other athletes, features extensive use of NFL team names and logos without the expressed, written consent of the NFL.
Debuting on June 21, the pilot episode of the weekly half-hour show begins with Johnson's character laying in bed, having flashbacks to his career as a member of the Miami Dolphins, playing in a game against the Buffalo Bills. Both team uniforms are used, without alteration.
The first episode includes a scene from a conference room with a Packers logo on the wall. Later, one of the characters visits the fictional coach of the Miami Dolphins, who is wearing a hat with a Dolphins logo (the old logo, not the current one). The second episode includes multiple scenes at a Dolphins offseason practice, with the players wearing helmets bearing the Dolphins logo (the current one, not the old one).
“HBO is always mindful of other intellectual property owners, but in this context there is no legal requirement to obtain their consent,” an HBO spokesperson said in a statement issued to PFT on Sunday afternoon. HBO confirmed that the NFL has no involvement in the series.
As noted in PFT's report, this is notable because the NFL reportedly pressured ESPN into canceling the 2003 series Playmakers because of its depiction of a football league that bore a more-than-passing resemblance to the NFL. Among other topics, Playmakersexplored domestic violence, the addictive nature of painkillers and hardcore drugs, and the treatment of homosexual players in the locker room.
According to PFT, "The first episode of Ballers focuses in part on an NFL player who has sex in the bathroom of a nightclub with a woman he had just met, and who then beats up a fan who confronts the player about keeping the bathroom occupied for an extended period of time." This is notable because HBO, like ESPN, has a rights deal with the NFL related to the production of the yearly training camp series, Hard Knocks, and the NFL has that aforementioned history of not looking kindly on shows that depict the league in a less than positive light.
Here's the official trailer for Ballers, which shows Johnson in a uniform which resembles the Dolphins', but does not feature any logos:
Last edited by a moderator:
