TV company sues MEAC, agency
According to a report published Monday in the Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal, a television production and distribution company has sued the Mid Eastern Athletic Conference and its marketing partner, New Vision Sports Properties, alleging that the conference and the agency have refused to pay for broadcast services for nine 2004 MEAC football games as required under a written contract.
Maryland-based Integrated Sports Media LLC, filed the suit on March 26 in North Carolina Superior Court in Guilford County (#05-CVS-5229), which is also home to the MEAC offices.
Integrated Sports Media (ISM) alleges that Oakland-based New Vision breached a contract, engaged in unfair and deceptive trade practices and acted fraudulently. ISM also alleges that the MEAC interfered in ISM's contract and that that interference constituted a breach of good faith and fair dealing.
The suit asks for unspecified damages as well as a restraining order requiring New Vision and the MEAC to escrow all moneys received from the sale of advertising during telecasts of MEAC institutions' football games in 2004.
At the root of the fraud claims is ISM's assertion that New Vision ordered advertising on behalf of major corporations with whom they did not have valid advertising contracts. The insertion orders were used to induce ISM to proceed with the telecasts. Those corporations include Coca-Cola, Russell Athletics, GEICO, Church's Chicken and ADT.
According to the suit, New Vision provided commercial spots and logos and directed ISM to run commercials and in-game promotions for the advertisers and has failed to pay for any of the services.
ISM says in the suit that it televised six games live involving MEAC teams and three other games that were re-broadcast containing the advertisements.
In the story, MEAC attorney Charles Blackmon says the conference is planning "swift and aggressive action" and has not ruled out a countersuit.
Steve Malcolm is co-founder of New Vision along with Victor Pelt, an executive with the NBA's Golden State Warriors. Malcolm said in the story that ISM's claims are "completely false." A statement from New Vision says that ISM was told it was in breach of the contract "three months ago."
But Larry Hall, attorney for ISM, denied that the company ever breached the contract or that NVSP ever informed them of a breach.
The ISM deal reportedly included distribution on networks and independent stations that would reach a minimum of 26 million homes. Among the networks that carried the games were Fox College Sports (FCS), Time Warner, Comcast and Urban American Television Network.
The suit also alleges that the MEAC, through Commissioner Dennis Thomas, engaged in a pattern of conduct which "interfered" and "intentionally assisted" New Vision in its refusal to perform its duties under the contract.
© 2005 Azeez Communications, Inc.