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Showtime considers legal action on fight replays
NEW YORK (AP) -- Jay Larkin, executive producer for Showtime, said Thursday the cable network is considering legal action against other broadcast outlets who showed tape of the pay-per-view Mike Tyson-Evander Holyfield heavyweight fight while covering a hearing by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.The commission met Tuesday and temporarily suspended Tyson after he was disqualified for biting Holyfield. During the hearing, a tape of the fight was shown in the hearing room and CNN, Court TV and ESPN telecast the tape.
"We were astounded to sit here watching CNN and others as they did what they did," Larkin said in a conference call with reporters. "We are looking at it at the highest levels. It is clear to us that our rights were severely and significantly damaged."
On the night of the fight, Larkin released Showtime's clips of the biting episode to other networks. "This was highly copyrighted," he said. "We paid a lot of money for the right to have exclusivity. We had to make a decision. I take the responsibility for releasing it as a news clip. It was fed to sources all around the country and people used it to a great extent."
Larkin said the pay-per-view broadcast had broken all records with the total at 1,950,000 homes. At an average price of $50, that would produce a gross of close to $100 million.
Showtime will replay the fight three times -- Monday, July 7, at 9 p.m.; Sunday, July 13, at 8 p.m.; and Saturday, July 19 at 4:30 p.m.