In May, 2008 ESPN sued Quiksilver for copyright infringement on the letter “X,” then a month later Quiksilver sued ESPN for the same thing claiming they had been using the X since 1994. Now, according to a story in the LA Times ESPN has settled the lawsuit with Quiksilver.
Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN network settled a lawsuit by clothing maker Quiksilver Inc. over the cable channel’s logo for the international X Games competition. . . . The companies didn’t disclose the details of the settlement in papers filed jointly Monday in federal court in New York.
Wonder if the settlement included any “free advertising?”
We’d really like to say that Christian action sports movies like ONEYear don’t creep us out a little, but they do. Not because we’re God haters, but more because we think religion is private. Listening to people spill their salvation stories on film has always felt a little like listening to our grandmother talk about how much she loves sex.
Apparently, Andy Finch, Kelly Clark, Tommy Czeschin, Matt Hammer, Janna Meyen, and Dave Downing don’t agree. But we’re not here to tell them they are wrong, praise God. Just to tell them we think it’s a little creepy when they share too much.
We serve the enthusiast market better than anyone in the business, so adding Scuba Diving to our existing Sport Diver title will only enhance our relationship with the dive industry and its passionate audience,” Bonnier CEO Terry Snow said in a prepared statement.
It seems an odd time to being purchasing more print titles, they must know something we don’t about the future.
Fuel TV in Australia apparently has a little wider interpretation of exactly what action sports are and we’re sure the crew at Tapout agrees. Every Sunday night Fuel TV features one and a half hours of UFC fighting.
Enjoy watching guys kick the life out of each other? Then this show is for you. This is reality style tv as fighters live together, train together and kick the living daylights out of each other.
How long before it’s playing in the US? Hopefully not for a while.
The elves at Funning Feeling LLC have just announced that they are extending guaranteed “get it by Christmas” shipping of the current Frequency Hardbound Photobook (yeah, as in coffee table style) until tomorrow December 18, 2008 at 6 PM PST.
That means there is still time to buy the snowboarder you love one of the best collections of snowboard photography to come out all year. Click here and make it happen for only $34.95 while they last. Or for $16 more get the photobook and a one-year subscription.
One of the biggest reasons we rarely watch Fuel TV is because it was never on our cable system. We always wondered why they couldn’t simply put their shows on their website so we could check them out any time we wanted. Finally, our wonders have been partially answered with Fuel TV’s the new HD web player from Move Networks.
“FUEL TV is the only television network dedicated to action sports,” says Gene Pao, FUEL TV Vice President of New Media and International Development. “Now FUEL TV will be the first place consumers can watch full-length HD action sports shows online. The quality of the viewing experience is really unmatched anywhere online in the action sports world.”
Soon we’ll be able to watch The Standard Snowboard Show, Firsthand, and FUEL TV presents Camp Woodward, but the bummer is that full-length episodes “will only be available on the web site for a limited time.” Huh? Well, at least it’s one step in the right direction. [click to continue…]
Unless the action sports magazine category can buck a major media trend, 2009 could be pretty rough. And that comes on the heels of what Media Daily News is calling “the worst year in decades for magazines.”
Through the middle of December, consumer magazines are down 9.4% from last year, according to MIN Online; this compares with a 7.8% drop in 2001. Worse, magazines do not appear to be headed for a quick rebound like the last recession. . . . At this rate, 2008’s losses will almost certainly be compounded in 2009–bringing two straight years of declines, which will result in more magazine closures and layoffs.
Iconic skateboarder/film director Stacy Peralta is getting grief from all corners for a recent commercial project commissioned by Burger King via bad-boy advertising agency Crispin Porter & Bogusky in which Peralta traveled the world to find “Whopper Virgins.” Burger King apparently wanted to find out which tastes better the Whopper of McDonald’s Big Mac, according to Crain’s Chicago Business.
The campaign immediately sparked a backlash in the blogosphere and beyond, with critics claiming Burger King is exploiting poverty-stricken regions for marketing. “I don’t think indigenous people should be used in that way to amuse a bored public that wants a sensation at any price,” a commenter wrote on Gothamist.com.
It’s no surprise that Peralta’s footage is extremely well shot, seemingly sincere, funny, and compelling. But working for Burger King on a project that introduces crap fast food to third world cultures seems like an incredible waste of Peralta’s immense talents. Then again we’ve never eaten a hamburger in our lives, so we’re no authority.
Rumors from the UK are emerging regarding the demise of one of our favorite skateboard magazines. Factory Media “Europe’s largest action sports publisher” is apparently redirecting their efforts and calling an end to Document Skateboard Magazine. The following note was eventually posted on their site.
I’d personally like to thank all contributing writers and photographers, advertisers, all the real skate shops, skaters who let us photograph them, everyone that let us sleep on their floors or skate their ramps and anyone who ever bought the mag, it’s been a blast! See you out skating, Sam.
Some sources claim Factory Media will turn their efforts toward a more lifestyle oriented product (+1?). Wonder what will happen with Kingpin and Sidewalk? We always thought three skateboard magazines was a couple too many.
In what seems like a match made in hell, that bastion of New York street culture cred Vice has signed up to run all online editorial for the recently relaunched NBC/MTV joint Alliance of Action Sports, according to a press release sent out this morning.
Vice, the group behind VBS.tv, and critically acclaimed shows including Heavy Metal in Baghdad, Epicly Later’d, and School of Surf, has been brought on to produce and manage all editorial content and video. Allisports.com already has a deep catalog of action sports video content including the new VBS.tv program “Powder & Rails,” MTV2’s “The Contenders” featuring Paul Rodriguez, Ryan Sheckler, Jamie Bestwick, and Chaz Ortiz, along with an extensive library of Dew Tour footage.
Does Vice really know what they’re getting into? They’ll find out soon enough. In the meantime, Alli President Wade Martin can look forward to this kind of coverage of action sports, which we’re pretty sure the Burton design crew will absolutely love. [click to continue…]
In May, 2008 ESPN sued Quiksilver for copyright infringement on the letter “X,” then a month later Quiksilver sued ESPN for the same thing claiming they had been using the X since 1994. Now, according to a story in the LA Times ESPN has settled the lawsuit with Quiksilver.
