The AFL has announced the creation of its own exclusive agency to provide the media with AFL images. WAN, representing the world's newspapers, and the coalition of news agencies including Agence France-Presse, The Associated Press, Reuters and Getty Images, told the International Rugby Board and the AFL that they would explore their legal options and inform event sponsors of "the very clear loss of exposure from which they will suffer owing to these restrictions."

The IRB has severely limited publication of World Cup photos through the Internet, including on thousands of newspaper web sites, to a maximum of five still photos per half and two photos of extra time. It has also introduced editorial restrictions on how photographs can be used in print publications - banning the common practice of superimposing headlines and captions on photos if they obscure advertising within the images, for example - and has put severe limits on audiovisual content on Web siteWeb sites and mobile devices. The international soccer body FIFA had imposed similar restrictions on coverage of its 2006 World Cup, but dropped all of them after negotiations with WAN. WAN Press Release; March 15, 2007