Commission condones broadcast rights sale

By Lorraine Mallinder

Date: 15/06/06

The European Commission has confirmed that last month's sale of broadcast rights for live football matches by the English Premier League was in line with EU competition rules, ending a three-year battle with the company.

A report submitted by an independent trustee charged with overseeing the sale showed that the English league honoured its pledge that no single broadcaster would be allowed to buy all of the packages of live match rights.

"We have read the reports and are satisfied that the sale of media rights was in line with EU competition rules," said a Commission spokesman.

The battle between the Commission and the English league was one of the most high-profile interventions by the EU's competition authority in the arrangements between broadcasters and the football authorities. It followed earlier trials of strength over Germany's Bundesliga and over the UEFA Champions League.

Under the English Premier League's agreement with the Commission, matches had to be auctioned off in six packages covering rights spanning three years, with no broadcaster permitted to bid for more than five.

BSkyB paid EUR 1.923 billion for four packages of broadcasting rights, allowing the channel to show 92 live games a season starting from 2007-08. The company paid EUR 1.498bn for the rights to all six packages in the three seasons running up to 2007.

Irish broadcaster Setanta was able to snap up rights to show 46 live premiership matches during the three seasons from 2007, thereby bringing an end to the monopoly enjoyed by BSkyB since the league's inception in 1992.

Under the previous system BSkyB was able to purchase exclusive rights to all premiership matches. The Commission had deemed that the broadcast monopoly was against the interests of EU consumers.

At the time of the deal, EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said that the new system for auctioning the broadcasting rights to games would provide football fans with "greater choice and better value".

Had the league failed to fulfil commitments, it could have been liable for a fine of 10% of its total worldwide turnover. The Commission would not have had to prove any violation of competition rules.

Article reports that the European Commission has confirmed that the May 2006 sale of broadcast rights for live football matches by the English Premier League was in line with EU competition rules, ending a three-year battle with the company.
Article is part of a European Voice Special Report, 'The EU and Football'.