Brussels, 23/11/2000 (Agence Europe) - The services of Commissioner Monti responsible for Competition have decided to put an end to the procedure aiming to inflict fines on the companies Telefonica and Sogecable (French group Canal+ and Spanish group Prisa) due to their monopoly over the broadcasting of football matches. Last April, the Commission had warned the two companies that they risk fines due to the considerable volume of broadcasting rights for football matches jointly acquired and exploited by these two main platform for pay-TV in Spain.
This threat followed on from the notification by the two companies of an agreement through which the two companies undertook to joint acquire and exploit the broadcasting rights of Spanish Premier League football matches for 11 seasons expiring in 2009, through the intermediary of their joint company Audiovisual Sport. The Commission had felt that this agreement lead to serious violation of free competition as it closed the Spanish market for pay-TV, whose success widely depends upon the broadcasting of football matches. It then sent the two parties, last 11 April, a statement of objection in order to lift their immunity with regards to fines of which Telefonica and benefited thanks to the notification of their agreements to the Commission. The two parties consented, in June, to open the market to new comers to the market for digital television through terrestrial cable. They also modified their agreements and gave competitors formal assurances that they where free to set prices for meeting being the object of pay per view.
These undertaking enabled the Commission to soften its position and bury the threat of fines.
Commissioner Monti welcomed the end of the case: "all competitors in the Spanish pay-TV market now offer football matches, which gives Spanish viewers a greater choice at lower prices (…)".
This decision does not close the case for as much. The Commission must, in fact, still examine a certain number of points before concluding if the Audiovisual system can benefit from an exemption from Community rules banning agreements. On the other hand, the joint operating by Audiovisual Sports of broadcasting rights for football matches could translate into an agreement for very powerful joint acquisitions between Telefonica and Sogecable, which could reduce the prices paid to football clubs (who firmly denounced this competitive effect). The Commission will also examine the duration of the agreements notified and intends to take a final decision in 2001.