Source: www.sportbusiness.com
The Premier League has hit out at a legal ‘opinion’ by Advocate General Juliane Kokott for the European Court of Justice (ECJ) that could revolutionise the continent’s football TV rights market.
The non-binding opinion, which is submitted in advance of a court ruling, was that pubs should be allowed to air football matches using a foreign decoder card. A final ruling to allow the cheaper systems would have significant implications for the Premier League in England, and its main live broadcast partner, Sky Sports.
“The opinion expressed by Advocate General Kokott may reflect a particular policy view in relation to the provision of audio-visual services throughout the EU,” read a statement from the Premier League. “However, if her opinion were to be reflected in the ECJ's judgement, it would prevent rights holders across Europe from marketing their rights in a way which meets demand from broadcasters whose clear preference is to acquire, and pay for, exclusive rights within their own territory only and to use those rights to create services which satisfy the cultural preferences of their viewers within that territory.”
The statement added: “We would hope that when the ECJ comes to its judgment in our case that the current European law, framed to help promote, celebrate and develop the cultural differences within the EU, is upheld. If the European Commission wants to create a pan-European licensing model for sports, film and music then it must go through the proper consultative and legislative processes to change the law rather than attempting to force through legislative changes via the courts. The ECJ is there to enforce the law, not change it.”
Daniel Geey, an associate in Field Fisher Waterhouse’s Competition and EU Regulatory group, commented: “Exclusivity has been the cornerstone of the Premier League's highly successful broadcasting revenue strategy. Should the opinion be upheld by the court, the implications for rights holders and consumers could be groundbreaking.”
Geey added: “An ECJ ruling along the lines of the Advocate General’s opinion would reverberate beyond football and indeed beyond sport into the licensing of broadcast content generally. Any rights holder that sells its broadcasting rights on an exclusive territorial basis would need to carefully review the way its rights are sold in the EU.”