Canal+ Wins Film Antitrust Deal At EU High Court

French media company Canal+ prevailed over European Union competition regulators Wednesday, December 9, in its challenge to a settlement agreement that prevents companies from blocking content based on location, reported Court House News.

The European Court of Justice sided with the Paris-based premium TV provider, which was fighting a 2016 antitrust deal between the European Commission and US film studio Paramount over so-called geo-blocking practices. 

“By adopting the decision at issue, the Commission rendered the contractual rights of the third parties meaningless, including the contractual rights of Groupe Canal + vis-à-vis Paramount, and thereby infringed the principle of proportionality,” according to a press release from the Luxembourg-based court.

In 2014, Canal+ signed a contract with Paramount for the rights to broadcast its films in France. A year later, the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, launched an antitrust investigation into the relationship between US TV and film producers and European premium television companies. 

The Commission found that British broadcasting giant Sky and six major US film studios, including Paramount, conspired to prevent continental European consumers from having access to their movies through geo-blocking, which involves companies restricting access to content based on geographic location. The EU sees the practice as an anti-competitive move that violates the bloc’s single market system.

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