Spain: Telefonica fined over football screening rights

Spanish communications and competition regulator CNMC has fined Telefonica and Distribuidora de Television Digital a total of EUR 15.5 million on grounds of having colluded in the acquisition, resale and exploitation of football broadcast rights for the 2012-2013 and 2014-2015 seasons.

The regulator said the sharing agreements between the companies infringed EU competition laws and that, as a result, Telefonica and DTS would be fined EUR 10 million and EUR 5.5 million, respectively, for two agreements reached in August 2012 for the commercialisation of the channels Canal+ Champions League and Canal+ Liga.

In a strongly worded statement, the CNMC said Telefonica was aware of DTS’s strategy of marketing Champions League rights to a single telecoms operator before other operators and that DTS drafted the auction conditions to favour Telefonica and limit competition between pay-TV operators. Similarly, with regard to Canal+ Liga, DTS drew up its wholesale offer in such a way that Telefonica knew its strategy and prices in advance, placing the operator it at a competitive advantage over other bidders.

The fines come three months after Telefonica acquired full control of DTS, or Digital+ as it is also known, after agreeing to purchase Prisa’s 56 percent stake in the pay-TV platform for EUR 750 million as well as Mediaset’s 22 percent stake for an initial EUR 295 million.

Although no appeal is possible before the CNMC, the companies have two months to lodge a contentious-administrative appeal against the regulator’s decision before Spain’s National High Court.

Full content: TelecomPaper

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