Brussels opened an antitrust investigation into television ... - 20minutos.es

European Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia the Spanish, offers a press conference at the headquarters of the European Commission (EC) in Brussels (Belgium). (AFP / Olivier Hoslet)

The European Commission (EC) has opened an antitrust investigation into the sector television services cross-border payment affecting, among others, the Spanish operator DTS, owner of Canal Plus.

The EU executive is reported that examine the licensing agreements between the major movie studios U.S. and major European operators because certain aspects could raise competition concerns.

Almunia gave the example of a European citizen living in Belgium and want to subscribe to a pay TV in Spanish Brussels review the agreements among U.S. Twentieth Century Fox, Warner Bros, Sony Pictures, NBC Universal and Paramount Pictures and BSkyB in the UK, Canal Plus France, Sky Italy and Germany and Spain DTS Europe.

The aim is to clarify whether these agreements are preventing operators providing services in other countries members of the European Union (EU), to force them to turn away potential subscribers of other Member States or to block cross-border access to their services, he said EC in a statement.

“We are not questioning the concept of licensing on a territorial basis or trying to force the studios to sell allowances with pan-European, our research will focus on the restrictions that prevent the sale of content, “then said EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia the Spanish, in a press conference.

Almunia gave the example of a European citizen residing in Belgium and want to subscribe to a pay TV Spanish and said he could not do if there is absolute territorial exclusivity . “These restrictions may constitute a violation of European competition rules,” he added.

“absolute territorial protection”

audiovisual content, such as movies, receives a license from the U.S. studies for broadcast by the pay-TV operator in all Member States or in several European partners with a common language.

The Commission, after an initial investigation of this procedure has now decided to focus on certain aspects of agreements that seem to give European operators “absolute territorial protection,” the might constitute an infringement of Community rules.

These contractual provisions make movies U.S. studies are offered exclusively in the country of the European Union that the operator conducts business.

This implies that the film can not diffuse out of that Member State , even if there is a real demand from potential subscribers elsewhere in the Community. The EC recalled that the opening of an investigation does not prejudge the outcome of it and only indicates that treat the case as a priority.

Relay

football

Court EU already ruled in a similar case involving the broadcasting of football matches total payment territorial exclusivity granted to an operator can be anticompetitive if you remove all competition the operators and leads to the single market division at national borders.

“We will study whether this principle explained by the Court of Luxembourg should also apply to other content audiovisual, as to issue licenses for films from U.S. studios, “said Almunia.

The objective is that” a citizen residing in a Member State to engage the services of a TV operator payment regardless where the service is established , “he added.

Almunia considers relevant monitor the status of these contracts because European citizens increasingly employ pay-TV services and enjoy the content broadcast by satellite internet.