VENDITA DIRITTI TELEVISIVI
PRESS RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE
Changes to the procedures for selling football television broadcasting rights
On 1 July 1999, the Authority resolved to close the case on the centralised negotiation of football television broadcasting rights by Lega Nazionale Professionisti. The proceedings were opened on 10 February, to examine the procedures used for selling broadcasting rights over Serie A and Serie B Coppa Italia championship matches: it was alleged that by selling broadcasting rights on behalf of the serie A and serie B clubs, Lega Nazionale Professionisti had distorted competition by creating a cartel of 38 professional football clubs.
The Authority considered that the centralised sale of encrypted television broadcasting rights for the championship matches during the 1993-1996 and 1996-1999 seasons had restricted competition. It considered that the purpose for which Lega Nazionale Professionisti had been established, namely, to provide mutual support for its members, was not sufficient to justify this procedure for selling broadcasting rights. The redistribution of resources between the major and the minor clubs, which is necessary to maintain a balance of competition between them, could also be achieved by adopting other solutions which were less restrictive in terms of competition.
However, it did not consider the centralised negotiation of match highlights to restrict competition, because the features of this product were such that it would be extremely complicated to sell them individually and it could even change their characteristics altogether (example making it difficult to complete the product).
Lastly, it considered that the sale of Coppa Italia broadcasting rights was apt to interfere with the operation of the market. But following the changes to its Rules that the Lega has introduced immediately after the Authority had commenced proceedings against it (on 19 March 1999), it considered that Coppa Italia broadcasting rights, restricted to matches played in the direct elimination rounds, could be granted a section 4 exemption. This decision can be explained in terms both of the high transaction costs and the uncertainty which the broadcasting companies have to accept in order to purchase rights without knowing from whom until immediately after the event (once the teams qualifying for the next round are known) and the need to facilitate the transition away from a mutuality system hinging entirely around the collective sale of rights towards a system in which most of the rights will be negotiated individually, with the mutuality principle mainly being pursued by redistributing part of the revenues.
Rome, 16 July 1999