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FOOTBALL: ANTITRUST SAYS MEDIASET GROUP’S TV RIGHTS TO BE LIMITED TO DIGITAL TERRESTRIAL TELEVISION AUTHORITY TO ACT AS MARKET WATCHDOG TO ENSURE COMMITMENTS FULFILLED


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PRESS RELEASE


Football: Antitrust says Mediaset Group’s TV rights to be limited to digital terrestrial television
Authority to act as market watchdog to ensure commitments fulfilled



The Italian Competition Authority, at its meeting on 28 June 2006, warned the Mediaset Group against any anti-competitive conduct in selling television advertising by acquiring TV football rights. The Authority will keep an eye on the Group’s commitments to prevent the emergence of the kind of market distortions which would have been produced in this market by the contractual conditions originally proposed. The Mediaset Group, in licensing contracts and private agreements regarding the right to broadcast football signed by way of RTI in the summer of 2004, infringed the ban on abusing a dominant position. Those agreements, stipulated with Juventus, Inter, Livorno, Roma, Milan, Lazio and Sampdoria, contained long-term exclusives, pre-emptive rights and rights of first refusal covering the whole range of broadcasting media. During the course of the investigation, the Group nevertheless undertook, with respect to all the teams under contract, to maintain the exclusive, from 2007 on, only for transmissions via the digital terrestrial platform, selling the rights to other broadcasting media to third parties in an equitable, transparent and non-discriminatory fashion.  In this way, in contrast with the original contractual arrangement, the Mediaset Group has made it possible to broadcast football matches, from 2007 on, on platforms other than digital terrestrial, thus making such content available to third-party operators and giving them the opportunity to attract a significant audience share.
The Mediaset Group also gave its express assurance that, beginning with the 2007-2008 football season, it would not seek to include any further clauses regarding right of first refusal or right of pre-emption in contracts for television broadcasting rights.
Within 90 days, Mediaset must furnish the Authority with documentation regarding its compliance with its commitments and, in particular, the sale of the satellite broadcasting rights for the remaining teams (Milan, Sampdoria and Livorno) at present covered by the agreements signed by the Group, so that the Authority may assess the full and complete fulfilment of Mediaset’s commitments.
Following the opening of the investigation, the Group did indeed decide to sell the television broadcasting rights for Serie A matches played “at home” by Juventus, Inter, Roma and Lazio, giving SKY exclusive satellite broadcasting rights as well as ceding non-exclusive broadcasting rights on different alternative platforms. Exercising in advance its right of first negotiation, the Group also set up agreements with Juventus, Inter, Milan, Lazio, Roma and Livorno in which the duration of the rights acquired from 2007 on was significantly reduced to a maximum of two years with an option to renew for one further season. As things stand, then, future licensing contracts, originally intended to last until 2016, will expire in 2009 unless the option is exercised. Furthermore, the agreements stipulated will have no further rights of pre-negotiation added to them.


Rome, 28 June 2006