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Telefonica, DTS fined EUR 15.5 mln for football rights deal
2015-07-27 08:38:00| Telecompaper Headlines
(Telecompaper) Spanish communications and competition regulator CNMC has fined Telefonica and Distribuidora de Television Digital (DTS) 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.
Tags: rights
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Category:Telecommunications