On-line and 3G sports broadcasts: Commission investigates

Previous experience, in particular with the media rights to football events like the European Champions League and the sale of the rights to the English and German premier leagues, has highlighted possible anti-competitive commercial arrangements and conduct across the whole industry.

This included, according to the Commission, refusals to supply, the bundling of TV rights with new media/UMTS rights (Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service, which allow mobile users to be constantly connected to the internet, no matter where they are), the existence of embargoes favouring TV coverage over new types of coverage, or the purchase of new media/UMTS rights on an exclusive basis.

The Commission has identified a need for a sector-wide approach to clarify the application of competition rules and provide guidance to both the owners of the rights and those willing to buy them.

European Competition Commissioner Mario Monti said on Friday:

"As the launch of 3G networks enters into full swing and the success of the service weighs heavily on the operators' ability to deliver attractive audiovisual content, it is the task of competition regulators to ensure that access to sports rights remains open and non-discriminatory."

The Commission will be sending questionnaires to relevant parties to establish whether current commercial practices infringe the European competition rules, in particular the prohibition of restrictive practices and abuses of dominant position.

The issue is made all the more urgent by the growing nature of the 3G mobile phone market. While there are just over 500,000 3G subscribers at present, 40 new networks are expected to be launched across Europe over the course of the next year, all of which will be seeking to take advantage of what many expect to be the service's killer application – the broadcasting of sports events to 3G phones.