Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Hi there,
There is an issue with role permissions that is being worked on at the moment.
If you are having trouble with access or permissions on regional forums please post here to get access: https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058365403/you-do-not-have-permission-for-that#latest

FIFA/UEFA lose ECJ appeal over Finals TV Rights

  • 21-07-2013 11:48pm
    #1
    The Cush
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 15,852 ✭✭✭✭


    Last week FIFA and UEFA lost their ECJ appeal against a lower European court ruling on the designation of all Tournament Finals matches in the World Cup and Euro Championships in the UK and the World Cup in Belgium i.e. all matches will be available to free-to-air TV and thus preventing pay TV from bidding for such matches exclusively.
    Belgium and the United Kingdom each drew up a list of the events they regarded as being of major importance for society in their respective states. Those lists contained, inter alia, in the case of Belgium, all the matches in the final stage of the World Cup and, in the case of the United Kingdom, all the matches in the final stage of the World Cup and the EURO. Those lists were sent to the Commission, which decided that they were compatible with European Union law.

    FIFA and UEFA challenged those decisions before the General Court, arguing that not all those matches could constitutes events of major importance for the general public in those States. The General Court dismissed their actions, which led them to lodge appeals before the Court of Justice.

    ...

    In those circumstances, the Court dismisses the appeals brought by FIFA and UEFA in their entirety.

    In Ireland only the Opening match, Semi-Finals, Final and Ireland games in the Finals Tournament of the World Cup/European Championships are protected for FTA TV - http://www.dcenr.gov.ie/Broadcasting/Designation+of+sporting+events/.

    Similar applies in Italy, France and Spain etc. In the next World Cup the FTA terrestrial broadcasters in those countries will broadcast between 20 and 25 games FTA while pay-TV will broadcast all 64 games.

    The ruling is good news for Irish viewers and probably makes any Irish pay-TV rights of little value considering the wide availability of the UK terrestrial channels here carrying all Finals matches.

    http://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2013-07/cp130092en.pdf

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23288211
    http://www.itv.com/sport/football/article/2013-07-18/matches-to-stay-free-to-air-after-uefa-and-fifa-lose-appeal/
    http://www.independent.ie/world-news/football-tv-rights-appeal-rejected-29430432.html


Comments

  • #2
    STB
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,178 ✭✭✭STB


    Yes I had caught that alright. Challenging TVWF.

    No end to their greed.

    Thankfully, following the designations, Ireland don't have that fiasco that we had back in the late 90s when the FAI sold the bloody rights to Sky for internationals.

    The Italians went bananas when the Italian RFU sold the rights to the rugby world cup to a pay operator (because it was not protected).

    The Brits had it right, protect everything!


Advertisement