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| World Cup To Remain Free http://www.bbfans.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=41458 |
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| Author: | Madeline [ 17 Feb 11, 20:44 ] |
| Post subject: | World Cup To Remain Free |
World Cup To Remain Free The European General Court (EGC) has ruled that UK football fans can continue to watch major events on free-to-air TV in future. Fifa and Uefa had challenged a decision allowing the UK government to designate the . Both are on the UK list of "protected" events of national sporting importance. The EGC now says an EU member state can prohibit the exclusive broadcast of games at these two events on pay-TV. The court also dismissed Fifa's action against Belgium showing all World Cup matches on free-to-air TV in that country. Fifa and Uefa had argued the current set-up interfered with their ability to sell television rights at the best price. They had said there was no reason why all games at tournaments should be shown free on UK television, as part of a list the national sporting "crown jewels" that have to be made available to everyone to watch. The EGC, formerly the Court of First Instance, is the first European court where a decision is made. Appeals about its rulings are taken to the European Court of Justice. Fifa and Uefa now have two months to launch any appeal. The two football bodies had argued that any games featuring England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland would have still been shown on TV for free, as would have the finals and semi-finals of the tournaments. Uefa had said the listing infringed its property rights, as it resulted "in a restriction of the way in which the applicant may market the television rights to the Euro [championships]". It had also said that showing the entire tournament on free-to-air in the UK had led to "a disproportionate and unjustified distortion of competition on the relevant market". An EU directive gives all member states the right to designate sporting and cultural events of national interest for broadcast on free-to-air TV stations. Hence, the Broadcasting Act 1996 gives the British government the power to designate key sporting and other events as "listed events". The purpose of the list is to ensure that such events are made available to all television viewers, particularly those who do not have subscription television. waveguide.co.uk |
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