European Commission raids offices in sports broadcasting investigation

LONDON (Reuters) - The European Commission on Tuesday raided the offices of a number of companies involved in sports broadcasting rights, including a unit of Rupert Murdoch's Fox, as part of an investigation into a possible cartel.

European Commission raids offices in sports broadcasting investigation

(Reuters)





Sports broadcasting is a huge business in Europe, with networks spending billions of pounds to secure exclusive rights to show games in top-flight leagues to attract viewers.

The Commission said it had carried out unannounced inspections in several member states at companies that distribute "media rights and related rights pertaining to various sports events and/or their broadcasting".

Fox Networks Group (FNG), an operating unit of Murdoch's 21st Century Fox which distributes TV and cable channels around the world, said it was cooperating with the EC inspection after officials raided its offices in London.

"The Commission has concerns that the companies involved may have violated EU antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices," it said in a statement.

"Unannounced inspections are a preliminary step into suspected anticompetitive practices. (It) ... does not mean that the companies are guilty of anti-competitive behaviour nor does it prejudge the outcome of the investigation itself."

The Commission did not name any of the companies affected, but Murdoch's FNG confirmed its involvement after it was first reported by the Telegraph newspaper.

The news of the raid comes at a difficult time for Fox which is engaged in string of deals that are facing regulatory approval.

It is battling Comcast and British regulators for the right to buy Europe's biggest pay-TV company Sky for around $15 billion while it has also agreed to sell a string of assets to Walt Disney Co for around $52 billion (36.7 billion pounds).

The Commission said there was no legal deadline to complete inquiries into anti-competitive conduct and EC investigations can be lengthy.





(Reporting by Kate Holton, editing by Larry King, G Crosse and Jonathan Oatis)


Share
Published 11 April 2018 6:06pm
Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world