BEUC NEWS - 14.12.2018

On Wednesday 12 December, Canal Plus lost its appeal against a decision of the Commission to accept a settlement of Paramount which would end its part in a competition procedure against them.

In the past, Paramount and other studios would grant "absolute" territorial licences to pay-tv broadcasters in the EU. In its settlement offer which was challenged by Canal Plus in court, Paramount agreed to stop using clauses in its contracts with broadcasters which would prevent viewers from other European countries from accessing Paramount’s contents made available by them.

This practice does not only lead to an artificial fragmentation of the Single Market but also works to the detriment of consumers who cannot subscribe to better deals (in terms of price and content) from a broadcaster in another country when not happy what is available in their market.

BEUC was a intervening party in the Court proceedings in support of the European Commission and is an interested third party in the ongoing pay-tv competition case.