5th Feb 2015 10:18
LONDON (Alliance News) - UK media and communications regulator Ofcom on Wednesday rejected Virgin Media Inc's request to suspend the upcoming Premier League television rights auction, saying it does not see an argument for it to intervene to delay the auction.
Virgin Media launched an attempt to halt the upcoming auction of the live football broadcast rights by the Premier League in November, claiming the way the auction was set up would mean football fans are likely to face higher bills for watching live matches
In late January, Virgin escalated its push, asking Ofcom to use its emergency powers to block the auction as it felt the initial probe was moving too slowly.
But Ofcom rejected Virgin's call for the regulator to use its "interim measures direction" to block the auction, saying it does not believe it needs to intervene to delay the bidding.
The regulator said there will be a significant gap between the auction taking place and the start of the 2016-17 season, when broadcasting of the relevant matches will start. In the event, Ofcom believes an infringement has occurred, it has the powers to make the Premier League and Premier League clubs make changes to arrangements for broadcasting matches within the time available prior to the start of the season.
Ofcom said the Premier League, in its submissions to the regulator, also said there is no basis for Virgin Media's assertion that Ofcom will be constrained in its ability to intervene post the auction taking place. It also confirmed to Ofcom that it will put arrangements in place in contracts with the purchasers of the rights to address any potential infringements which are found.
Ofcom said its wider investigation is ongoing and will focus on the potential harm to competition and consumers arising from joint selling under the auction. The regulator expects to publish a further document on the investigation in March 2015.
The Premier League rights auction is due to start on Friday, with Sky PLC and BT Group PLC expected to be the leading bidders for the rights. In addition, US media group Discovery Communications, which owns Eurosport, is also understood to be exploring a bid for some of the rights, as is Qatar-based beIN Sport.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
Copyright 2015 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
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