February 4, 201115 yr The pub landlady from Portsmouth threatening a TV football revolution after winning fight to beam in top UK games via Greece By Ben Todd Last updated at 9:01 AM on 4th February 2011 Comments (92) Add to My Stories Television viewers could see monthly charges for live sport and movies slashed following a landmark ruling – thanks to a determined pub landlady. The looming revolution in subscription television means British-based cable and satellite channels will face increased competition from abroad. The European judgement blows a hole in the status quo, which currently allows Sky Television to charge up to £80 a month for its sports and film packages. Victory for the little man: Landlady Karen Murphy took her fight to Europe to contest £8,000 worth of fines and costs for showing Greek broadcasts of football matches In future, viewers could be granted the right to subscribe to foreign providers supplying live coverage of the same fixtures for a far lower price. Sky Sports has been in the headlines recently over the sexism row involving Andy Gray and Richard Keys. Pundit Gray was eventually sacked and presenter Keys stood down from his £500,000-a-year job. More... EU's 'complacency' could ruin recovery, Unilever boss warns BrusselsGive live-in lovers the same rights as married couples, says Britain's top family judge The European ruling is sure to be fought tooth and nail by BSkyB-owned Sky, which, with 10million subscribers, is the dominant pay TV provider in Britain. Fighting for football: Karen Murphy had switched from her Sky provider to a cheaper Greek one so she could save money and still show matches It will also be opposed by those who run major sports, in particular Premier League football, who can currently strike lucrative broadcasting deals on a country-by-country basis. This power has been thrown into doubt following a test case involving pub landlady Karen Murphy. She has been involved in a long-running dispute with the Premier League after she was fined for showing Greek broadcasts of matches. Mrs Murphy, of Portsmouth, had switched subscriber because the cost of their coverage was far cheaper. Costs for pubs who pay for the official Sky package can be as much as £1,000 a month. When Mrs Murphy left Sky she was being asked to pay £600 a month. Using an imported decoder, Mrs Murphy then had to pay just £800 a year but was taken to court by football bosses for doing so. She had argued the EU single market should let her use any European provider and yesterday Juliane Kokott, one of eight advocate generals of the European Court of Justice, agreed with her. She said broadcasters cannot stop pubs and other TV viewers watching Premier League football via foreign subscriptions available in other European countries because it breached EU laws. If the advice is confirmed by the European Court of Justice later this year, selling sport, movies, or any other content, on an exclusive country-by-country basis within the EU may no longer be possible. The Advocate-General’s ‘opinion’ is not legally-binding, but the full panel of EU judges follows such advice in about 80 per cent of cases. Last night, competition lawyer Beckett McGrath said: ‘It blows a hole in the way rights are exploited. It’s incredibly significant. ‘There are a number of steps still to go but potentially every publican in the country will be saying why should I be paying the official broadcasters when I can just buy a Greek subscription.’ Mrs Murphy, 47, said: ‘I feel amazing, this is such a fantastic thing to have happened. If things stay in the same vein it could be a real victory for the little man in the end.’ BSkyB and ESPN have the exclusive broadcast rights to live Premier League football in the UK, with the Murdoch-controlled company having the lion’s share. Miss Kokott said that the idea of selling on a territorial exclusivity basis was ‘tantamount to profiting from the elimination of the internal market’. She dismissed the copyright argument put forward by the Premier League that it held exclusive rights to matches broadcast to the public. ‘There are no comprehensive rights which protect the communication of a broadcast to the public where no entrance fee is charged,’ she said. The Football Association Premier League Limited – the private company which represents the broadcasting interests of the 20 English Premier League clubs – brought the prosecution, saying that, at the time, only BSkyB TV had exclusive rights to show its games in the UK. As a result, Mrs Murphy had to pay nearly £8,000 in fines and costs. She then took her case to Europe, leading to yesterday’s advice. If the ECJ confirms the judgement, it could drastically reduce the revenues received by Premier League clubs from TV broadcasters because they would no longer be able to sell the matches on an ‘exclusive’ basis. Currently, no games are allowed to be shown live on TV in the UK at 3pm on a Saturday – to stop attendances for other matches, particularly in the lower leagues, being affected. BSkyB won exclusive rights to Premier League football, from the league’s formation in 1992, when it bid £302million for exclusive live rights over five years. Matches such as Liverpool v Birmingham City game could soon be watched without the huge costs associated with Premier League games Football fans watch the first ever 3D broadcast of a professional football match by Sky TV. The European judgement could have dramatic consequences for pubs who pay as much as £1,000 a month for the official Sky package Last week it announced half-year net profits had jumped 59 per cent to £407million. Following a previous EU ruling, it had to give up exclusivity to live Premier League football at the beginning of the 2007-2008 season. In its most recent contract, which runs out in 2013, the Premier League sold three years of live TV rights to Sky and ESPN for an astonishing £1.782billion. BskyB paid more than £1.6billion of that. The Premier League said if the advice becomes a ruling ‘it would damage the interests of broadcasters and viewers of Premier League football across the EU’. Last night Mike Darcey, chief operating officer at BSkyB, said it was a complex issue but he hoped the ECJ would ignore the advice. Miss Kokott – one of the eight advocate generals of the European Court of Justice - said any block on this issue breached European Union laws. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) will now make a ruling on the matter later this year. The advice marked a significant step forward for Karen Murphy, a pub landlady from Porstmouth, Hampshire. She has been involved in a long-running dispute with BSkyB – the major broadcaster of live Premier League football in this country – after she was fined for using Greek broadcasts of matches. Mrs Murphy had – alternatively - argued the EU single market should let her use any European provider. Last night, competition lawyer Becket McGrath said the announcement was potentially momentous, in particular for the pub business which has seen the cost of showing live football spiral in recent years. He said: ‘There are a number of steps still to go but potentially every publican in the country will be saying why should I be paying several grand to the official broadcasters when I can just buy one of these cards for the price of a Greek subscription. It blows a hole in the way rights are exploited. It’s incredibly significant.’ BSkyB and ESPN have the exclusive broadcast rights to live Premier League football in the UK, with the Rupert Murdoch-owned company having the lion’s share. Miss Kokott said: ‘The exclusivity agreement relating to transmission of football matches are contrary to European Union law.’ ‘(The) exclusivity rights in question have the effect of partitioning the internal market into quite separate national markets, something which constitutes a serious impairment of the freedom to provide services.’ Kokott said the ‘economic exploitation of the [TV] rights is not is not undermined by the use of foreign decoder cards as the corresponding charges have been paid for those cards.’ ‘Whilst those charges are not as high as the charges imposed in the UK there is ... no specific right to charge different prices for a work in each member state,’ she added. Kokott said that the idea of selling on a territorial exclusivity basis was ‘tantamount to profiting from the elimination of the internal market’. She dismissed the copyright argument put forward by the Premier League that it held exclusive rights to matches broadcast to the public. ‘There are no comprehensive rights which protect the communication of a broadcast to the public where no entrance fee is charged,’ she said. If the EU advice is confirmed, selling sport, movies, or any other content, on an exclusive territory-by-territory basis within the EU may no longer be possible If the ECJ confirm Miss Kokott’s opinion – and rulings usually follow the guidance from the advocate - the price of watching live Premier League football is likely to be slashed for TV viewers as they would be able to take foreign ‘feeds.’ Miss Murphy used the Nova firm to show matches in the Red, White and Blue pub in Portsmouth as it cost just a tenth of BSkyB’s coverage. The Football Association Premier League Limited (FAPL) - the private company which represents the broadcasting interests of the 20 English Premier League clubs - brought the prosecution saying only BSkyB TV had exclusive rights to show its games in the UK. As a result, Miss Murphy had to pay nearly £8,000 in fines and costs. If the advice is confirmed, it could reduce the revenues received by Premier League clubs from TV broadcasters. Football industry experts fear that could prove detrimental to the strength of the Premier League as opposed to other European leagues – by reducing the clubs revenues. There would also be fears that attendances at matches could be reduced. Currently, no games are allowed to be shown live on TV in the UK at 3pm on a Saturday – to stop attendances for other matches, particularly in the lower leagues, being affected. BSkyB won exclusive rights to Premier League football - from the league’s formation in 1992 - when it bid £302million for the exclusive live rights over five-years. It is regarded by many industry experts as the deal that made the satellite channel. Since then, BSkyB has become a huge concern. Last week, it announced it’s half-year net profits had jumped 59 per cent to £407 million as the satellite broadcaster surpassed 10 million customers. Following an EU ruling, the firm had to give up full exclusivity to live Premier League football at the beginning of the 2007-2008 season, with ESPN taking over the contract initially won by Setanta Sports after that firm went bust. In their most recent contract, which runs out in 2013, the Premier League sold three-years of live TV rights to the two broadcasters for an astonishing £1.782billion. The Premier League yesterday said that if the advice becomes a ruling ‘it would damage the interests of broadcasters and viewers of Premier League football across the EU.’ It added that if the advocate general’s guidance was taken it would stop rights holders from marketing their properties in a way which meets the territorial and cultural demands of broadcasters. They said they hoped the ECJ would uphold current European law, which the league said was “framed to help promote, celebrate and develop the cultural differences within the EU”. The Premier League also said that if European Commission wanted to create a pan-European licensing model for sports, film and music then it must go through the proper consultative and legislative processes, not use the courts. The case at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has been about whether a rights holder such as the Premier League can license its content on a country-by-country basis. If the advice is confirmed, selling sport, movies, or any other content, on an exclusive territory-by-territory basis within the EU may no longer be possible. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1353341/Premier-League-football-matches-shown-TV-pubs-following-EU-guidance.html#ixzz1CyyV1Ffd
February 4, 201115 yr I get ESPN included with my tv package so I'm happy as I am, if thier not showing a match I want to watch I can just pick up an online stream.
February 4, 201115 yr Author I get ESPN included with my tv package so I'm happy as I am, if thier not showing a match I want to watch I can just pick up an online stream. Maybe so, but the point is that the current rules are clearly in breach of EU "free trade" laws. People should be able to subscribe to whatever broadcaster they like, if the satellite signal allows it. Sky in particularly have had it too much their way for far too long.:angry:
February 5, 201115 yr Awesome, people outsourcing internationally and bringing down an overpriced local market!
February 5, 201115 yr Sky rip people off simply because there's no competition and they shouldn't be allowed to stop people getting TV from abroad.
February 5, 201115 yr Author Sky rip people off simply because there's no competition and they shouldn't be allowed to stop people getting TV from abroad. Exactly! Vive la revolution!:P
February 5, 201115 yr Maybe so, but the point is that the current rules are clearly in breach of EU "free trade" laws. People should be able to subscribe to whatever broadcaster they like, if the satellite signal allows it. Sky in particularly have had it too much their way for far too long.:angry: Oh I don't disagree, Sky has people up against the wall when it comes to football,especially the Premiership, I very rarely will go to a pub to watch a football match though because firstly I don't like not being able to move through lack of space due to loud pint swilling men shouting at the tv and secondly it's not as though pubs broadcast Serie A matches anyway, I'm all in favour of other people enjoying watching sport at a pub and the owner not having to pay a fortune to show games.
February 5, 201115 yr Author Oh I don't disagree, Sky has people up against the wall when it comes to football,especially the Premiership, I very rarely will go to a pub to watch a football match though because firstly I don't like not being able to move through lack of space due to loud pint swilling men shouting at the tv and secondly it's not as though pubs broadcast Serie A matches anyway, I'm all in favour of other people enjoying watching sport at a pub and the owner not having to pay a fortune to show games. Unless I'm fortunate enough to be able to attend a match itself, I prefer to watch televised matches in the comfort of my own home, anyway.;)
February 5, 201115 yr Unless I'm fortunate enough to be able to attend a match itself, I prefer to watch televised matches in the comfort of my own home, anyway.;) Me too I don't particularly like watching any sporting events in a pub, and going to matches is quite a rarity for me although I'm going to the Milan Derby in April which I'm excited about.
February 5, 201115 yr Author Me too I don't particularly like watching any sporting events in a pub It was even more uncomfortable before the smoking ban came in................ and going to matches is quite a rarity for me although I'm going to the Milan Derby in April which I'm excited about. Going to Italy especially? That's impressive!
February 5, 201115 yr Oh I hated it going out to any pub or bar before the smoking ban, it made your clothes smell, hair smell and just breathing it in knowing that it's pretty bad for you, ok so I know occasional passive smoking isn't going to do much to you health wise but it was unpleasant, that said I do think it's unfair how smokers have to go outside and think there should be a seperate area inside that allows smoking, with a divide. Yes I'm going to Italy especially, I've never been to a Derby and it's meant to be a really exciting atmosphere so I'm looking forward to that.
February 5, 201115 yr Author Oh I hated it going out to any pub or bar before the smoking ban, it made your clothes smell, hair smell and just breathing it in knowing that it's pretty bad for you, ok so I know occasional passive smoking isn't going to do much to you health wise but it was unpleasant, that said I do think it's unfair how smokers have to go outside and think there should be a seperate area inside that allows smoking, with a divide. Yes I'm going to Italy especially, I've never been to a Derby and it's meant to be a really exciting atmosphere so I'm looking forward to that. Is anyone going with you?
February 5, 201115 yr Yes, my girlfriend and a friend of mine is coming too, although he won't be sitting with us!.
February 5, 201115 yr Author Yes, my girlfriend and a friend of mine is coming too, although he won't be sitting with us!. How come? Does he support the oppo?
February 5, 201115 yr Author He does, there's no helping some people:laugh3:. Let's hope you're still talking afterwards, then......................... :rolleyes:
February 6, 201115 yr It's good, the "no sat 3pm to be shown on tv" rule is outdated. And if it means taking money away from Sky the better, they have gotten away with charging silly fees for "bars" for too long.
February 6, 201115 yr Author It's good, the "no sat 3pm to be shown on tv" rule is outdated. And if it means taking money away from Sky the better, they have gotten away with charging silly fees for "bars" for too long. And homes, for that matter!:angry:
February 6, 201115 yr £10 for homes is nothing compared to the £1500 a month it's quoted some private members bars to have Sky fitted.
February 6, 201115 yr Author £10 for homes is nothing compared to the £1500 a month it's quoted some private members bars to have Sky fitted. It isn't £10 if you want the sports channels!:dozey:
February 6, 201115 yr £10 a month extra for the sports channels I should have said, the £1500 for the business account is for the basic package plus sports, non-HD.
February 6, 201115 yr Author £10 a month extra for the sports channels I should have said It's still a rip-off.:dozey:
February 6, 201115 yr Indeed it is. It's something which my family got removed last year. What's the point of paying £10 extra a month for channels we hardly ever watch.
February 6, 201115 yr Author Indeed it is. It's something which my family got removed last year. What's the point of paying £10 extra a month for channels we hardly ever watch. I ditched the sports channels ages ago. I can always find an online stream if I'm desperate to watch a live match, which is very rare. Normally only on the rare occasions Charlton matches are televised.
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