Spanish commercial broadcaster Mediaset has been granted permission to broadcast clips of Uefa Champions League football games after the Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y La Competencia, the country’s competition regulator, ruled that matches were of “public interest to society.”
The CNMC has ruled that Mediaset will be able to broadcast clips of 90 seconds in duration for all games featuring Spanish teams, as well as the Champions League final. Mediaset will also be permitted to broadcast a separate 90-second clip summarising the action from all other Champions League games not featuring Spanish clubs.
The ruling follows a complaint lodged by Mediaset against fellow commercial broadcaster Atresmedia, which holds the free-to-air rights to the Champions League in Spain from 2015-16 to 2017-18.
The CNMC’s decision comes after the regulator in January ruled that Mediaset would be given permission to return to LaLiga matches. Mediaset cameras had been banned from Spanish top-tier matches by LaLiga after the broadcaster refused to accept conditions imposed on free-to-air broadcasters regarding limits of 90 seconds per weekend on match recaps.
LaLiga imposed the restrictions in an effort to protect the rights of public-service broadcaster TVE, which acquired free-to-air rights for the top tier for the 2015-16 season.