Orange is presently appealing the he decision of Paris’s Tribunal de commerce, which ruled that its strategy of offering its Orange Sport channel only to Orange ADSL subscribers was anti-competitive. If it fails in its appeal, Orange said that it will cease marketing operations for Orange Sport, the channel that carries the matches.
It also said that it is prepared to drop its deal with league body, the Ligue de football professionnel, for the top Saturday night Ligue 1 match. Orange said that it bid for the rights on the understanding that it would be allowed to keep exclusivity.
The LFP lawyers said that it was not possible for Orange to pull out of the deal before its expiry at the end of the 2011-12 season, but the LFP is nonetheless supporting Orange in its appeal, pleading that it is a case of irreversible damage for the operator.
The Paris tribunal agreed last month with rival operators Neuf and SFR that Orange’s exclusive hold over Orange Sport was anti-competitive. The court gave Orange until March 24 to sublicense the channel to its rivals or be subject to a fine of €50,000 per day. Orange’s appeal date has been set for March 31st, one week after the day when the penalty kicks in.
The ruling has raised questions over Orange Sport’s future buying strategy. Director of content Xavier Couture told L’Equipe that Orange is “waiting in effect for the decision from the court of appeal in order to know what our capacity is for buying rights”.
Orange recently acquired the rights for the 2010 and 2012 Africa Cup of Nations and was reported to have made a €3 million a year offer for German football’s Bundesliga rights, more than double the €1.3 million paid at present by rival Canal Plus.