Austrian commercial broadcaster Puls 4 has complained to the Medienbehörde KommAustria, the country’s media regulator, about public-service broadcaster ORF’s deal to acquire rights for the Uefa Champions League European club football tournament.
Puls 4, which was outbid by ORF for the rights for three seasons, from 2015-16 to 2017-18, says that the public-service broadcaster paid excessively for the rights – contravening a clause in its agreement with the government.
Puls 4 chief executive Markus Breitenecker said that ORF will generate a “significant negative return” on its “significantly inflated” rights fee, although financial details have not been publicly disclosed, according to the Nachtrichten news website.
When ORF acquired the rights, the broadcaster’s general director, Alexander Wrabetz, said that the cost of the deal was “economically well justified”. He added: “For ORF it was particularly important…to acquire an adequate package, but with sensitivity to the competitive situation on the Austrian TV market. The exclusive free-television rights to the live game were imperative, but the package provides the opportunity for domestic competitors in the free-and pay-television sector to acquire Champions League packages from us, for example, more live games, highlights and news coverage.”
Puls 4 is the current broadcaster of free-to-air coverage of the Champions League in Austria.