The Autoridade da Concorrência, Portugal’s competition regulator, has said that it will undertake a “thorough investigation” into the proposed new ownership model of pay-television broadcaster Sport TV.
In December, telecommunications company Portugal Telecom agreed a deal to acquire a 25-per-cent stake in Sport TV, with the Zon Multimedia and Sportinveste media companies retaining 25-per-cent and 50-per-cent stakes, respectively.
The transaction was subject to the approval of the regulator, but the watchdog has now said that it will investigate the implications of the deal for “the premium sports broadcasting rights market” across all platforms.
In June, Mário Figueiredo, president of the Portuguese Liga, said that the football league would appeal to the European Commission if the regulator refused to block the deal.
Figueiredo said that the transaction would further strengthen the “dominant” position of the Olivedesportos agency, which is controlled by businessman Joaquim Oliveira, who is also a co-owner of Sport TV.