Spain’s anti-trust regulator, the Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y La Competencia (CNMC), has closed an investigation into Mediapro in relation to possible anti-competitive practices concerning the beIN Sports and beIN LaLiga pay-television channels marketed by the agency.
The CNMC opened an investigation in March 2017, specifically relating to the terms by which the channels, which broadcast LaLiga and Uefa Champions League football, are marketed to OTT operators in Spain.
The complaint was filed by Obwan Networks and Services, which sells Spanish sports content on OTT platform Opensport. At the time, the CNMC said there were “reasonable indications” of an infringement of Spanish and European competition rules, adding that proceedings could last a maximum of 18 months.
However, the regulator has now said that Mediapro has made commitments which immediately resolve the competition problems identified by the probe, meaning that a definitive judgement is not needed in the case.
The complaint had centred on Mediapro’s apparent refusal to approach carriage deals with OTT platforms in the same manner as those with traditional pay-television operators such as Telefónica. Specifically, models based on a fixed price per season.
In a statement, the CNMC said: “With the commitments presented by Mediapro, this discrimination is resolved. Specifically, it (Mediapro) will offer to OTT operators of internet pay-television in Spain, such as Opensport, a wholesale marketing model of the channels beIN Sports and beIN LaLiga under fair and non-discriminatory conditions comparable to those enjoyed by traditional operators such as Telefónica, and that take into account the scale of these new entrants.”
Mediapro currently streams beIN Sports and beIN LaLiga over its own OTT platform, beIN Connect.