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Mediaset to appeal ECJ football ruling

October 5, 2011

From Branislav Pekic in Rome

Italian broadcaster Mediaset has announced that it will appeal against the decision of the EU Court of Justice, which said European countries mustn’t ban decoders for services available anywhere in Europe.

Speaking on the sidelines of a conference on the protection of intellectual rights, Mediaset president, Fedele Confalonieri, said they are still examining the ruling, but that it puts a question mark over exclusive TV rights. He added there will be numerous appeals, not only on part of Mediaset, but by the entire sector.

Mediaset operates a pay digital terrestrial TV service (Mediaset Premium) that offers viewers live Serie A with a pre-paid card and without subscription. It recently paid €800 million for the DTT rights for 12 Serie A clubs, over the next three seasons.

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