EU Commission Accuses Sky UK and U.S. Film Studios of Breaking Antitrust Laws

lt;pgt;The EU lodged a formal Statement of Objections with Sky UK and six American film studios: Twentieth Century Fox, Warner Bros., Sony Pictures, NBCUniversal, Paramount Pictures, and Disney, on July 23rd over contracts which may be in breach of EU#039;s anti-trust laws.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;The objections are the result of an investigation conducted in order to determine if the American film studios were making agreements with European broadcasters to prevent consumers from accessing content outside the countries within which the contract was made. Contracts currently limit viewers#039; ability to watch films and other content across different territories.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;An EU anti-competitive agreement law prevents companies from limiting their services across national borders within the union. EU antitrust rules outlined in Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) prohibit anticompetitive contracts and agreements.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;The formal Statement of Objections is a result of the antitrust investigation conducted by the EU beginning in lt;a href=quot;http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-14-15_en.htmquot; rel=quot;nofollowquot;gt;January 2014lt;/agt;.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;The European Commission sent a legal lt;a href=quot;http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-15-5432_en.htmquot; rel=quot;nofollowquot;gt;Statement of Objectionslt;/agt;, a list of formal charges, to Sky UK and the U.S. film companies, stating that based on their findings, the media outlets appear to have made legal agreements that prevent Sky UK customers outside the UK and Ireland from accessing content via satellite or streaming from other EU countries. Similar agreements between the U.S. studios and other EU broadcasters make content unavailable to customers traveling in the UK or Ireland.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;By preventing this kind of territorial restriction the EU says it is working to encourage market competition between media organisations in order to benefit the European consumer. Competition between broadcast companies would cause their prices and content to be more variable, ultimately benefitting the European citizen.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;Sky commented on the commission#039;s list of objections released Thursday, saying: quot;The European commission is examining cross-border access to pay-TV services across a number of member states. As part of its ongoing enquiry, we have received a statement setting out the commission#039;s preliminary views. We will consider this and respond in due course,quot; reported the lt;a href=quot;http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/jul/23/eu-accuses-sky-and-us-studios-of-illegally-restricting-access-to-filmsquot; rel=quot;nofollowquot;gt;Guardian.lt;/agt;lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;The media broadcasters have the right to respond to the EU charges. There are no legal deadlines for the completion of an case of this kind, which in the past have continued for years.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;lt;span style=quot;color: #f05032; line-height: 20px; background-color: initial;quot;gt;Relatedlt;/spangt;lt;/pgt;