The Court of Justice of the European Union decided Tuesday that "in cases involving events that generate a great deal of public interest, such as certain sporting events, the cost exclusive broadcast holders charge for rights to air short news clips can be limited," according to Manuel Weis of QUOTEN METER. The case arises from a "dispute between Sky Österreich and Austrian public broadcaster ORF." Sky "acquired exclusive rights to broadcast certain Europa League football matches." The Austrian communications regulator, KommAustria, ruled that Sky "could not charge ORF for its use of the footage beyond any additional costs it incurred in providing ORF with access to its satellite signal." The CJEU said in its ruling that Sky "had to provide free access to the images because there were no additional costs involved in providing ORF with such access." The short news reports "may only be produced for general news programs and not, for example, programs serving entertainment purposes. In addition, the short news reports are not allowed to exceed 90 seconds (QUOTEN METER, 1/22).
The Court of Justice ruling: (English) (German) (Spanish) (French).
