Germany’s antitrust regulator said on Tuesday that it was investigating whether Sky Deutschland's streaming deal with DAZN to air Champions League matches was "in accordance with competition law," according to Douglas Busvine of REUTERS. Sky Deutschland is owned by Sky, which was taken over by Comcast in a $40B deal. DAZN, part of Len Blavatnik’s Perform Group, is positioning itself as the "Netflix of sport." The German Federal Cartel Office said in a statement announcing the investigation that Sky acquired rights from UEFA to broadcast all Champions League games from '18-21. It then reached an agreement with DAZN to share the slate of matches, meaning that starting this season, no Champions League games can be watched on terrestrial TV in Germany. Cartel Office President Andreas Mundt said, "We are investigating whether and in what form the cooperation between the two companies was agreed, and whether it has served or hindered the interests of consumers" (REUTERS, 10/16). ADVANCED TELEVISION reported as Germany's leading pay-TV provider, Sky is "potentially subject to particular restrictions under competition law when cooperating with competitors." The agreement between Sky Deutschland and Perform "could contribute to further consolidation of Sky's market position." Several matches of German and other clubs are now exclusively available OTT, and "there is no more free TV broadcasting of Champions League live matches in Germany" (ADVANCED TELEVISION, 10/16).
