Cable Forum - View Single Post - General Sky Sports pricing dispute: appeal ruling looms

**Hugh** · 08-08-2012, 20:41

Good summary in the Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012...?newsfeed=true

Quote:

In a summary judgment handed down after the London stock market closed on Wednesday, the Competition Appeal Tribunal has ruled that Ofcom's core competition concern about the way the pay-TV broadcaster sold its sports channels wholesale to competitors was "unfounded".

The CAT said the media regulator misinterpreted some of the evidence that was before it when it ordered BSkyB to sell Sky Sports 1 and 2 to rivals for up to 23% less than the previous wholesale price in March 2010.

Wednesday's ruling follows a two-year legal challenge by BSkyB over market competition issues.

Mr Justice Barling said in the judgment: "The tribunal has concluded that Ofcom's core competition concern is unfounded. That concern is based on the finding to which we have referred, namely that Sky has deliberately withheld from other retailers wholesale supply of its premium channels, preferring to be entirely absent from those retailers' platforms rather than to give them wholesale access, and that in doing so Sky has been acting on strategic incentives unrelated to normal commercial considerations of revenue/profit maximisation.

"The tribunal is of the view that Ofcom has, to a significant extent, misinterpreted the evidence of these negotiations, which does not support Ofcom's conclusion. We have found a significant number of Ofcom's pivotal findings of fact in the statement to be inconsistent with the evidence."

However, the tribunal did not find in BSkyB's favour on each of the grounds that it contested.

BSkyB was unable to convince the tribunal that Ofcom misinterpreted its powers when it ordered the pay-TV company to reduce its wholesale prices for the two sports channels.