European Commission is investigating several European TV and pay-...
European Commission is investigating several European TV and pay-per-view companies and their relationships with several Hollywood studios, spokeswoman for European Commission delegation confirmed. She declined to identify companies, but said there were 2 separate investigations and both were in…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Export Compliance Daily combines U.S. export control news, foreign border import regulation and policy developments into a single daily information service that reliably informs its trade professional readers about important current issues affecting their operations.
preliminary stages. She said first was centered on duration of contracts involving one pay-TV company and studios, and 2nd involved “most-favored-nation” clauses in contracts. With such clause TV companies would commit themselves to offer higher price, which they also would do with other companies, she said. “The Commission’s concern is that such contracts might lessen competition and keep film prices artificially high in Europe,” she said. Financial Times said AOL Time Warner’s Warner Bros., Disney and Sony’s Columbia Tristar Motion Pictures were part of investigation. British Sky Bcstg. told Bloomberg News that it had been contacted by investigators.