A Free Market for Satellite Pay-TV Services

Since satellite TV has been around, viewers have been restricted to subscribe to an alternative satellite TV provider from another country. This is due to private contractual agreements between right holders and broadcasters to only allow rights of programmes within each country and restrict viewing to viewers (even when they are prepared to pay fees) from outside the country.

The restriction however prevents an internal market without frontiers and competition throughout the EU. Customers have to rely on the grey market to obtain subscription cards and decoders from different countries and they are at risk of their viewing card being turned off if the broadcaster finds out it is used outside their country.

There is also a court case about to be heard next summer in the European Court of Justice involving pub landlords who show Premier League games via foreign satellite channels in the UK. They are being prosecuted on behalf of Sky and the Premier League due to the exclusivity of rights in each country.

However, the term exclusivity undermines competition rules in which the broadcasters should not enforce the service to consumers living within the country and they should not restrict the services to consumers living outside the country.

This petition is to fight for the freedom of the satellite skies and to open competition for consumers to have a fair choice of satellite services. Also the petition will be ideal to present to the court to show there is a high demand for a free market of satellite pay-TV services.