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 The Commission said in a statement its preliminary view was that
each of the six studios and Sky UK had agreed contractual
restrictions preventing EU consumers outside Britain and Ireland
from accessing films shown by the broadcaster.
The six U.S. film studios are Disney, NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of
Comcast Corp, Paramount Pictures, part of Viacom, Sony, Twentieth
Century Fox and Warner Brothers.
Certain clauses eliminate cross-border competition between pay-TV
broadcasters and partition the market along national borders, the
Commission said. In the absence of convincing justification, they
would be serious violations of EU rules prohibiting anti-competitive
agreements.
"European consumers want to watch the pay-TV channels of their
choice regardless of where they live or travel in the EU," said EU
Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager.
"Our investigation shows that they cannot do this today."
The Commission is seeking to overhaul the continent's digital market
to boost growth and catch up with the United States and Africa.
Moves involve ending mobile roaming charges and reforming copyright
rules to widen access to online audiovisual content.
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The Commission has sent Sky UK and the studios a "statement of
objections". They have the right to reply in writing or request a
hearing before the Commission takes a final decision.
The charge follows an investigation launched in January 2014 into
licensing agreements between major U.S. film studios and the largest
European pay-TV broadcasters, such as Sky UK, Canal Plus, Sky
Italia, Sky Deutschland and Spain's DTS.
(Reporting By Philip Blenkinsop, editing by David Evans)
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