LFP TV rights (2020-2024): French Competition Authority rejects Mediapro's complaint against Canal+

The French Competition Authority (Autorité de la Concurrence) has rejected the complaint lodged by the Spanish audiovisual group Mediapro against the pay and free-TV group Canal+ "due to lack of priority," it announced on 04/10/2023 (see full decision available to download).

"In its complaint, Mediapro claimed that Canal+ group had abused its dominant position in the pay-TV distribution market by implementing various practices designed to foreclose it from the pay-TV sports channel market (unacceptable financial and commercial conditions for the distribution of its Téléfoot channel, disparaging remarks regarding its services, discrimination and loyalty offers that tie in consumers over a long period)," explained the Competition Authority.

"The Autorité considers that there is no justification for it to mobilise significant internal resources to examine Mediapro's complaint, insofar as:
• the dispute brought by Mediapro before the Commercial Court (Tribunal de commerce), which, concerned the same alleged abuses of a dominant position (judgment dated 31/01/2023)
• as the Téléfoot…