United Kingdom: Ofcom rejects BT Sport move to force Sky Sports wholesale deal

Ofcom, the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries, has rejected an appeal from British telecommunications group and pay-TV provider BT to force rival British Sky Broadcasting to agree a wholesale deal for the Sky Sports channels, the authority announced on the 31/07/2013.

Sky Sports and BT Sport are the two exclusive broadcasters of the Premier League in the UK for the 2013-2016 period. BT Sport is a new entrant to UK's pay-TV market, and the channel was officially launched on the 01/08/2013.

On the 24/05/2013, Ofcom received a complaint from BT which alleges that the terms on which Sky offered wholesale supply of Sky Sports 1&2 to BT’s YouView platform amount to an abuse of dominance. The complaint alleges that Sky is making wholesale supply of Sky Sports 1&2 to BT’s YouView platform conditional on BT wholesaling BT Sport channels to Sky for retail on Sky’s satellite platform.

BT also applied for interim measures, meaning that it could propose Sky Sports channels to its subscribers before the start of the new Premier League season on the…