THE PREMIER LEAGUE AND E.U. LAW

Karen Murphy, the landlady of the Red, White and Blue pub in Portsmouth, has just done European football afficionados (of which there are many) a big favour. In 2006, she was fined for showing live Premier League matches accessed from a Greek service provider and using a decoder, which was cheaper than that available in the U.K., usually via Sky. Selling the rights to an exlusive provider in each country was one of the main ways in which the Premier League has massively increased the value of its brand (and one of the main ways in which Sky has come to dominate U.K. sports television).

Ms. Murphy appealed; and, since the case involved matters of E.U. law, it was referred to the European Court of Justice. On the specific point at issue, Ms. Murphy won hands down. The single market really is a single market, and suppliers can't ban consumers from accessing cheaper foreign suppliers by blocking their decoders. The ECJ comes in for a lot of stick at times, notably from the U.K., so it's worth noting this case. This was a victory for the little man (well, woman) and his pleasure against big businesses trying to restrict access to that pleasure; and will almost certainly result in a change in which the Premier League sells its television rights abroad.

However, not everything is clearcut. Although the sport itself can't be protected by copyright (which would otherwise have trumped the single market rules), the ECJ ruled that other parts of the broadcast, such as graphics, music and logos, can be. So if the Premier League choose to transmit live games with these things incorporated - as they will - you still need permission to show foreign broadcasts.

The case now comes back to the U.K. courts, who will have to disentangle the respect merits of the diametrically opposing rulings on access and content. Let's hope the judge in question is an Arsenal supporter, who likes to watch football in his local pub.

Walter Blotscher