Ruling could cut cost of watching football at home

FOOTBALL is coming home, for less.

Europe’s highest court has ruled that it is not illegal for householders to buy set-top box decoder cards from foreign broadcasters, meaning people could watch Premier League matches for less at home.

The ruling could also have huge implications for the pub trade, which pays higher commercial rates to screen matches, with the Licensed Vintners Association (LVA) contacting Sky yesterday to arrange a meeting on the effects of the ruling.

The decision was made by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) after a publican from Portsmouth in Britain had used a Greek decoder card to show Premier League matches at a fraction of the cost of a Sky commercial subscription.

In its ruling, the ECJ said the stopping of the “import, sale or use of foreign decoder cards is contrary to the freedom to provide services, and cannot be justified either in light of the objective of protecting intellectual property rights or by the objective of encouraging the public to attend football stadiums”.

The ruling must be ratified by British courts, but in effect, means householders would no longer be breaking the law by accessing Premier League football using a similar system.

However, the situation is more complicated for publicans, who typically pay between €800 and €1,000 a month on annual contracts with Sky, Setanta and ESPN to screen sporting events.

The Vintners’ Federation of Ireland said it would be taking legal advice as to the implications of the ruling, while the Licensed Vintners’ Association, which represents Dublin pubs, said the ECJ ruling was “welcomed”, and had “potential” but that aspects of it needed to be clarified.

The ECJ said a pub transmission was a “communication to the public”, and required Premier League permission. However, it said the match itself was not covered by copyright protection. Were the Premier League and the broadcaster, such as Sky, to include enough copyrighted material on-screen, it would ensure that it would be illegal to screen it in a commercial setting.

Sky has agents and an agreement with the Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) to inspect pubs to ensure they only screen matches if they have a contract. Those caught screening matches illegally face court actions and fines of up to €10,000, with rates backdated to the start of the football season. IMRO was unavailable for comment.

Sky imposed a price freeze this summer, but in recent years the cost of screening matches has risen by between 5% and 8%. With some matches now broadcast by Setanta — at a lower rate — the cost of covering all games has risen.

Donal O’Keeffe of the LVA said many pubs are already signed up with Sky and other broadcasters for the 2011-12 season, meaning any change would only take effect next year.