27 World Cup games to be screened live at no charge
The Commission for Fair Trading's order to Melita Cable to stop blocking broadcasts received via antenna could set a serious precedent in European copyright law, according to the cable TV company.
The decision handed down last week "ignores" the copyright law that governs such transmissions, said Melita Cable head of sales and marketing Franco de Gabriele, who expressed surprise at the decision.
Melita Cable plc was last week ordered by the CFT to immediately stop exercising any rights over Italian television stations' transmissions that could be freely received by viewers in Malta via a television antenna.
The ruling, effective for three months, was delivered following a request by the director of the Office of Fair Trading for interim measures in respect of Melita. It also comes after a storm of protest from Melita subscribers over "blank screens" that prevent them from watching major sporting events such as Formula 1 races on Italian free-to-air channels. Subscribers have also complained vociferously about the prospect of the same thing happening with the FIFA World Cup.
The company is now looking into the implications of screening direct Sunday's Formula 1 race on Rai, an event which it would normally have screened only on its Sports Channel. "Melita is not the rights holder for the sporting events in question but simply a licensee that has acquired the TV rights to broadcast the events on its own channels," Mr de Gabriele said.
The rights holders, namely FIFA for the World Cup and FOM for Formula One, have been informed of the CFT's decision.
When contacted, Melita's lawyer Jean Scerri said the decision had created a chicken-and-egg situation.
"The European Commission approves the way the rights are sold. So whose ruling do we abide by? The Commission for Fair Trading or European law?"
Melita is in the meantime analysing how it can protect itself from any potential penalties imposed from overseas as a result of its abiding by the CFT's decision.
This decision has no impact on how subscribers will watch the World Cup because the company was in any case committed to showing a total of 27 games live on its Weather and Information Channel for free. These games are those being selected by Rai plus two other quarter finals.
Rai has not acquired the rights to broadcast all the 64 matches of the 2006 FIFA World Cup but only 25 matches of the event.
This means that the only way to view all the 2006 FIFA World Cup live in its entirety is through Melita Sports Channel or Melita Sports. Subscribers to these channels, both in digital and analogue, will see all 64 matches live.
Melita has also prepared a special programme on the World Cup, which it will air an hour before the start of the game of the day. Kick-Off World Cup will be conducted by Peter Paul Gauci.
"Our decision to open up a number of games to all our subscribers is a clear sign that we want our subscribers to enjoy the World Cup experience," Mr de Gabriele said.