Sports Rights and the Broadcast Industry

Abstract

The increasing popularity of televised sports events in the United States and Europe has had significant effects on the broadcasting sectors and sports leagues on both sides of the Atlantic. As a result, competition authorities have shown considerable interest in the evolution of sports broadcast rights on both continents. In the United States, attention has been focused on professional and amateur (intercollegiate) leagues alike, while in Europe most attention has been given to the relationship between broadcasting and various countries' professional soccer leagues. The recent attempt by the United Kingdom's leading pay-television operator, BSkyB, to purchase the leading soccer club, Manchester United, has changed the tone if not the substance of broadcast sports rights negotiations in the United Kingdom and, perhaps, throughout Europe. This paper focuses upon the competition and efficiency issues involved in the granting of broadcast rights by sports teams or leagues and their resolution on both sides of the Atlantic. What are the consequences of collective (and exclusive) selling by sports leagues of their broadcast rights? Does the control of sports broadcast rights allow the broadcaster to leverage its position and increase its monopoly power? Can leagues foreclose entry by competitors