Swiss cable operator UPC welcomes the decision by competition commission COMCO against precautionary measures regarding the broadcasting of ice-hockey on its new channel MySports.
As a result, MySports will go on air as planned on September 8, 2017 exclusively on cable and will not share the signal with UPC’s competitor Swisscom. Through collaboration with 15 distribution partners, over 3 million cable households throughout Switzerland will have access to the new sports channel.
COMCO sees no reason for precautionary rulings concerning the Swiss ice-hockey broadcasting rights UPC snapped away from Swisscom’s pay-TV channel Teleclub one year ago. “This decision by COMCO does not surprise us and confirms that our path up to here has been the right one,” said Eric Tveter, CEO of UPC. “MySports is an important step towards effective competition and will break up the former unfair monopoly regarding sports rights in Switzerland.”
“It would have been paradoxical if COMCO had decided in favour of precisely the company that has abused its dominant position on the market for so many years. We are very confident that the outcome of the further investigation will be positive for us,” added Tveter.
In addition to its exclusive coverage of the Swiss ice-hockey league, MySports will also show the German football Bundesliga games through an exclusive deal recently signed with Sky Deutschland, ousting Teleclub which had been Sky’s distribution partner in Switzerland for years.