A Spanish judge has ordered Sogecable to pay compensation of €43.94 million for its refusal to offer its premium channels to the cable operator Auna.
The judge in the Madrid district court ruled Sogecable, controlled by the media giant Prisa, had been in breach of content for its refusal to sell movie channel Gran Vía and Cable Sport to the cablenet in contravention of an arbitration by the regulator Comisión del Mercado de las Telecomunicaciones (CMT).
The CMT decision followed the merger of Sogecable’s Digital+ satellite platform with that of its former rival Via Digital in 2002. The merged company had been obliged to make available premium content to its competitors such as Auna, which was subsequently acquired by ONO.
An agreement was reached in 2007, but after an initial acceptance by Auna, Sogecable looked to change the terms of the agreement including the imposition of minimum guarantees.
The judge said there to have already been a contract in place, but Sogecable did not supply the channels, leading to the contract’s termination and the imposition of the fine.
