EU opens antitrust case against 6 major US movie studios

“European consumers want to watch the pay-TV channels of their choice regardless of where they live or travel in the EU”, EU Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said.

The Commission, which opened a probe into the seven companies and their territorial contracts in January 2014, found clauses requiring Sky to block access to films through its online or satellite pay-TV services to consumers outside Britain and Ireland – so-called “geo-blocking”.

The commission sent a statement of objections to the companies, which they can reply to before the regulator makes a final decision.

“Our investigation shows that they can not do this today”.

The EU has accused six top Hollywood studios and the Sky TV pay channel of breaching antitrust laws, in the latest salvo in Brussels’ efforts to break down digital barriers in Europe.

The commission also said it was still examining similar cases involving Canal Plus of France, Sky Italia of Italy, Sky Deutschland of Germany and DTS of Spain.

The six U.S. film studios are Disney (DIS.N), NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O), Paramount Pictures, part of Viacom (VIAB.O), Sony (6758.T), Twentieth Century Fox (FOXA.O) and Warner Brothers (TWC.N).

The EU says the studios and Sky unfairly prevent consumers located elsewhere in Europe accessing pay-TV services available in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Confirming that it had received the EU objections, NBC Universal said “we will have the opportunity to formally respond to the statement and are communicating constructively with the European Commission”.

The EU said this strategy is against the bloc’s single market principle, because it prevents cross-border competition by chopping the TV market into small pieces along the national borders.