The Sporting Exemption of Broadcasting Rights: Why and How Does EU Law Exempt the Collective Sale of Broadcasting Rights by UEFA?

There are two ways to sell broadcasting rights to a club competition. The first is individual selling, whereby clubs sell the rights to their home games to broadcasters and negotiate prices individually. The second is collective selling, meaning the rights are sold as one bundle to broadcasters and the revenue is then distributed among the clubs according to the criteria set in the relevant agreement. The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) uses the latter, which in principle constitutes a restriction of competition under European Union (EU) law, as it forecloses the market for broadcasting rights. Yet the practice is exempted from ordinary competition law. This was decided by the European Commission more than 20 years ago in a decision that put forward the arguments of efficiency gains and solidarity redistribution. However, as has been made clear in the recent European Super League judgment, the arguments are of a theoretical nature and the decision is based on a poor and incomplete analysis. The benefits of the collective sale of broadcasting rights by UEFA may or may not outweigh the disadvantages caused, but the fact that the answer is still highly unclear represents a failure by EU law to respect its own competition law, and to justify any exemptions to it.