Interesting for footy on TV

Feb 3 (Reuters) - Broadcasters cannot prevent consumers from using cheaper foreign satellite TV equipment to watch Premier League football matches as such a block breaches EU laws, an adviser to Europe's highest court said on Thursday.

The non-binding opinion by Advocate General Juliane Kokott at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) centres on a dispute whether a rights holder such as the Premier League can license its content on a country-by-country basis, allowing it to fully maximise the value of its rights, as it currently does.

Judges, who are expected to rule in a few months, typically back the advocate general's line in the majority of cases in the ECJ.

"The exclusivity agreement relating to transmission of football matches are contrary to European Union law," Advocate General Juliane Kokott said in her opinion.

"(The) exclusivity rights in question have the effect of partitioning the internal market into quite separate national markets, something which constitutes a serious impairment of the freedom to provide services." (Reporting by Bate Felix, writing by Foo Yun Chee, editing by Rex Merrifield)

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