Media & Sport
CASE has a long track record of successfully advising companies in media and sports sectors.
We have been involved in numerous assignments providing competition, regulatory and commercial advice to media companies, spanning terrestrial, fixed, cable, satellite and mobile networks, programme providers, free and pay TV operators, and broadband networks. We have also undertaken assignments in the print (newspaper and magazines), radio, Internet, advertising, and programming sectors.
CASE economists have assisted broadcasters and platform operators to respond to competition and regulatory investigations. These have ranged from considerations of market definition, pricing and access, to more complex matters concerning the nature of duopolistic competition and the abuse of dominance surrounding programme acquisition and access arrangements.
CASE has assisted on a range of competition and other issues involving league sports and sports programming. These have spanned the exclusivity and duration of programme rights, collective purchase arrangements, sports league structure and governance, and the establishment of new sport leagues.
CASE is frequently called in to advise on commercial and transactional issues in the media and sports sectors. Drawing from managerial experience in the media industry, we have advised media companies and banks on strategy, due diligence and other commercial issues such as advertising revenue forecasts and pay TV take-up.
Recent assignments include:
Competition issues
- competitive assessment of UK independent TV programme quotas and terms of trade
- clearance of ITV networking arrangements in the UK
- competition between cable and ADSL network providers in the Netherlands
- competitive analysis of sports channel access to satellite platform in Australia
- competition issues surrounding satellite uplinking joint venture in Scandinavia
- competitive analysis of UK newspapers
- market analysis of UK music and CD market
- merger of music publishers
- competitive analysis of copyright issues in UK historical online database sector
- assessment of collective buying of sports rights by EBU through Eurosport
- Abuse of dominance in preventing the establishment of new snooker tournament series
- competitive issue of ownership of multiple football club
Regulatory issues
- development of the market for mobile content
- economic assessments of double and triple ‘play’ bundling of pay, telephony, and Internet services
- cash bid tenders for terrestrial TV license applications
- media and cross-media ownership rules
- economic and financial impact of additional FM radio licences in Australia
- due diligence of satellite channel business plans
- advice to a consortium of broadcasters on acquisition of premium sports rights
- assessing broadband business plans
- advertising revenue forecasts
- pay TV business plans
- pricing electronic databases
- strategy for on-flight entertainment airline business
- strategy for national radio station
- strategy for proposed European Super League
- due diligence in music and pay TV business
- forecasts for UK National Lottery bid