Competition Rules and Sports Broadcasting Rights in Europe

Marios Papaloukas, University of Peloponnese

Abstract

Sports broadcasting is among the most popular of television programmes. The viewers watching such programmes are usually the ones with the highest purchase capacity, therefore the audience is of particular interest to publicists, as it is considered a very special audience not easily attracted by other programmes. As a result, the competition on publicity transmission during these programmes as well as on acquiring TV broadcasting rights to sports events is much higher. However Sports television broadcasting is of a very individual nature in comparison with the broadcast of other events. In addition to that it is a common practice that sports broadcasting rights are offered for sale by each sport federation as a package. In this way the clubs do not compete with each other in order to sell this product and the competition between possible purchasers of these rights is correspondingly restrained.