The televising of games at 3pm on Saturdays has been banned on the grounds that it would hit lower league attendances. However, a report pubished by the EU has questioned whether the restriction can be legally upheld, given that it is also imposed on other European broadcasters.
A report from the Asser International Sports Law Centre in the Netherlands says that the blackout ‘sits at odds with the European Commission’s aspirations to promote cross-border access to audiovisual content.’
The televising of games at 3pm on Saturdays has been banned on the grounds that it would hit lower league attendances. However, a report pubished by the EU has questioned whether the restriction can be legally upheld, given that it is also imposed on other European broadcasters.
A report from the Asser International Sports Law Centre in the Netherlands says that the blackout ‘sits at odds with the European Commission’s aspirations to promote cross-border access to audiovisual content.’
The report also questions whether removing the restriction would hit lower league attendances: ‘The empirical research on the impact of live broadcasting on stadium attendance is far from conclusive. While some studies find a statistically significant effect of broadcasting on attendance, others conclude that the effect is negligible or zero.’