Overview
Brexit has been dominating the headlines around the world, but from a legal perspective, the short term impact is that nothing has changed and we will continue to advise our clients on adhering to EU law until such a time as we’re no longer part of the bloc. We have drafted a short paper on what we think the possible impact could be; to find out more, visit the Brexit section on our website.
England falling out of the European Championships to Iceland was a shock to many fans, and a delight to others, but we’ve also seen major developments in the media world in the US.
Media
In the US, there has been a lot of chatter between media companies and the FCC (the Federal Communications Commission) around the regulations regarding the issue of net neutrality, an issue of contention for over a decade. The U.S. Court of Appeals in D.C. rejected a petition by broadband providers to review the FCC’s decision last year to reclassify the internet as a regulated phone-like telecommunications service - as opposed to a mostly unregulated information system.
A number of opinions and letters have since been raised so it’s unlikely to debate is over, but we’ll keep you updated via our MSE Blog on any new developments.
Sport
We’re also in for a treat this summer after a major US operator announced it was planning to stream 85 hours of Rio Olympic coverage in Virtual Reality (VR). The coverage won’t be live, and it will only work with specific headsets and smart phones, but it’s a very interesting development in the VR world and how it’s crossing over into sports coverage.
In other sporting news, the European State Aid Law has reached professional football clubs. Following divers in-depth investigations, the Commission has recently concluded that public support measures granted by Spain to seven professional football clubs gave those clubs an unfair advantage over other clubs in breach of EU State aid rules. As a result, Spain has to recover the illegal State aid amounts from the seven clubs, namely FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Valencia, Athletic Bilbao, Atlético Osasuna, Elche and Hercules. On the same day the Commission found that four Dutch football clubs (FC Den Bosch, MVV Maastricht, NEC Nijmegen and Willem II, Tilburg) also received aid by the State but that such support is compliant with EU State aid rules. Professional sport clubs and operators have to thoroughly review their contractual relationship between with public authorities before bearing in mind the background of European State aid law as granting unlawful State aid has crucial consequences as underlying contracts are generally void. This topic was covered in more detail on the MSE Blog.
Entertainment
A survey by The Boston Consulting Group has found that one in ten Gen Y in Saudi Arabia do not watch TV, instead they choose digital platforms. This is seen as a stark move away from traditional platforms, especially when mixed with the fact that over half also avoid listening to the radio. The report also highlights the struggle print media in Saudi is having establishing a digital footprint that attracts the younger generations.
MSE blog updates
These are the most popular of the new posts on our Media, Sport and Entertainment blog:
