IRISH PUBLICANS paying Sky Sports charges could be in line for lower bills if a preliminary ruling by the European Court of Justice is upheld by the full court.
The ruling found in favour of a British pub landlord who was fined for showing Premier League matches from a Greek broadcaster.
In a recommendation to the court, advocate general Juliane Kolkott said restricting the sale and viewing of sports rights to one country is “contrary to European Union law”.
The landlord at the centre of the case, Karen Murphy, who runs the Red, White and Blue pub in Portsmouth, was fined £8,000 (€9,400) in 2006 for showing Premier League matches using a satellite card from Greek broadcaster Nova.
The English Premier League could be faced with heavy losses if the preliminary judgment is supported by a full ruling.
Along with most other national football organisations, it auctions the rights to broadcast live matches on a country-by-country basis.
In a statement last night, the Premier League said the recommendation, if supported by judges, would prevent rights holders across Europe from making deals with TV companies who want to broadcast only in their own countries.
Forty-five thousand publicans in the UK and Ireland have Sky Sports subscriptions, though the broadcaster does not give a separate breakdown for Ireland.
They pay 12 different rates, depending on the size of their premises and the number of channels received.
The basic package increased last July from €278 to €310 per month for the smallest pubs, an increase of 14.7 per cent; while it rose from €672 to €775 per month for the largest ones.
The Ultimate package now costs between €389 and €945 per pub.
Noting the advocate general’s decision, the chief executive of the Vintners’ Federation of Ireland, Pádraig Cribben, said: “While we would welcome [the] announcement, we are mindful that at the moment it is only a non-binding opinion.
“However we are keeping a close eye on developments and look forward with anticipation to the European Court of Justice ruling on the matter later this year.”