Thanks to Teleclub, ice hockey broadcasts have been available on both the cable network and Swisscom TV for ten years. UPC now aims to deny Swisscom this access. Swisscom is fighting to ensure that its almost 1.5 million TV subscribers can continue watching ice hockey and has filed a complaint to the Competition Commission (COMCO).
In the complaint submitted to the Competition Commission, Swisscom calls for the new rights holder UPC, to also make an offer to Swisscom for the continued broadcasting of ice hockey transmissions. UPC has submitted such an offer to other Swiss TV providers, but has failed to include Swisscom. Dirk Wierzbitzki, Member of the Group Executive Board and Head of Swisscom TV explains, “In the interests of our customers, we simply cannot accept this discrimination. Based on the Competition Commission order, Swisscom has an obligation to grant access to all providers. These rules of the game should apply to everyone.” In May 2016, the Competition Commission ordered Swisscom, following a complaint from cable network operators, to provide all its sport content to all providers. Swisscom contested this decision – the final judgement is still pending. However, a different situation has now arisen. So far, Teleclub transmitted the majority of games over both Swisscom TV and the cable networks. However, UPC's new plans would result in the 1.48 million households receiving Swisscom TV (as at: 31.12.2016) losing access to ice hockey as of the upcoming season. Currently, only 15 network operators with a total of 1.96 million households are planning to offer ice hockey broadcasts in the future. This represents a significant loss in coverage for the ice hockey league. It also runs the risk of many fans not having any alternative means of receiving the broadcasts.
Last year, Teleclub, as the rights holder for football broadcasts, already made Swiss providers an offer to broadcast the complete sports package. To date, however, the cable network operators have not taken up this offer. Dirk Wierzbitzki: “We have offered comprehensive ice hockey coverage over the past 10 years, building it up from nothing and turning both ice hockey and football into established televised sports within Switzerland. We are willing to be sporting on the issue, but we want fair play. We are confident that our complaint will bear fruit and we will be able to continue offering our customers full Swiss ice hockey coverage.” In all, Teleclub holds the rights for 30 different competitions, including many ice hockey leagues like the NHL or Swiss Ice Hockey Cup.