Belgian court approves sale of television rights despite no call for tenders
On 18 December 2024, the Brussels Commercial Court (Tribunal de l'Entreprise / Ondernemingsrechtbank) ruled that the sale between Infront Sports & Media AG (the rights holder) and RTL (a Belgian television broadcaster), of the broadcasting rights to certain cycling events for the 2025-2028 seasons did not infringe EU competition rules, despite the lack of a formal tender procedure.
In its judgment, the Court found (i) that Infront did not abuse its dominant position by concluding the sale without a tender procedure, as it did not hold a dominant position on the relevant market; and (ii) that the sale of the broadcasting rights without a tender procedure resulted from Infront’s decision alone and that there was no indication or evidence of collusion with RTL that would amount to an infringement of Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
Background
In 2023, Infront and RTL entered into an agreement for the sale of the broadcasting rights to certain cycling events (the Package) for the French-speaking part of Belgium.
As this transaction was concluded without a formal tender procedure, which would have allowed competing broadcasters to also bid for the acquisition of these rights, the Belgian public French-speaking broadcaster RTBF (RTL’s main competitor) initiated legal proceedings seeking the annulment of the agreement between Infront and RTL. In particular, RTBF alleged (i) that Infront had committed an abuse of dominant position by organising the sale without an adequate tender procedure and (ii) that Infront and RTL had entered into an anti-competitive agreement in violation of Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) by agreeing among themselves to conclude the transaction without a tender procedure.
According to RTBF, since most of the cycling events included in the Package were well-known cycling events organised in Flanders (in particular the Tour of Flanders, Gent-Wevelgem or the Amstel Gold Race), the relevant market had to be defined as the market for the broadcasting rights to classical Flemish cycling events (the so-called “Flanders Classics”). As the Package included most of these “Flanders Classics”, Infront would have allegedly held a de facto dominant position on this market.
Infront and RTL, on the other hand, argued that, despite the fact that the Package consisted mainly of classic Flemish cycling events, these events belonged to a broader category of events on the professional cycling calendar. In particular, the same professional riders and cycling teams that take part in these “Flanders Classics” also take part in other events such as Milan-San Remo, the Tour de France or Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
The Court’s ruling
In its judgment, the Court sided with Infront and RTL and found that the relevant market consisted of all men’s road cycling events broadcast on free-to-air French-language television in Belgium. As Infront only held the rights to approximately 16% of the events in this market, the Court concluded that Infront did not have a dominant position and that the allegation that Infront had abused its dominant position was therefore unfounded.
The Court also dismissed RTBF’s second plea in law, alleging infringement of Article 101 TFEU. In particular, the Court concluded that the sale of the broadcasting rights without a tender procedure was Infront’s decision alone and that there was no indication or evidence of collusion with RTL in this respect.
