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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Fifa loses free-to-air World Cup TV battle | Fifa loses free-to-air World Cup TV battle |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Fifa and Uefa have lost an appeal against a European ruling that the World Cup and Euro Championships must be shown on free-to-air TV in the UK. | Fifa and Uefa have lost an appeal against a European ruling that the World Cup and Euro Championships must be shown on free-to-air TV in the UK. |
| In 2011, the European General Court said the UK could keep the events on a list of "protected" events of national sporting interest broadcast for free. | In 2011, the European General Court said the UK could keep the events on a list of "protected" events of national sporting interest broadcast for free. |
| It means the two tournaments cannot be sold exclusively to pay-TV firms. | It means the two tournaments cannot be sold exclusively to pay-TV firms. |
| Fifa and Uefa had appealed, after saying they could not sell the events fairly for their real value. | Fifa and Uefa had appealed, after saying they could not sell the events fairly for their real value. |
| But the European Court of Justice - Europe's Supreme Court - has now said the original decision in the General Court (formerly Court of First Instance) in 2011 was correct. | But the European Court of Justice - Europe's Supreme Court - has now said the original decision in the General Court (formerly Court of First Instance) in 2011 was correct. |
| The BBC and ITV had already secured the rights to broadcast the football World Cup finals in 2014, and they were guaranteed of being shown free-to-air. | The BBC and ITV had already secured the rights to broadcast the football World Cup finals in 2014, and they were guaranteed of being shown free-to-air. |
| But there had been fears that moves towards a pay-TV model would have been in place in time for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, should Fifa and Uefa have won their case. | But there had been fears that moves towards a pay-TV model would have been in place in time for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, should Fifa and Uefa have won their case. |
| The court said it "dismisses the appeals brought by Fifa and Uefa in their entirety". | The court said it "dismisses the appeals brought by Fifa and Uefa in their entirety". |
| 'Major importance' | |
| Even if Fifa had won its case, World Cup finals games featuring England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland would have remained free to watch in the UK, as would the opening games, semi-finals and the final. | |
| But it was the other dozens of games featuring non-UK teams that Fifa was disputing - and had argued that matches such as these should not be shown for free in the UK. | |
| Fifa and Uefa had argued that the current set-up interfered with their ability to sell television rights at the best commercial price they could get in the marketplace. | |
| However, the UK argued that all the 64 World Cup finals matches and 31 European Championship matches were an important part of the list of national sporting "crown jewels", that have to be made available to the whole population to watch on terrestrial television. | |
| And the court agreed, saying that European states were able to select broadcast events, "which they deem to be of major importance for society" and show them for free. | |
| Otherwise it "would deprive a substantial proportion of the public of the possibility of following those events on free television". |