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CMS Hasche Sigle secures central marketing of media rights of German football leagues until 2009

19/01/2005

On 19 January 2005 the EU Commission approved the central marketing by the German Football League (" Ligaverband") of TV rights and other media rights (UMTS and Internet) of the Bundesliga and the 2nd Bundesliga. Dr Harald Kahlenberg and Kai Neuhaus from the Stuttgart office of CMS Hasche Sigle represented the Ligaverband e.V. and the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH (DFL) with the assistance of Dr Thomas Summerer, the head of their in-house legal department, in the proceedings before the EU Commission.

This is the first ever commitment decision pursuant to Art. 9 (1) of EC Regulation No. 1/2003 which has applied since 01.05.2004. The marketing model agreed between the EU Commission and the DFL permits the Ligaverband and the DFL to continue the central marketing of the Bundesliga and the 2nd Bundesliga on television until 2009 at least and secures the most important source of income for the next years. In return, the clubs in the Bundesliga and the 2nd Bundesliga will be granted certain marketing rights for TV, Internet and UMTS commencing in the 2006/2007 football season. The agreement's main aim is to sustain sportive competition by securing appropriate financial funding of clubs in the Bundesliga and the 2nd Bundesliga, whether large or small.

The decision of the EU Commission marks the end of discussions lasting many years relating to the central marketing of TV rights of football matches in Germany after the Federal Court of Justice upheld in December 1997 the prohibition by the Federal Cartel Office on central marketing of the UEFA Cup TV rights.

The commitment decision of the EU Commission could become a model case for central marketing of TV rights and other media rights of national football leagues in other EU Member States. There are other comparable proceedings pending before the EU Commission relating to the Premier League in England and Wales and the first football league in France on which a decision has not yet been made.


Legal advice and representation

Ligaverband e.V. and DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH
Dr Thomas Summerer, head of in-house legal department
CMS Hasche Sigle, Stuttgart
Dr Harald Kahlenberg
Kai Neuhaus
Deutscher Fußball-Bund e.V.
Hans Hellmann, Cologne


Contact CMS Hasche Sigle:
Dr Harald Kahlenberg
Tel.: +49 (711) 97 64-103
E-mail: Harald.Kahlenberg@cms-hs.com



Background

CMS Hasche Sigle is one of the leading German law firms with more than 420 lawyers. It covers the entire area of commercial law and provides legal advice to major German and international companies from a wide spectrum of industry.

CMS Hasche Sigle operates at all the major business centres. It has offices in Berlin, Cologne, Duesseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich, Stuttgart, Chemnitz, Dresden, Brussels, Belgrade, Moscow, Prague and Shanghai.

CMS Hasche Sigle is a partnership of lawyers and tax consultants; for register details / list of partners see www.cms-hs.com .

CMS Hasche Sigle is a member of CMS, an alliance of leading European law firms. With over 1,900 lawyers and tax consultants and around 3,700 support staff we serve our clients at 56 commercial centres in 24 countries in and outside Europe.

Our offices in central and eastern Europe and China provide our clients with a stepping stone into some of the world's most important growth markets.

For further information on CMS Hasche Sigle see www.cms-hs.com and on the CMS alliance see www.cmslegal.com