Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/736806
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 9 OCTOBER 2016 11 The 2016–17 Premier League season has brought some changes to the broadcasting of matches in Malta to bring it in line with the rest of the European Economic Area (EEA). This has raised a number of questions from Maltese fans, which GO has requested the English Premier League to answer. The responses below have been provided by Paul Molnar, Director of Broadcasting at the Premier League. English Premier League Answers Questions on Broadcasting of Matches in Malta Which Premier League matches are available live within Malta? Following a decision in the European Court of Justice (QC Leisure), none of the territories within the EEA (with the exception of Malta and Cyprus until the end of last season) have been licensed by the Premier League to make live transmissions of all 380 matches per season. For several reasons, but primarily the Premier League's continuing fight against piracy and the European Commission's various digital single market initiatives, the Premier League is no longer in a position to treat Malta as a special case and make all 380 matches available for live transmission. The number of live matches offered by the Premier League for the 2016–17, 2017–18 and 2018–19 seasons is the same across all the territories within the EEA (except the UK and Ireland where fewer live matches have been sold). Each EEA live package licensee, including GO in Malta, is permitted to make a live transmission of not less than 205 Premier League matches in each of the 2016–17, 2017–18 and 2018–19 seasons with the remaining Premier League matches available for delayed transmission. Those 205 Premier League matches per season are made up of: • 168 matches selected by broadcasters in the United Kingdom for live transmission in the United Kingdom; • 32 additional matches selected by each EEA live package licensee (including GO within Malta) which that licensee believes will be most attractive to Premier League viewers in its territory; and • All matches played on the final day of each season. Depending on GO's selections of additional matches, fans in Malta are likely to be able to watch one Premier League match live at 16.00 hours CET on most Saturday afternoons. Are matches available with English commentary? The Premier League normally only licenses its rights for local language exploitation and that has been the Premier League's policy since the decision in the QC Leisure case. Therefore, with the exception of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, the Premier League does not currently authorise live commentary in the English language in any country within the EEA. However, an exception has been made for Malta which means that for the next three seasons the Premier League has granted GO the right to broadcast all its 168 matches live with English commentary on traditional broadcast platforms. What will happen on the last day of the season? As in previous seasons, the Premier League has granted GO the opportunity to broadcast all matches played on the last day of the season live. GO will make the decision on which matches are broadcast live on its platforms. Which seasons does the current Live Package agreement cover? The current agreement spans the 2016–17, 2017–18 and 2018–19 seasons. The Premier League will review the packaging of its matches within the EEA (and the rest of the world) at the appropriate time and decide how its rights should be sold for the next rights cycle, which will run from the 2019–20 season. Despite your efforts, the use of illegal IPTV continues to be widespread. Do you honestly believe that this issue can be solved? Illegal IPTV does remain a major concern however, we are pleased to note that enforcement is being taken much more seriously across Europe. This is a long term effort between the Premier League, its broadcasting partners, and the relevant authorities which is starting to deliver meaningful results. It is, in fact, becoming increasingly difficult for IPTV users to access live Premier League football. Going forward, we will remain committed to supporting legitimate broadcasters including GO in Malta who invest heavily to give their subscribers the best possible Premier League experience.