This text explains a ruling about radio stations broadcasting football matches from stadiums without paying fees, and how this interacts with property and free enterprise rights. The Constitutional Court decided the matter by a vote of two to nine. It follows doubts voiced by the Supreme Court in 2018 about a provision of the General Law on Audio-Visual Communication.
Radio stations have historically paid a fee of about 100 euros plus VAT to enter stadiums and broadcast football matches. The first and second parts of this arrangement date back to February 2015, when the National Court raised the payment from the 85 euros originally set in 2012. This settlement came after a Council agreement within the Communications Market Commission. The case eventually reached the Supreme Court, which had waited five years for a ruling after the issue of unconstitutionality was raised and is now resolved.
In particular, the court addressed legal doubts raised by the Constitutional Court regarding Article 19.4 of the General Law on Audio-Visual Communications, which was amended by royal decree in April 2012. The provision states that providers of radio-audio-visual communication services should have free access to broadcast live sporting events held in stadiums. Any economic compensation for exercising this right should be determined by the costs incurred and agreed upon by the involved parties.
The ruling announced on Tuesday enables the Supreme Court to judge whether the National Professional Football League stands to benefit from broadcasting rights with radio stations under conditions similar to those used with television broadcasts in the United States. This comes after a long period of review and the possibility of parallels with established TV rights.
right to information
Judge Maria Luisa Balaguer, who acted as rapporteur, concluded that free access for radio companies to stadiums could affect the property rights of providers of sporting events. The decision recognises that the right to be informed about the progress of sporting events is legitimate and important, but it must be balanced with other rights.
The Constitutional Court therefore allowed the wording of the Audio-Visual Communication Law to remain consistent with a legitimate public aim while protecting the essential contents of the rights held by event organizers. The decision also affirms that the measure does not violate freedom of business contractual freedom, because the legislator pursued a constitutionally legitimate objective: informing the public about all notable events surrounding the competition.
At the request of the National Professional Football League, the Supreme Court had appealed to the Constitutional Court in 2018, arguing that the article in question could erase and undermine the fundamental content of the right to property and free enterprise, causing a potential loss of the economic value tied to radio broadcasting rights and, by extension, to commercialization.
85 to 100 Euros per match
The origin of the petition is found in the National Professional Football League’s challenge to the decision of the National Court, which had opposed the Communications Market Commission Council’s settled rate of 85 euros per stadium, per match, per operator. This amount represented the financial compensation radios would owe to clubs.
At that time the National Court did not seek a referral to the Constitutional Court but did increase the compensation to 100 euros. The matter then moved to the Supreme Court, which settled the dispute. The judges expressed skepticism about the economics involved, noting that both football clubs and event organizers hold a recognized right to the economic exploitation of the country through broadcasting. They did not see a meaningful difference between radio and television work in this context.