BRUSSELS (Dow Jones)--European Union lawmakers are backing a law to force top soccer teams to share lucrative television broadcast rights with less successful clubs.
The law will help end a ruinous cycle where league champions command the highest royalty fees and are able to pay for top talent that, in turn, ensures perennial dominance while poorer teams languish, members of the European Parliament in Brussels said Wednesday.
A majority of parliamentarians are in favor of the law, according to Ivo Belet, a Belgian MEP. Belet and other lawmakers Wednesday met with executives from European soccer teams and league officials to discuss the revenue-sharing law and other commercial aspects of soccer.
A collective rights system is used in the English and German leagues, but top teams in Spain and Italy negotiate TV deals individually. In Italy, the five top-ranked teams take 75% of the country's TV revenue, members of parliament said.
E.U. regulators used to oppose collective rights deals, citing antitrust concerns, but in recent years, regulators have found revenue sharing can enhance competition among teams, which ultimately benefits consumers, said Alasdair Bell, an expert in sports antirust law with Hammonds in Manchester.
"You need these socialist structures in sport because it creates a balance to keep things interesting for spectators," Bell said.
A collective rights system likely "will need some sort of (antitrust) exemption," said Eoin Ryan, an Irish MEP. Brussels regulators previously have granted similar exemptions have been granted for German and English league broadcast rights.
Even with regulator exemptions for profit-sharing, soccer leagues have faces scrutiny from Brussels regulators. England's Premier League last year grappled with the European Commission until a deal was reached to end British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC's (BSY) exclusive live broadcast deal. Lawmakers Wednesday said the Parliament plans to endorse the Commission's deal with the Premier League.
