Corte Suprema confirma multa histórica al CDF (TNT Sports) por abuso de posición dominante - La Tercera

Key Ruling

Chile's Supreme Court confirmed a significant fine against TNT Sports (formerly Canal del Fútbol, CDF) for abusing its dominant market position in broadcasting Chilean professional football. The fine amounts to over US$28 million, the highest penalty ever levied for anti-competitive behavior in the country.

Illegal Practices

The court upheld the prohibition of several business practices deemed anti-competitive by the Fiscalía Nacional Económica (FNE), Chile's National Economic Prosecutor's Office. These practices included:

• Setting minimum resale prices.
• Restricting promotions offered by cable operators.
• Demanding minimum guaranteed subscribers.
• Requiring cable operators to distribute the basic CDF signal to all their clients as a condition to access premium signals.
• Tying the sale of CDF's three channels together (basic, premium, and HD).

The court found that these practices hindered competition and harmed consumers.

Background of the Dispute

The FNE initiated the case in 2020, alleging four infractions by CDF: abuse of dominant position, tied sales, discriminatory minimum guarantees, and imposition of minimum resale prices and limitation of promotions. VTR Comunicaciones SpA later joined the lawsuit against CDF. The FNE argued that since 2006, CDF contracts included clauses guaranteeing minimum payments for premium subscribers, regardless of actual subscriber numbers, significantly increasing this proportion from 10% in 2006 to 30% in 2016.