The Malta Premier League wants Go and Melita to pay for streaming Malta’s top-flight football online but both broadcasting providers say there is no reason to accept.
“In a market where Go and Melita pay hundreds of thousands for the rights of foreign football, we are expecting these two local providers to sit down and discuss how they contribute to the development of the only major national sport event they broadcast,” a spokesperson for the Malta Premier League (MPL) said.
The issue, the spokesperson said, is not with broadcasting matches on set-top boxes (regular television), as they both carry TVM.
“We have an agreement with TVM to broadcast Malta Premier matches. PBS has always paid a contribution for these rights. During the past two years, this contribution went directly to improved production and broadcasting,” the spokesperson said.
“The MPL is not taking issue with Go and Melita carrying TVM and broadcasting matches to set-top boxes, but with these companies providing the OTT service, which is not covered by any rights agreement.”
OTT (over-the-top) refers to content that is streamed directly over the internet via platforms such as apps or web players.
The Malta Premier League and the broadcasters have exchanged several letters on the issue, although no agreement has been reached at this stage, Times of Malta is informed.
Go and Melita argue that, because they can broadcast TVM, they can also stream its programmes, including Premier League matches.
“The rights for broadcasting Malta Premier League football matches rest with TVM, which secured them directly from the Malta Premier League after outbidding other local channel producers,” a spokesperson for Go said.
“In the case of TVM, Go simply carries and retransmits TVM channels as they are, including all their content, in accordance with its legal or contractual obligations towards PBS, which produces the TVM channels.”
They said Go only pays for sports content directly for TSN – the sports channel it jointly owns and produces with Melita.
“For this reason, any rights or licensing matters regarding the Malta Premier League’s matches are between the Malta Premier League and PBS, which bought those rights, and not Go. Our focus remains on ensuring that viewers continue to enjoy seamless access to local and international content,” the spokesperson said.
Melita similarly said the situation is not its concern.
“PBS is the official broadcasting partner of MPL. Melita is therefore not privy to the licensing terms agreed between MPL and PBS and, consequently, distributes PBS content across all Melita platforms in line with the agreements which exist between Melita and the national broadcaster. PBS has never indicated that any platform restrictions apply to the broadcast of MPL matches,” the Melita spokesperson said.
Melita confirmed the Premier League has recently raised concerns with Melita over transmitting matches via OTT platforms and mobile devices.
“Melita is confident that PBS will inform the company if its agreement with MPL does not cover transmission in OTT mode,” the spokesperson said. “Melita remains fully committed to preventing unauthorised transmissions and to collaborating with rights owners whenever necessary to ensure they are protected.”
Asked why the MPL is approaching GO and Melita, not TVM, the spokesperson said the league is treating OTT rights as separate from traditional broadcast rights.
“This is in line with most other leagues’ best practices,” they said.