New guidelines on pay TV in apartments
17 August 2009
The Competition Authority has published new guidelines for consumers and businesses on the provision of pay TV in apartment developments.
The Authority has received a large number of complaints in recent years from residents unable to switch to alternative pay TV providers due to exclusivity agreements.
It has investigated the complaints and has published a guide for apartment residents and prospective apartment buyers. The guide covers issues such as:
- Exclusivity agreements and competition law
- Bans on satellite dishes
- Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT)
- Questions residents should ask about the feasibility of alternative service provision
The Authority considers that "short-term" exclusive agreements (up to two years) may be warranted to ensure that pay-TV providers have a sufficient incentive to install infrastructure."
But it says competition problems may arise in the case of longer-term exclusive agreements.
Satellite dishes
Regarding satellite dishes, the Authority says residents should familiarise themselves with the precise restrictions, and the source of the restrictions, in their apartment development.
Generally speaking, external walls of apartments are not owned by residents.
On the question of planning restrictions, it says: "While there may be aesthetic grounds for preventing a proliferation of satellite dishes on apartment balconies, residents should be aware that Planning Guidelines facilitate, and indeed encourage, the erection of communal satellite dishes in apartment developments."
Digital Terrestrial Television
The Authority says DTT "has the potential to cause a significant shift in the market by providing an alternative to the need to agree terms on installation and ownership of shared infrastructure in apartment developments".
Learn more
Download the guidance notes for consumers (PDF, 502KB)
Find out more about the issue on our ConsumerProperty.ie website