Consumer Protection and Defense Foundation (Procon), based in San Pablo, Brazil, notified Pay TV operators Claro, Sky, Vivo, Oi and Tim to clarify their subscribers modalities under which they will offer Brazilian Football Championship  broadcastings packages on pay-per-view (PPV). These content generated a USD 27 billion profit in 2018.

Procon questioned Brazilian operators about the way they offer football promotions and whether customers are properly informed about the limitations on the number of matches that are broadcast. The notification also refers to the packages that were already hired, and if clients are informed about the possibility of requesting the corresponding reimbursement for not broadcasting all the championship’s matches.

‘Long-term PPV subscribers have already hired packages with all the teams in the championship. By the way that there is a smaller number of teams, it means the decrease in the service provided and in the amount of offered product. This leads to the consumer having the right to a proportional reduction of the price, in accordance with article 19 of the Consumer Defense Code, or to cancel the contract with the restitution of the amount paid proportionally’, explained Fernando Capez, Procon’s executive director in San Pablo.

From the 380 matches of the Brazilian championship, 306 (that is, 80.5%) will be broadcast on PPV. This year’s edition will begin on April 27th and end next December 8th. Until 2018, all the championship’s matches were broadcast. According to ‘Pelé’s Law’ (N° 9.615, of 1998), to make effective a match broadcast, it is necessary that the two clubs involved authorize it. Those football matches between teams that have different TV contracts, or that do not have one running, can not be shown. The Globo Group has the broadcasting rights of 90% of the games for FTA. Its pay TV channel, SporTV, broadcasts 156, and Turner, 42.