BMA has learnt that the Supreme Court has ruled in favour of Consolidated Group Inc., which owns DSTV in Liberia, over rivals Satcom Communication Services and K3 Telecommunications, ending a long-running dispute over unauthorised sports broadcasting.
This drama started when Consolidated Group, led by GM Simeon Freeman, accused Satcom and K3 Telecom of illegally airing sports content without the proper rights. We’re talking about exclusive broadcasts of major leagues like the English Premier League and La Liga, which belong to DSTV via MultiChoice Africa and SuperSport.
According to Consolidated Group, these illegal broadcasts caused them to lose US$5.1 million!
The Supreme Court, in its ruling, confirmed that Freeman, as the official representative of MultiChoice Africa, had every right to sue. The court also found Satcom guilty of knowingly violating content rights, which means they’ve been banned from airing unauthorised broadcasts.
The Commercial Court had previously dismissed the case, saying Consolidated Group had no legal standing to take action. However, the Supreme Court disagreed, reversing that decision and sending the case back for further proceedings. However, the Commercial Court won’t be awarding damages, so if Consolidated Group wants its US$5.1 million back, it’ll have to pursue it through other legal channels.
The Supreme Court has now put an official stop to Satcom airing content owned by MultiChoice Africa, SuperSport, and BeIN Sports and even slapped them with court costs.
This ruling is a big deal because it reinforces the importance of intellectual property rights, especially in the media and broadcasting space. It all started in 2019, and now that a decision has been made, everyone in the telecom and media industry will be watching closely to see how it impacts content rights enforcement in Liberia and beyond.
