Tomasz Chróstny, the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK), has charged CANAL+ Polska with violating the collective interests of consumers. The charges relate, inter alia, to information conveyed to customers regarding the duration of access to the sports package Mistrzowska Piłka. According to the analysis conducted by the authority, sales consultants did not inform buyers that access to this package would be terminated on June 30, 2024, despite some contracts being valid until significantly later dates.
The case concerns practices applied when concluding and renewing contracts. An analysis of recordings from conversations with customers revealed that CANAL+ Polska employees did not communicate the planned withdrawal of the package. In one conversation, a consultant guaranteed a customer that the channels she mentioned would remain available for the entire duration of the contract, suggesting that the programming offer would not undergo any changes. Such assurances could have entrenched a false impression of the scope of services that the company was obliged to provide until the end of the contract.
The problem also concerned documents concluded with consumers. In offer summaries, the company indicated availability dates for the Mistrzowska Piłka package that extended beyond June 30, 2024. However, this information was inconsistent with the detailed terms of the contracts, which clearly stated that access to the given package would expire at the end of that month. This situation meant that customers received two mutually exclusive pieces of information regarding the duration of the service in the documents.
The consequence of these practices was that after June 30, 2024, fans lost access to Mistrzowska Piłka, even if their contracts with the operator were still valid. In July 2024, after the start of the new Champions League season, customers could no longer watch these matches within the existing package. CANAL+ Polska continued to broadcast these matches, but did so within other, separately paid sports packages.
UOKiK President Tomasz Chróstny emphasized that fans choose television offers, among other things, to follow specific competitions. In the view of the authority, if a sports package was to be withdrawn before the end of the contract, the consumer should have been informed about this prior to its conclusion. Information regarding the availability time of services should be clear and truthful, rather than building false expectations among buyers.
Alongside the charges regarding Mistrzowska Piłka, the UOKiK President initiated an investigative proceeding into this year's changes in access to matches of the Spanish LaLiga. Signals from consumers had reached the authority, stating that when concluding or renewing contracts, they were assured that the chosen sports package would allow them to watch all matches of these competitions. In reality, it later turned out that customers did not have access to some of the matches, even though the company held exclusive rights to their transmission. UOKiK is now investigating what information was conveyed to consumers before the offer change and which group of customers these changes affected.
In the event that the charges regarding Mistrzowska Piłka are confirmed, the company CANAL+ Polska faces the imposition of a financial penalty. In accordance with applicable regulations, the amount of such a fine may reach up to 10% of the undertaking's turnover achieved in the accounting year preceding the year in which the fine is imposed.