The Independent Media Commission (IMC) has conveyed with concern the latest reactions regarding the re-broadcast of the Arena Sport channels in the territory of the Republic of Kosovo, specifically the rights of these channels to broadcast Premier League sports events.

It should be clarified that public opinion and other relevant actors of the IMC have analyzed in detail the broadcasting rights of the Arena Sport channels in Kosovo, with special emphasis on the rights of these channels to rebroadcast the sports events of the English Football League (Premier League). .

Based on the agreements/authorizations and confirmations deposited in the IMC by the interested parties (Premier League, DigitAlb and Arena), the rights to rebroadcast Premier League sports events for the territory of the Republic of Kosovo have been secured by the company DigitAlb in the Albanian language and Arena in the language Serbian.

The company DigitAlb and Arena, in order to operate in the territory of the Republic of Kosovo, have entered into contractual agreements with distribution operators licensed in the IMC, as defined by the Regulation for the Distribution of Audio and Audiovisual Media Service Providers IMC -2020/01.

IMC on September 27, 2023, has requested detailed clarifications from the Premier League regarding the rights of Arena and DigitAlb for the broadcast of the Premier League for the territory of the Republic of Kosovo.

The Premier League on October 19, 2023, has responded to the request of the IMC, clarifying that the rights to rebroadcast sports of the English League, for the territory of the Republic of Kosovo, for the Albanian language have been given to the DigitAlb company, while for the serbian language Arena company. The Premier League has also clarified that Arena and Digitalb have the right to enter into agreements with third-party operators to ensure the rebroadcast of the Premier League in the territory of the Republic of Kosovo.

Based on the authorizations deposited in the IMC, the company DigitAlb has entered into an agreement with the distribution operators:

a. Kosovo Telecom;

b. ISP Broadcast.

Arena Company has authorized distribution operators:

a. Mts;

b. ARTMotion.

While the distribution operator ARTMotion, based on the authorization given by Arena, has entered into an agreement with the distribution operators:

a. IPKO;

b. Kujtesa;

c. Telcos.

The rights of the company DigitAlb and A DigitAlb for the rebroadcast of Premier League sports events for the territory of the Republic of Kosovo are also public on the Premier League website (for more see the link: www.premierleague.com/news/2184867)

Finally, the IMC assures public opinion that it is carrying out its constitutional and legal duties and responsibilities with full responsibility and that it is monitoring every program content to assess compliance with the IMC legislation.