Courts / Ireland / Report

Virgin Media sues eir for €2.5m over alleged breach of sports agreement

Date
2020-12-14
Stage
Hearing Or Decision

Summary

Virgin Media Television, Deal Terms, and Virgin Media Sport have had their commercial court action against Eircom Ltd, trading as eir, admitted to the fast-track list by Mr Justice David Barniville. The applicants allege that eir failed to pay a €2.5m fee due under a 2019 agreement for the distribution of sports broadcasts. Virgin claims the total consideration was €6m, with only €1m paid in December 2019, leaving the July 2020 payment outstanding. The applicants assert that eir is in breach of contract and suspended its sport channels from eir's service in August after non-payment, prompting eir to remove its eir Sports 1 channel from Virgin's platforms. In correspondence, eir denied breaching the agreements and counter-claimed that Virgin was in breach, a position rejected by the applicants. Virgin seeks judgment for €2.5m, damages, and interest. The judge noted that liability remains a significant issue in the proceedings. He approved directions for bringing the case to hearing and adjourned the matter to the New Year. The case is currently at the hearing_or_decision stage, with no final determination of liability or sentence issued.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Virgin Media sues eir for €2.5m over alleged breach of sports agreement. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision

When:

Case subjects

Deal Terms

Applicant

Outcome: He approved directions for bringing the case to hearing and adjourned it to the New Year.

Virgin Media Sport

Applicant

Outcome: He approved directions for bringing the case to hearing and adjourned it to the New Year.

Virgin Media Television

Applicant

Outcome: He approved directions for bringing the case to hearing and adjourned it to the New Year.

Topics

Stage Hearing Or Decision

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