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Paramount axes its exclusivity clauses with Sky TV

In a bid to appease the European Commission, Paramount is backpedaling on its previous decision.

Kimberley French/Paramount Pictures via AP

Paramount Studios has went back on its proposed exclusivity clauses with its Sky TV contract.

Last July, Paramount was a part of a group of movie studios including Disney, NBCUniversal and Sony that were warned about a potential breach in EU competition rules thanks to special clauses in their licensing contracts with UK broadcasting company Sky.

Paramount previously took actions to stop including special clauses that kept Sky from allowing customers outside the UK and Ireland to view Paramount's movies online or by satellite, and promised in April to remove them from contracts fror the next five years. It also agreed to take no action on the current clauses in place. These alterations have been accpeted and are now legally binding. If Paramount happens to go back on the sanctions it has proposed, it will be fined up to 10 percent of its annual revenue.

The other studios are still involved in ongoing investigations.