Japan Fair Trade Commission warns NPB over Fuji TV media pass denial

The Japan Fair Trade Commission warned the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization, or NPB, on Wednesday over its confiscation of media passes from Fuji Television Network.

The antitrust watchdog said that such moves could violate the antimonopoly law, urging the NPB to prevent any recurrence.

Fuji TV broadcast a digest of the Major League Baseball World Series, in which Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani appeared, during the same time slot as a game of the Japan Series professional baseball championships that was aired live by a rival broadcaster. The Japan Series ran from October to November last year.

The NPB confiscated Fuji TV’s media passes for the Japan Series, saying that the broadcaster’s actions seriously damaged its relationship of trust with the baseball governing body.

According to the FTC, Fuji TV’s coverage activities, including for the Japan Series hosted by the NPB, were restricted from Oct. 26 to Nov. 10 last year due to the confiscation.

Fuji TV broadcast the third match of the Japan Series as scheduled although the NPB had tried to get another broadcaster to air the program.

The FTC concluded that the NPB’s actions may constitute obstruction of transactions, prohibited by the antimonopoly law, by making broadcasters think twice about dealing with the MLB, which competes with the NPB on the supply of baseball programs.

Meanwhile, the FTC did not recognize the NPB’s actions as violating the antimonopoly law, because Fuji TV broadcast the World Series except on the day of the third match and the media passes were confiscated only for a short time.

When receiving a notice of a draft warning from the FTC last month, the NPB described it as unacceptable, saying there were serious errors in the commission’s recognition and evaluation of facts.

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