UPDATE 1-Spain's anti-trust body probes Mediapro
* CNC says football rights must be offered to Mediapro rival
* Mediapro says rights available to more operators than ever
(Adds comment by Mediapro)
MADRID, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Spanish competition regulator CNC said on Friday it has started an inquiry into media group Mediapro and its pay-TV channel dedicated to football, Gol Television, over possible anti-trust practices.
The CNC claims the Catalan group is not reselling broadcasting rights for Spanish football league and Copa del Rey matches to all operators on a level playing field.
The body is considering obliging Mediapro to provide the signal for the three to four weekend pay-TV games to its rival Prisa's (PRS.MC) subsidiary Sogecable.
Last month, talks broke down between Mediapro and Prisa to merge their audio-visual businesses.
The CNC said the inquiry against Mediapro could take up to 18 months to complete.
"The decision to start an inquiry is surprising and incomprehensible ... This pay-TV football season has been distributed to more television platforms than ever at an infinitly lower price," Mediapro said in a later statement.
Mediapro would continue to defend its right to distribute the broadcasting rights as it sees fit, the group added.
(Reporting by Robert Hetz; writing by Judy MacInnes)
((robert.hetz@thomsonreuters.com; +34 91 585 21 96; Reuters Messaging: robert.hetz.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: SPAIN MEDIAPRO/
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