The CNMC is investigating Telefónica over the terms and conditions of its pay-TV service.

The National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC) has opened a sanctioning procedure against Telefónica de España, related to the 2015 acquisition of DTS (formerly Sogecable), to investigate a possible violation arising from the failure to comply with the commitments of that transaction and a 2021 resolution.

The CNMC authorized the purchase on the condition that Telefónica fulfilled a series of commitments, which were extended for three years in 2020 , as the regulator noted in a statement on Friday.

Among these requirements, the teleoperator could not include any permanence obligations for its customers that were directly or indirectly associated with pay-TV services, whether or not bundled with electronic communications services, Servimedia reports.

In July 2021, the CNMC ruled that Telefónica's "Fusión+Smartphone" offer, which included the rental of a smartphone subject to permanence conditions for the 36 months imposed by the contract, breached its commitments.

The CNMC then urged Telefónica to modify the terms of that offer and to provide information to customers and the regulator. However, in March 2023, the CNMC fined Telefónica €6 million for the violation resulting from its failure to comply with the commitment not to include permanence obligations.

The authority also noted in its statement that Telefónica's new commercial policy for Fusión and miMovistar with pay TV and devices, in effect between August 30, 2021, and April 30, 2023, the end date of the commitments, continued to contain provisions that hindered the mobility of Telefónica's customers.

On January 30, 2024, the CNMC declared non-compliance with the commitments contained in both the 2015 and 2021 Resolutions.

The initiation of this case does not prejudge the final outcome of the investigation. Following its opening, a maximum period of three months begins for the investigation and its resolution by the CNMC.

A Telefónica spokesperson told Servimedia that the company "has rigorously complied with its commitments."