Eliasch absent

ÖSV legal dispute against FIS management postponed

FIS President Johan Eliasch(Bild: GEPA)

No decision was made on Wednesday in the legal dispute between the ÖSV and the FIS management regarding the centralization of media rights. The hearing of Johan Eliasch was waived, the FIS President did not appear before the Vienna Cartel Court. 

The main topic of discussion was the further procedure. At the next hearing on June 5, ÖSV Managing Director Christian Scherer and FIS lawyer Aoife Keane will give an insight into the highly complex matter as witnesses.

World Cups marketed nationally again
In terms of content, the ÖSV has achieved a stage victory. On April 26, 2024, the FIS Executive Board decided to change its competition rules, according to which the World Cups in various winter sports will no longer be marketed by the national federations, but centrally by the world federation in future. According to the FIS, this change has since been reversed and the competition rules are back to their previous status. The FIS legal advisors emphasized that this is what the ÖSV wanted to achieve with its lawsuit.

ÖSV wants clarity for the future
However, this did not go far enough for the Austrian federation. According to information from the ÖSV, the FIS officials had also made agreements with a marketing agency from Scandinavia, in which the ÖSV's media rights were also determined. A request was made to the FIS for a commitment that the competition rules would be maintained for the foreseeable future and that changes to the marketing rules would only be made in agreement with the ÖSV. The other side rejected this.

"Even though the FIS Executive Board withdrew the Executive Board decision in question from April 2024 in mid-December 2024 - probably also due to the proceedings brought - the ÖSV (and its event companies) still want clarity that the independent marketing situation will remain secure for the near future," it said afterwards in a statement from the ÖSV.

The judge repeatedly mentioned her hope for an amicable solution and encouraged the two parties to work towards one. The FIS legal team said that they did not have the power to do so for the time being. However, an agreement cannot be ruled out by the beginning of June. The chairwoman explained that it could not be ruled out that the FIS management might try to change the statutes again to the potential disadvantage of the ÖSV. Scherer and Keane would therefore be consulted on the various contracts.