The judgment was made by the KPPU in August of this year, a year after pay-TV operators in Indonesia had accused Astro of monopolistic behaviour because of its exclusive contract with ESPN for broadcast of the English Premier League in Indonesia. KPPU also found Astro’s subsidiary All Asia Multimedia Networks (AAMN) and ESPN Star Sports guilty of violating anti-monopoly law.
Alexander Lay, Astro’s legal counsel, said that KPPU had stepped out of its legal boundaries by releasing this judgment. “We don’t understand why KPPU has decided to release a judgment on an issue that does not come under its jurisdiction.”
According to Lay, the commission claims that the decision has been taken to protect the Indonesian pay-TV market from a negative impact that could emerge due to a conflict between Lippo and Astro groups.
The appeal filed by Astro could take about six months to be resolved but according to Lay, Astro is not legally obliged to continue its services to Direct Vision since KPPU’s decision does not have an “enbinding status”.
In a related development, Astro has also filed a notice of arbitration with the Singapore International Arbitration Center to help recover 905 million ringgit (US$245 million) owed it by Lippo Group companies.
