The Court of Appeals of Milan granted the request of Cleary Gottlieb client Sky Italia and lifted an injunction that had been entered against Auditel in separate proceedings. In lifting the injunction, the Court of Appeals reversed its previous decision and permitted Auditel, the Italian television viewership rating agency, to release audience data for satellite TV programs of the kind offered by Sky Italia. The Court of Appeals issued its decision on January 10.
Sky Italia, a subsidiary of the Newscorp group, operates Italy’s leading satellite channel TV network. Cleary Gottlieb argued that the injunction against Auditel imposed a significant burden on Sky Italia by preventing disclosure of many of its programs’ popular ratings. Although the Court of Appeals of Milan had previously upheld the injunction, Cleary Gottlieb recently obtained a favorable decision by Italy’s radio and TV regulator, Autorità per le Garanzie nelle Comunicazioni. Upon reargument, the Court of Appeals reversed its previous decision and agreed that the relevant audience rating data may be disclosed.