But if independent owners can now claim discrimination in markets where the cable operator owns a sports channel, they may be able to wrestle wider carriage-which would likely drive up cable bills.
The company has long argued it is not the "liable operator" on the French side of the channel and so any attempt to impose the fines would have been "flung out of court".
High Speed One, the operator of the high rail speed link from St Pancras in London to the Channel Tunnel, also confirmed it would be pleased to see rivals use the service - and as importantly, that there was the space for them.