Watching a match at home is fine, but in a business context, it’s not so simple. Showing the match to a new audience counts as a new public performance, which requires permission from the copyright holder—and payment.
Videma enforces these rights for many Dutch and commercial broadcasters. An employee saw that the Netherlands-Poland Euro Cup match was being shown in a bistro and sent the business an invoice. The café argued this was unfair—no one was there, and they were just cleaning up. Videma said that didn’t matter: the door was open and the “OPEN” sign was lit. The judge agreed. It’s not about whether there’s an actual audience, but whether a new audience could be reached. With the open door and “OPEN” sign, that was the case. Result: the fine (license fee) had to be paid.
