Broadcast Rights Agreement Template (Malta)
Updated on 22 August 2026
A broadcast rights agreement licenses the right to show an event. Everything of value sits in four definitions: what is licensed, where, on which platforms and for how long, and whether anyone else can do the same thing at the same time. Get them right and the rest is administration; leave them vague and you have sold something nobody can measure.
Malta's framework sits inside the EU audiovisual regime. The Broadcasting Act, as amended to transpose the audiovisual media services rules including the 2018 revision, is administered by the Broadcasting Authority, and that framework carries two features a rights contract has to respect: rules on events of major importance for society, which constrain how exclusivity can be sold for designated events, and access for short news reports on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms. Neither of those is the licensor's to grant or withhold, which is exactly where the source template went wrong when it invented a two-minute news allowance.
Tap any highlighted blank in the document below and type straight into it.Free — no sign-up, no watermark
Broadcast Rights Agreement
This Agreement is made on between () of (the “Licensor”) and () of (the “Licensee”). The Licensor grants the Licensee the rights described below in relation to the Event.
1. The Event
The Event means:
The Licensor confirms that it holds the rights it grants, including any consents from participants, venues and governing bodies needed for the Licensee to exercise them, and that exercising them as permitted here will not infringe a third party's rights.
2. Grant of Rights
- Media and platforms:
- Territory:
- Language rights:
- Exclusivity:
- Term:
- to
All rights not expressly granted above are reserved to the Licensor. No right is granted in any medium, platform, territory, language or window that is not listed, and the grant does not extend to betting or data feeds, immersive formats, or archive exploitation unless stated.
Notwithstanding any exclusivity, the Licensor may continue to do the following:
3. Regulatory Responsibility
Each party is responsible for its own regulatory obligations. The Licensee's obligations as a broadcaster or media service provider, including any licence conditions and the rules on advertising and sponsorship, remain its own — licence details: — and are not assumed or limited by this Agreement.
4. Windows and Holdbacks
- Live window:
- Delayed and repeat rights:
- Catch-up availability:
- days after the Event
- Holdbacks:
5. Production and Delivery of the Feed
Where the Licensor supplies the feed it shall do so at the agreed technical standard and at the scheduled start time and shall notify schedule changes as soon as possible. Where the Licensee produces the coverage it shall have the access the Licensor has agreed and shall comply with venue accreditation and safety rules.
6. Short News Reports
Notwithstanding any exclusivity, other broadcasters and news services may use extracts of the Event for general news reporting on these terms: extracts of no more than seconds, no more than times in any single bulletin, not before hours after the Event has ended, with an on-screen credit to the Licensee, and only within general news programming rather than a programme built substantially from Event footage.
These are contractual terms agreed between the parties for administrative convenience. They do not create, limit or replace the statutory right of broadcasters to access short extracts from events of high interest to the public on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms, and where that right applies it prevails over this clause.
7. Sub-licensing and Onward Carriage
The Licensee shall not sub-license, assign or authorise any third party to transmit or redistribute the Event, in whole or in part, without the Licensor's prior written consent. Ordinary carriage by distributors that carry the Licensee's service is permitted, and the Licensee shall tell the Licensor which distributors carry it.
8. Advertising and Sponsorship
Inventory is allocated as follows: Neither party shall accept an advertiser or sponsor in a category conflicting with the other's contracted title or category sponsor without first discussing it. Each party remains responsible for compliance with the advertising and sponsorship rules applying to its own transmissions.
9. Rights Fee, VAT and Payment
- Rights fee:
- Instalments:
- Payment terms:
- days from a proper invoice
- VAT and withholding:
If an instalment is unpaid 14 days after a written reminder the Licensor may suspend the rights until it is paid. If the Licensor fails to deliver the feed or the access it agreed, the Licensee may withhold the proportion of the fee attributable to the affected events until it is remedied.
10. Reporting and Audit
The Licensee shall provide: The Licensor may audit the supporting records once in any twelve-month period on days' notice, during business hours, using an auditor bound by confidentiality. The Licensor bears the cost unless the audit reveals an underpayment of more than five per cent, in which case the Licensee bears it and pays the shortfall.
11. Anti-piracy and Territorial Protection
The Licensee shall apply the following measures and shall not knowingly make the Event available outside the Territory: Each party shall promptly notify the other of unauthorised distribution it becomes aware of and give reasonable cooperation with takedowns. Enforcement decisions about the Licensor's rights remain the Licensor's.
12. Cancellation, Curtailment and Force Majeure
- If the Event does not take place at all, the fee attributable to it is not payable and any advance paid for it is refunded.
- If a season or series is only partly delivered, the fee is reduced pro rata by reference to the events actually delivered.
- If the Event is curtailed after transmission has begun, the parties shall agree a proportionate reduction reflecting what was delivered.
- If the Event moves to a different date or venue, the rights apply to it as moved provided the Licensee can still exercise them; if it cannot, the fee is treated as for a cancelled event.
- If the Event takes place without spectators or in a materially altered format, that alone does not reduce the fee unless the parties have agreed otherwise.
- Neither party is liable for a failure caused by something genuinely outside its control, but this does not excuse a failure to pay sums already due.
13. Term, Termination and Archive
This Agreement runs for the term above. Either party may terminate immediately if the other commits a material breach and fails to remedy it within days of written notice, or becomes insolvent. Archive position after the term: . On termination the Licensee shall stop transmitting the Event, may complete a transmission already in progress, and shall deal with recordings as the archive position requires.
14. General and Jurisdiction
This Agreement is the entire agreement on its subject matter, may only be varied in writing signed by both parties, and is governed by the laws of Malta. Neither party may assign without the other's written consent except to a successor of its business able to perform. Notices go to the addresses above or to an email address confirmed in writing. The parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Malta.
For the Licensor
Date signed:
For the Licensee
Date signed:
Events of major importance come before exclusivity
The EU framework allows member states to designate events of major importance for society and to require that they be available to a substantial proportion of the public on free television. Malta transposed that framework through the Broadcasting Act, so before pricing exclusivity for a significant national or international event, check whether it is designated and what that means for the intended licensee.
This template asks the question and records the answer, and states that the grant takes effect subject to the framework. That protects both sides: a licensee paying for exclusivity it cannot lawfully exercise is as exposed as the licensor. Where the position is unclear, the sensible step is to ask the Broadcasting Authority rather than to assume.
Short news reports are statutory, not a gift
The audiovisual framework gives broadcasters access to short extracts from events of high interest to the public transmitted on an exclusive basis, on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms, for use in general news programmes. That right exists independently of your contract.
So the news carve-out in this template is drafted as a contractual permission — clip length, uses per bulletin, delay before first use, credit, general news programming only — with an express statement that it neither creates nor limits any statutory right of access. That is both honest and safer: a licensor who purports to cap a statutory right has written a clause that will not hold and may mislead a licensee into relying on it.
Define five dimensions, and reserve the rest
A modern grant needs medium and platform, territory, window, language and exclusivity level, each stated separately. Language matters here: Maltese and English commentary are frequently treated as separate propositions, and a grant that ignores which languages are included creates a conflict the first time another licensee produces a Maltese feed.
The most valuable sentence in the document is the reservation — anything not expressly granted stays with the licensor. In practice that is what decides who owns the distribution routes nobody contemplated at signature, which for the last decade has consistently been the platforms that did not exist yet.
Money, reporting and the things that leak
Live rights leak, and in a small market a single unauthorised stream can reach a meaningful share of the audience. A licence silent on geo-blocking, technical protection and takedown cooperation leaves enforcement with the party that has least information about it. This template puts those obligations on the licensee and pairs them with reporting and an audit right with a cost-shifting threshold.
It also fixes the one-sided suspension clause most templates carry: non-payment can suspend the rights, but a licensor that fails to deliver the feed should expect the licensee to withhold the fee attributable to the affected events. VAT and any withholding on cross-border rights payments are dealt with expressly, and cancellation is handled scenario by scenario rather than left to a general force majeure clause.
Clause-by-clause guide
- Parties and the event
- Defined licensor and licensee and a precise description of the event, season or fixtures licensed.
- Events of major importance
- Optional. Records whether the event is designated and that the grant is subject to the framework.
- Grant of rights
- Media and platforms, territory, languages, windows and exclusivity, with everything else reserved.
- Language rights
- Which language feeds and commentary are included, since Maltese and English rights are often separate propositions.
- Regulatory responsibility
- Leaves the licensee's own broadcasting obligations and licence conditions with it.
- Windows and holdbacks
- Live, delayed, catch-up and archive, plus any holdback before another licensee's window.
- Feed production and delivery
- Who produces the coverage, who bears the cost and how the feed reaches the licensee.
- Short news reports
- Clip length, uses per bulletin, delay and credit, with the statutory position expressly preserved.
- Sub-licensing and carriage
- Whether onward distribution is permitted and whether the licensor shares in that consideration.
- Advertising and sponsorship
- Who sells what, category conflicts with event sponsors, and any revenue share.
- Rights fee, VAT and payment
- Fee, instalments, payment days, VAT and withholding, with suspension rights both ways.
- Reporting and audit
- Audience and revenue reporting with an audit right and a cost-shifting threshold.
- Anti-piracy and geo-restriction
- Applying territorial limits, technical measures and takedown cooperation.
- Cancellation and curtailment
- Scenario-by-scenario fee consequences instead of a bare force majeure clause.
Malta compliance checklist
Check whether the event is designated as of major importance
The EU audiovisual framework allows member states to designate events of major importance for society and require free-television availability. Malta transposed that framework through the Broadcasting Act, so confirm the position with the Broadcasting Authority before pricing exclusivity.
Broadcasting Authority MaltaDo not purport to grant or cap short-news access
Broadcasters have access to short extracts from events of high interest transmitted on an exclusive basis, on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms, for general news programmes. A contractual carve-out is a commercial permission only.
Broadcasting Act (Cap. 350)Deal with language rights expressly
Maltese and English commentary are frequently licensed as separate propositions. State which language feeds, commentary and subtitling are included and which are reserved.
Leave regulatory obligations with the regulated party
A licensee's obligations as a broadcaster, including licence conditions and advertising rules, remain its own and cannot be assumed by a rights contract.
Fix ownership of the feed and the archive
A licence to broadcast is not ownership of the recording. State who owns the master and the archive and whether the licensee may keep a copy after the term.
Reserve unlisted rights expressly
New distribution routes appear faster than contracts are renewed. Reserving everything not expressly granted keeps future platforms with the licensor by default.
Handle VAT and withholding
State whether the fee is exclusive of VAT and how any withholding on payments to a non-resident licensor is handled, rather than discovering it at the first invoice.
How to complete this agreement
- Name the parties and the event. Enter the licensor and licensee and describe precisely which event, season or fixtures are licensed.
- Check the designation position. If the event may be designated as of major importance, turn on that clause and take advice before agreeing exclusivity.
- Build the grant. Set the media and platforms, the territory, the language rights and each window.
- Set the news carve-out. Enter clip length, uses per bulletin, delay before first use and the credit requirement.
- Decide sub-licensing and inventory. State whether onward carriage is permitted and how advertising and sponsorship are split.
- Set fee, VAT, reporting and audit. Add the fee and instalments, the VAT position, the reporting the licensor receives and the audit notice period.
- Review and sign. Check the grant, territory, languages, windows and exclusivity say what you intended, then download and sign.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between broadcast rights and a broadcast services contract?
A rights agreement licenses the right to exploit the event, and money usually flows from the broadcaster to the rights holder. A services agreement engages someone to produce and deliver the coverage, and money flows the other way. Many deals contain both, but they belong in separate documents because the obligations and remedies point in opposite directions.
Can I sell exclusive rights to any event in Malta?
Not if the event is designated as one of major importance for society. The EU audiovisual framework, transposed through the Broadcasting Act, allows designation and free-television availability requirements for such events, which constrains who exclusivity can be sold to. Check the position with the Broadcasting Authority before pricing an exclusive deal for a significant event.
Can other broadcasters show clips?
Yes, within the statutory position: broadcasters have access to short extracts from events of high interest transmitted exclusively, on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms, for general news programmes. This template sets a contractual carve-out — clip length, uses per bulletin, delay, credit — and says expressly that it neither creates nor limits that statutory right.
Is the two-minute limit in most templates a real rule?
No. It is a figure copied between templates. National implementations of the short-reporting right set their own conditions, and in any event a licensor cannot grant or cap a statutory right. Choose a number that suits your event, and do not present it as law.
Why do language rights need their own clause?
Because Maltese and English commentary are frequently treated as separate propositions here, and can be licensed to different broadcasters. A grant that says nothing about language creates a conflict the first time another licensee produces a Maltese feed of the same event.
Can the licensee sub-license to another platform?
Only if the contract says so. This template makes sub-licensing and onward carriage an express decision, with an optional revenue share and reporting, because a rights holder that has not addressed it loses sight of where its event is actually shown and of the value generated downstream.
What happens to the fee if the event is cancelled?
The template deals with it scenario by scenario — cancelled outright, a season only partly delivered, curtailed after transmission began, moved to a new date or venue, or played without spectators — rather than leaving everything to force majeure, with a pro-rata mechanism for a partly delivered season.
Related templates
Disclaimer
This template and guide are general information about Maltese and EU practice, not legal, broadcasting-regulatory, competition or tax advice, and nobody has reviewed your deal. Designation of events and the audiovisual framework change; confirm the current position with the Broadcasting Authority or an adviser before signing.
