EU competition commissioner, Mr Karel van Miert yesterday fired a warning shot across the bows of sport's most powerful governing bodies when he pledged to police vigorously all their exclusive television contracts with broadcasters.

This will include looking into any exclusive TV contract lasting longer than a year. Most TV deals in sport last between three and four years, which means that almost every large TV contract could come under scrutiny.

The Commission's main concern is that sports federations are abusing their control or near-control of a sport to conclude exclusive contracts on television rights, closing the market to competition.

However, Mr Van Miert indicated that the Commission's more aggressive approach to monitoring sports broadcasting deals would apply primarily to future deals.

He said most current long-term contracts, such as the four-year £670 million (€977 million) contract between BSkyB and the English Premier League, were acceptable because they had been negotiated when the TV market was still developing and competition was less intense.

News of the Commission's new policy met a cautious response among some sports broadcasting executives. Mr Jean-Paul de la Fuente, managing director of Media Content, a sports media consultancy, said: "If Mr Van Miert is saying `I reserve the right to look at all these deals', I don't have a problem with that."

However, he said "nobody in their right mind" in broadcasting would sign a deal for just one year. He said companies needed long-term contracts to build audiences.

Outlining the Commission's new set of guidelines for the treatment of sports issues, Mr Van Miert said: "We are not contesting the rights of sporting organisations to make the rules, and to make sure they are respected. That is none of our business. We are trying to stick to the elements that are to do with the business of professional sport."