The deal would also apply in reverse, so that Paramount can't oblige broadcasters outside of the UK to limit services in Britain and Ireland. (It's unclear if the deal means that Sky UK will then be forced to sign up any European customers who wants access to currently geo-blocked movies, however.) The commission's goal is to eventually eliminate the restrictions by 2017 as part of its Digital Single Market strategy, with the aim of allowing more broadcasting competition.

The EU commission is taking comments on the proposal, and if all parties are satisfied, the commitments, which run five years, will be made legally binding. The EU commission says it's still "investigating the conduct" of other parties in the suit, namely Disney, NBCUniversal, Sony, Twentieth Century Fox, Warner Bros and Sky.