EC charges six US studios for antitrust violations Commission targets fragmentation in Europe’s lucrative pay-TV sector.

The European Commission on Thursday charged six major U.S. movie studios and the U.K.’s leading pay-TV broadcaster with antitrust violations.

The Commission claims the contracts of the movie studios — Disney, NBCUniversal, Paramount Pictures, Sony, Twentieth Century Fox and Warner Bros – with Sky UK may breach competition rules in the European Union by preventing their films from being broadcast outside the U.K. and Ireland.

The long-held business practice of strict country-by-country licensing violates single-market rules in the EU, the regulators alleged.

The case will not only challenge the Hollywood business model, but also the national copyright laws of the 28 member countries, which the EU is trying to harmonize under the digital single market strategy.

The move escalates the Commission’s investigation started 18 months ago. The original probe also involved broadcasters based in France, Italy, Germany and Spain, which could still come under fire.

“Given the size of the broadcaster and the popularity of English-language content, the Commission decided to proceed first with Sky UK. This decision does not prejudge its ongoing assessment of cross-border pay TV-services in other member states,” said Ricardo Cardoso, a Commission spokesperson.

Margrethe Vestager, the European commissioner for competition, has complained she can’t watch her favorite Danish TV programs while traveling, while Andrus Ansip, the Commission vice-president for the digital single market, lamented not being able to watch Estonian football when he is outside the country.

“European consumers want to watch the pay-TV channels of their choice regardless of where they live or travel in the EU,” said Vestager in a statement.

Defenders of the status quo argue country-by-country licensing helps sustain investment in national cultural industries.

“The impact of the Commission’s analysis is destructive of consumer value and we will oppose the proposed action vigorously,” Disney said in a statement.

Guillaume Prieur, a director at SACD, the French association representing authors and screenwriters, said between 25 percent and 60 percent of the money raised for some films comes from the pre-sales of screening rights in each country.

Thursday’s case is the latest in a series against U.S. companies. The Commission has charged Google, MasterCard and now Hollywood movie studios with breaching antitrust laws, while launching investigations into sales practices of Qualcomm and Amazon.

“Certainly the folks in Brussels would tell us it’s a coincidence,” said Penny Pritzker, U.S. Secretary of Commerce, who was in Brussels for meetings Thursday. “I take them at face value.”

Sky UK, NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. all said they were co-operating with the Commission. Twentieth Century Fox declined to comment. Paramount and Sony did not respond to a request for comment.

The Commission’s charges draw a distinction between so-called passive sales and active sales. Sky UK should accept requests for its pay-TV services from consumers in other EU member countries, it claims.

However, the Commission’s position is less clear on active sales, where a pay-TV broadcaster takes out advertising and actively seeks business.

The movie studios and Sky U.K. now have between two and three months to respond to the accusations.

Sarah Walsh contributed to this story.