French pay-TV firm Canal+ has criticised leaked proposals that suggest regulators could be planning to impose significant conditions on its 2006 merger with local rival TPS.
The conditions include restrictions on sports and movie rights, as well as…
French pay-TV firm Canal+ has criticised leaked proposals that suggest regulators could be planning to impose significant conditions on its 2006 merger with local rival TPS.
The conditions include restrictions on sports and movie rights, as well as requirements to open up more of the content that the company creates to competitors, according to local publication Le Point citing a draft document by French regulator CSA.
A Canal+ spokesman warned that, if true, these proposals would hamper the company’s ability to invest in original French and European content.
He said the measures would not address competition issues in the pay-TV sector, but would “stop Canal+ from entering the free-TV market, and stop it from entering into competition with [French private broadcasters] TF1 and M6, which today hold 75% of the advertising market on television”.
France’s antitrust regulator, the Autorité de la concurrence, asked the CSA for advice on the Canal+/TPS deal after it decided on 28 March to launch a Phase 2 investigation into the transaction.
The approval for the acquisition, which was originally given the green-light from the country’s Ministry of Economy six years ago, was withdrawn by the Autorité de la concurrence in September 2011. The antitrust regulator said it withdrew approval after finding that Canal+ had failed to fulfil ten of 59 commitments that were laid out in 2006 to address competition concerns. It is currently required to conclude the investigation 65 working days after its launch, although this can be extended if a new material event occurs.
A spokeswoman for the anti-trust regulator said on 2 May that the CSA had yet to officially submit its advice on the matter. She reaffirmed that any decision on the Canal+/TPS merger conditions lies solely with the Autorité de la concurrence.
Separately, the Autorité de la concurrence is currently conducting a Phase 2 investigation into plans by Canal+ to acquire a 60% stake in two TV channels owned by local rival Bollore Media. This deal would see Canal+ expanding into the freeview market through the takeover of Direct 8 and Direct Star channels, in return for shares in its parent group Vivendi worth around €279m (US$383m).
The anti-trust regulator launched the start of a Phase 2 investigation into the proposed deal on 17 April, which will also last 65 working days, after identifying potential competition concerns.
