The European Commission decided on Tuesday 6 October to unconditionally approve the proposed acquisition of Central European Media Enterprises (‘CME’) by PPF Group NV (‘PPF’). The Commission concluded that the transaction would not raise competition concerns within the European Economic Area (EEA).
PPF and CME are both active in the acquisition of sports broadcasting rights in the Czech Republic and Slovakia and in the sale of advertising space in the Czech Republic.
The Commission concluded that the transaction would have no impact on the parties’ positions in the relevant markets. In fact, they do not generally compete for the acquisition of the same sports rights and the transaction would only lead to a limited increase in PPF’s existing market share. Similarly, PPF’s activities represent a negligible market share and would only slightly strengthen CME’s position on the market for the sale of advertising space in the Czech Republic.
The Commission also examined whether PPF would be able to prevent or significantly limit its competitors’ access to CME’s channels in the Czech Republic. However, these fears are, after analysis, unfounded as pay TV distributors would continue to have access to the content of CME’s competitors and of many other channels with comparable programming and audiences in the Czech Republic. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)