Brussels, 02/12/2002 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has decided to start a detailed investigation into the planned acquisition of Italian pay-TV company Telepiù (owned exclusively by Vivendi Universal) by Rupert Murdoch's Australian company Newscorp. The investigation will enable the Commission to further analyse the impact of the merger in Italy and, in particular, to conclude whether the package of undertakings already submitted by Newscorp truly favours the emergence of new competitors in order to prevent a monopoly in the pay-TV market. Newscorp intends to acquire control of Telepiù and then merge with Stream pay-TV platform jointly, controlled by NewsCorp and Telecom Italia on a fifty-fifty basis. Italian telecommunications operator Telecom Italia would hold a 20% stake in the new combined entity. The merger would create a near monopoly in Italy since Stream and Telepiù are currently the only providers of pay-TV in the country, although cable operator e.Biscom has recently started to provide video on demand services to its clients. The operation also raises competition concerns regarding the acquisition of broadcasting rights for "premium" content such as blockbuster movies and football matches. The Commission received from Newscorp a package of undertakings identical to the ones imposed by the Italian Antitrust Authority as conditions for clearance, notably that the new operation would allow new distributors onto the market (the operation did not attain the turnover thresholds and was subsequently notified to the Commission). The deal has since been abandoned. The commission will give its verdict in four months time.