Brussels, 18/03/2003 (Agence Europe) - Businessman Rupert Murdoch's News Corp group and Telecom Italia should receive the go-ahead from European competition authorities to conclude their planned acquisition of the Italian pay-TV channel Telepiù, according to Reuters sources. The operation will nonetheless be subject to strict conditions. This will mean that the new company born of the merger between Stream, a subsidiary of News Corp, Telecom Italia and Telepiù, will face time limits on contracts with providers of exclusive programmes such as football matches and recent films. The football contracts will be limited to two years and the film contracts to three. The company will also have access to films which have recently graced the box-office as well as slightly older films. News Corp and Telecom Italia have agreed either to open a new channel with cheaper viewer subscription, or to give up the rights to a rival. Lastly, all parties have apparently undertaken also to give up Telepiù's digital terrestrial television stations, in order to allow a new digital television network to be created by 2006.
It is worth noting that the Stream/Telepiù merger is currently the subject of a detailed European Commission enquiry, as the operation may lead to a dominant position on the Italian pay-TV market. Last month, Commissioner Monti confirmed that discussions were underway between its services and the parties to the merger, and indicated that "remedial" proposals were being examined (see EUROPE of 13 February, p.12). The decision will be announced on 2 April.