Brussels, 05/01/2004 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has cleared a number of agreements regarding the exclusive co-operation between Norway's Telenor, its satellite TV platform Canal Digital and Canal+ Nordic for the satellite distribution of Canal+' premium pay-TV channels in the Nordic region. This will allow enhanced digital pay-TV services and the roll-out of new decoder technology at low cost, exclusive satellite distribution of Canal+ Nordic's premium pay-TV channels, covering recent top films and popular sports events, through its Direct-To-Home satellite TV platform Canal Digital.
The agreements, as initially notified, raised a number of competition concerns particularly in respect of the long duration of certain exclusive arrangements. After the parties had substantially shortened their duration, the Commission concluded that the restrictive effects of the exclusive arrangements were largely outweighed by the benefits provided. Co-operation between Canal+ Nordic and Canal Digital during a limited period of time allows to maintain a reasonable degree of competition with the second satellite pay-TV distributor in the Nordic region, MTG/Viasat, while preserving the possibility of market entry for potential competitors in the Nordic pay-TV segments in the mid and long-term. This ultimately benefits end-consumers in the Nordic region through the availability of two distinct pay-TV brands at competitive prices as well as enhanced digital pay-TV services and new decoder technology at low cost.