Germany

[DE] KEK Approves Merger of CLT and UFA

IRIS 1998-5:1/20

Wolfgang Closs

Institute of European Media Law (EMR), Saarbrücken/Brussels

The Investigating Commission on Media Concentrations (Kommission zur Ermittlung der Konzentration im Medienbereich - KEK) (see IRIS 1997-6: 13) has formally approved the merger of Luxembourg's CLT and the Bertelsmann subsidiary UFA. At the end of the investigation procedure the Commission concluded that the merger, effective since January 1997, gave the two companies a viewer market share of approximately 27%, i.e. below the ceiling of 30% indicated in Section 26 of the Agreement between the Federal States on Broadcasting applicable in the Federal Republic of Germany. There was therefore no reason to suspect it would have an overpowering effect on public opinion, and the merger was not prejudicial to the plurality of opinion. The assessment was based on corresponding application documents from the appropriate regional media authorities and the viewer market shares for 1996 and 1997 provided by the television research body GfK (Gesellschaft für Kommunikationsforschung).

The investigation procedure covered the television companies RTL, RTL2, Super RTL, Premiere and VOX.