Netherlands

[BE] Flemish Media Regulator Issues its 2014 Report on Media Concentration

IRIS 2015-2:1/6

Eva Lievens

Ghent University

Reporting on the developments within the media sector and more specifically the levels of media concentration in Flanders is one of the tasks that is assigned to the Flemish Media Regulator (Vlaamse Regulator voor de Media) by the Flemish Media Decree. The extensive 2014 report emphasises that it is increasingly difficult to undertake this task, as trends towards cross-media ownership and convergence proliferate. Flemish media groups are more and more intertwined and enter into alternating alliances in their quest to strengthen their position across various media. In addition, vertical concentration is increasing, given the interest of distribution companies in the preceding links in the value chain. One of the main findings of the report is that, although there is no one player that dominates the entire Flemish media landscape, many different forms of concentration (horizontal, vertical, cross-medial) can be identified within and between various media. As a result, the diversity of media offerings is put under pressure. A number of remedies to address this finding and policy recommendations were proposed by the Flemish Media Regulator. These include amending ownership restrictions, imposing must-offer obligations, increasing transparency and exercising caution about unlocking viewer and user data.