Germany

[DE] Media concentration - Investigating Committee Sets up Shop

IRIS 1997-6:1/27

Valentina Becker

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

On Thursday 15 May 1997, the Investigating Committee on Media Concentrations (Konzentrationsermittlungskommission - KEK), provided for in Article 35 of the Broadcasting Agreement between the Federal States, was formally established in Potsdam, where it will be based. It has the task of ensuring, before and after licensing, that private broadcasters respect the regulations introduced which are designed to guarantee plurality of opinion (see IRIS 1996-4: 9).

Reimut Jochimsen, president of the Central Bank of Nordrhein-Westfalen, was elected president. The six members appointed by the Presidents of the Länder for a five-year term include Hans Dieter Lübbert (practising lawyer), Friedrich Kübler (academic lawyer), Peter Lerche (legal expert), Ernst-Joachim Mestmacker (specialist in competition law) and K. Peter Mailänder (expert on cartels).

The KEK' s budget comes from the 2% share of radio and TV licence fees of the Länder s' Media authorities.The KEK has barely started operating, but already has its hands full. It will, for example, be reviewing partnership contracts concluded by PRO Sieben, RTL and DSF, and will have to decide on air-time limits for Sat 1 and nation-wide licensing of the digital platform DF 1.