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Because of a complaint from the Private Broadcasting and Telecommunications Union (VPRT), dated April 2003, on 5 April 2004 the EC Commission (Competition DG) made a request for information from the Federal Republic of Germany. The complaint was directed against the financing of the public broadcasters, ARD and ZDF, in particular, for what were possibly anti-competitive practices in relation to the acquisition of football transmission rights. The complaint reproached ARD and ZDF for allegedly acquiring sports transmission rights without actually broadcasting the relevant sporting events later on....

At the beginning of April, public service TV broadcasters ARD and ZDF reached an agreement with Kabel Deutschland concerning a series of conditions for the digital transmission of their programmes. Kabel Deutschland acquired most of the broadband cable networks previously owned by Deutsche Telekom and is currently preparing to take over additional networks. There had been a dispute over the technical parameters for the cable transmission of the respective programme bundles, ARD Digital and ZDF Vision, which largely cover the whole range of digital public service TV channels. As well as the ARD...

In a recently-published decision taken in January 2004 the responsible regulatory body, the Hamburgische Anstalt für neue Medien (Hamburg New Media Authority - HAM) ruled that the programme guide offered by the magazine HÖRZU was compatible with the requirements of media law. Axel Springer AG was given official clearance under media law for its EPG in accordance with Art. 53.2 and 53.5 of the Rundfunkstaatsvertrag (Inter-State Broadcasting Agreement - RfStV). The electronic programme guide submitted to HAM was deemed to be a navigator in the sense of Art. 53.2 RfStV and Art. 14 of the Satzung...

According to a decision of the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Supreme Court - BGH) of 22 January 2004, the owner of an apartment with a cable connection can install a satellite dish on his balcony if this is the only way of safeguarding his right to information. In the BGH's opinion, there was no legal justification for preventing foreign apartment owners from installing a satellite dish even if they already had a broadband cable connection. This applied to the legal provisions governing the use of separate and joint property. Neither could such a right be restricted by regulations permitting the...

In a decision of 15 January 2004, the Bundesverfassungsgericht (Federal Constitutional Court) quashed the rulings of the lower instance courts condemning private TV broadcaster RTL for giving unauthorised legal advice. The case concerned a dispute involving RTL plus Deutschland Fernsehen GmbH & Co. KG and the transmission of several episodes of the programme " Wie bitte ". In one report, an argument between a haulage firm and the firm M. was discussed, concerning, inter alia, invoices for a telephone connection and the use of a so-called Twincard. RTL's production company wrote to firm M., asking...