R.T.I.-RETI TELEVISIVE ITALIANE/RAMO DI AZIENDA DI EUROPA TV
PRESS RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE
ANTITRUST APPROVES PURCHASE BY RTI (MEDIASET) OF EUROPA TV. AUTHORITY TO HOLD COMPANY TO COMMITMENTS ON ADVERTISING
The Italian Competition Authority, at its meeting on 10 April 2006, decided to approve the acquisition of Europa TV’s broadcasting network by RTI (a company of the Mediaset Group). The authorization is however conditional on a series of commitments made by the Mediaset Group, which are listed below and which will be the subject of ongoing scrutiny by the Antitrust Authority. The Authority may intervene if the conditions are not met.
a) A fundamental condition of the operation is that the Mediaset Group must not, directly or indirectly, sell advertising through the network acquired;
b) the network is to be dedicated exclusively to providing television content to mobile sets using DVB-H technology;
c) the network will be open to telecommunications operators who may request it and the transmission capacity will be made available on an equitable, reasonable and non-discriminatory basis;
d) the network may also carry content for third-party suppliers as well as for RTI;
e) the business model foreseen by the company for the supply of transmission services for digital television on mobile sets using DVB-H technology, as presented in its entirety, implies full responsibility on the part of the telephone companies in furnishing and managing the content, and consequently the Mediaset Group will not offer DVB-H services directly to the end consumer;
f) the sale of advertising will be the exclusive responsibility of the mobile operators and will be for their exclusive benefit;
The Authority, considering that the takeover aims to dedicate the transmission capacity exclusively to the development of a DVB-H network to supply television content on mobile sets, in a market which is still in an embryonic state, and that it may later be reviewed pursuant to Article 16 Paragraph 7 of the antitrust law, decided to authorize the operation.
Rome, 12 April 2006