EDITORIA QUOTIDIANA, PERIODICA E MULTIMEDIALE
PRESS RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE
PUBLISHING: ANTITRUST AUTHORITY OPENS INVESTIGATION INTO DAILY NEWSPAPERS, PERIODICALS AND MULTIMEDIA
The Italian Competition Authority, at its meeting on 6 February 2007, decided to open a fact-finding investigation into the publishing of daily newspapers, periodicals and multimedia with a view to a better understanding of the industry’s organization and legal underpinning, given the technological transformations that are under way and the widespread availability of new publishing products.
The investigation will specifically address the area of distribution which seems to be marked by significant competitive distortions. The existence of excessive regulation, such as barriers to entry of an administrative nature, the uniformity of the economic and commercial conditions of sale by the publisher to the reseller and the fixing of the cover price by the publisher, will be assessed in the light of recent developments in the market.
Another aspect to be investigated will be the existence of size thresholds for publishers whose aim is to ensure plurality in the news media. The Authority has on a number of occasions drawn attention to the possible inefficiencies and risks to competition caused by limiting companies’ market shares, especially if this is done over a prolonged period. One of the investigation’s aims will be to establish what other remedies besides this one may be available to guarantee a plurality of views in the news media while respecting the principles of competition.
In the context of a possible reform of regulations governing the industry, it also seems opportune to examine whether the subsidies mechanism distorts competition and what other institutions may be used to motivate competition and growth.
Experience in other countries where daily newspapers, periodicals and multimedia publishing have wide acceptance may also provide useful comparative parameters for identifying possible ways of redefining the system so as to balance the safeguarding of multiple sources of news and opinion against the need for efficient market-based mechanisms.
Rome, 13 February 2007