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Brussels (pte039/02.04.2003/15:39) - The European Commission has approved the takeover of Italian pay-TV station Telepiu by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. The station is to merge with its rival Stream, making Murdoch sole ruler of the Italian pay-TV landscape.
To break up what the EU Commission calls a "quasi-monopoly", the approval has been given on several conditions, as announced today by commissioner Mario Monti http://europa.eu.int/comm/press_room/index_de.htm .
The deal has been approved because of the poor commercial success of both pay stations up to now. Neither of them has been able to turn a profit. If the deal had not been approved, the News Corp subsidiary Stream would have been forced to fold - an eventuality which the commission considers a greater problem for consumers than the merger itself.
The new TV company will be controlled by News Corp. Telecom Italia, which has owned half of Stream up to now, will hold a 19.9 per cent share in the new company, which is to bear the name Sky Italia.
As a special condition of the deal, News Corp must permit other potential providers access to the market under fair conditions. This should guarantee that not just News Corp's CAS technology be used. The conditions are effective until the end of 2011.
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