Bundeskartellamt


Sky facing bigger bill for German football

The value of German Bundesliga football rights is set to rocket to between €3.6 billion and €4.4 billion (US$4.1 to 5 billion) in the upcoming rights auction, placing a heavier financial burden on pay TV leader Sky, according to Ampere Analysis. While the value of Bundesliga rights has until now trailed well behind deals secured […]

Regulator blocks Germany’s Gold streaming service

Regulators have blocked the Germany’s Gold service that a group of German media companies had been prepping for launch. The Bundeskartellamt saidf that launch of the service would have violated antitrust rules as there would have been collusion on pricing and exclusive programming deals. It specifically highlighted the involvement of the commercial arms of German […]

German court questions Liberty Global’s Kabel BW deal

A German court has overturned antitrust regulator Bundeskartellamt’s 2011 approval of Liberty Global’s acquisition of operator Kabel BW on the grounds that certain conditions set out at the time were not sufficient to compensate for the merged entity’s market power. The Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court, acting on a complaint from Deutsche Telekom, ruled that the […]

Kabel Deutschland shares spike on Liberty rumour

Shares in Kabel Deutschland rose sharply yesterday on reports that Liberty Global may be preparing a bid for the leading German cable operator. According to business title Manager Magazin, Liberty Global aims to pre-empt Vodafone, which has reportedly been interested in acquiring the operator. While a bid for KDG would attract the attention of the […]

KDG’s Tele Columbus deal blocked by authorities

The acquisition of Tele Columbus by Germany’s leading cable operator Kabel Deutschland (KDG) has been blocked by the Federal Cartel Office, the Bundeskartellamt. The regulator rejected KDG’s offer to sell off Tele Columbus networks in Berlin, Dresden and Cottbus to assuage its concerns that the combination would have an adverse impact on competition. The Bundeskartellamt […]