The European Court of Justice has overturned the European Commission’s approval of the merger between Dutch cable operators UPC and Ziggo. The court said the Commission in 2014 did not sufficiently look at competition on the market for premium TV content. Liberty Global, the owner of UPC, had at the time also its own TV channels. The appeal was filed by the cable operators' main rival, KPN.
The consequences of the ruling are not yet clear. The EC's decision has been annulled, but that does not mean the merger will be nullified. The merger between UPC and Ziggo has already taken place and since been followed by a joint venture with Vodafone Netherlands. The European Commission can also still appeal the latest ruling.
Merger approved in 2014, with commitments
The merger between UPC and Ziggo was originally meant to take place in 2013. Liberty Global opened with a friendly bid for Ziggo in January 2014, followed by a formal one in March. In October, the European Commission gave its green light in exchange for some concessions on the television market. Liberty Global and Ziggo were at the time the owners of three of the four premium channels on the market, namely Film1, Sport1 and HBO Nederland. Only Fox Sports fell outside the proposed merger.
As a concession, Liberty Global proposed selling Film1, and promised not to restrict access to its other premium packages. The European Commission decided not to conduct an in-depth analysis of the market for television services, with breakdowns by base/premium, film or sport, because it felt it would not change the outcome.
KPN did not agree with the failure to analyse the market and brought the matter to the European Court of Justice. The judge specifically looked at the position of premium sports channels and, as a consequence, overturned the Commission's decision. A company spokesperson said KPN was "obviously, satisfied".
