Saturday, February 27, 2021
Cartel office would have to agree
Bertelsmann shows interest in ProsiebenSat1
With the RTL Group, Bertelsmann already has several high-coverage private broadcasters in its portfolio. In an interview, the Group's CEO is now interested in the takeover of competitor ProsiebenSat1. However, he expects a veto by the antitrust authorities beforehand.
The parent company of the television group RTL can imagine a takeover of the rival ProsiebenSat1 if the regulatory authorities give in. Bertelsmann boss Thomas Rabe told "Spiegel" when asked whether he saw the chance of such a takeover: "Of course. Such considerations are not imminent, however, because the antitrust authorities are still primarily looking at the classic television advertising market instead of the advertising market as a whole to be considered. "
Rabe does not see the risk that the variety of offers on the German television market could suffer as a result of the takeover. "I don't think that the variety of channels would decrease with a merger, the range of moving images in Germany is infinitely large. There is enough freedom of choice for everyone," said the Bertelsmann boss in "Spiegel".
Rabe also commented on the prospect of closer ties between the Bertelsmann subsidiaries RTL and Gruner + Jahr. A decision will be made in the third quarter of 2021. This involves both investments and cost reductions. Rabe has been CEO of the Gütersloh media group Bertelsmann since 2012. His contract was recently extended by the board of directors for a further five years.
Note: The news channel ntv and ntv.de are part of the Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland, a subsidiary of Bertelsmann.
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