Carlton-United Merger Deal Referred To Competition Commission

The proposed merger between Carlton Communications and United News & Media was referred to the Competition Commission yesterday after months of anticipation. A three-month investigation will commence today which is expected to deliver its report on 16 May.

Trade and industry secretary Stephen Byers announced that the Office of Fair Trading had concluded that the planned merger between the two ITV groups raised competition concerns for both television programming and advertising, as expected (see Media Merger May Hit Regulatory Obstacles).

The main area of investigation will be whether the rule that no ITV company can control more than 25% of total television advertising is still relevant in a rapidly consolidating industry. A full scale review of the regulations concerning ownership of the ITV network may follow as full consolidation becomes increasingly likely.

Announcing his decision Byers said: “The parties to the merger are highly influential players in ITV. This is a very important area in which we all have an interest both for information and entertainment.”

The inquiry will also investigate the position of Granada, which sought permission to bid for one of the two groups earlier this year (see Granada Poised To Bid For Rivals). The DTI will decide whether to refer Granada’s proposal to the Commission on 28 February.

Competition Commission: 020 7324 1407