Poland’s two biggest media groups, ITI and Canal+, are set to merge this year. The Polish Antimonopoly Office (UOKiK) approved the move, after the companies appealed to authorities in April. According to UOKiK, the deal will not affect the Polish media market. “The merger will have an impact on the market of the pay-per-view TV channels, licensing services, access to pay-TV services and access to television advertising, though it will not abuse any of the competition rights, as the sides of the deal will still have to compete with the other market participants,” UOKiK wrote in a statement.
The French-based Groupe Canal+ is controlled by Vivendi Group, which operates in Poland as Canal+ Cyfrowy. The operator offers more than 100 pay-per-view channels in Poland, including Canal+, Ale kino and Mini Mini+. ITI owns the TVN media platform.
