Competition Issues in Television and Broadcasting

Significant technological and structural changes in the television and broadcasting sector have been affecting the way consumers access audio-visual content.‌

New technologies and the dynamic effects of convergence imply the need to ensure a cautious and neutral approach in the design of competition law and regulation.

Also, the growing demand for triple/quadruple play services complicate the process of delineating relevant markets and increase risks of overlapping jurisdictions.

Technological developments affect therefore the conditions of competition since they alter: the range and quality of services, the underlying costs, the extent of barriers to entry, the ability of customers to switch suppliers and pricing mechanisms (for example with the provision of pay-per-view services).

While digitisation generally reduces barriers to entry rendering markets more competitive, recent developments in the sector raise new challenges for competition policy:

Delineating the relevant market becomes more difficult (especially due to triple/quadruple play services)
Consequently, jurisdiction among both sectoral and competition authorities as well as different sectoral regulators can overlap
Governmental policy can restrict market access
Competition legislation needs to cope with rapid technological changes.

RELATED COMPETITION POLICY ROUNDTABLES

The Digital Economy (2012)

Market Definition (2012)

Media Mergers (2003)

Competition and Regulation Issues in Telecommunications (2001)

Competition and Regulation in Broadcasting in the Light of Convergence (1998)

OTHER RELATED LINKS

Liberalisation and competition intervention in regulated sectors

2011 Latin American Competition Forum session: Triple/Quadruple Play in Telecoms

All Competition Policy Roundtables

More OECD work on Competition

More OECD work on Broadband and Telecom

TV Broadcasting and the 2013 OECD Global Forum on Competition

The television and broadcasting industry raised the interest of participants of the 2013 meeting of the Global Forum on Competition who provided numerous examples of challenges faced by national competition authorities. Participants examined, in particular, issues that arise in the provision of television broadcasting to viewers and discussed to which extent these changes make television broadcasting more competitive.

The debate also revealed that access to market continues to be restricted (such restrictions, for instance, result from governmental policy or the presence of dominant broadcasters) and showed that competition authorities have become more active in launching policy interventions to face new challenges.

Downloads:

Competition Issues in Television and Broadcasting 2013 (pdf) - Compilation of all documents, including the executive summary with key findings, country and expert contributions, background note and summary

Executive summary | Synthèse

Summary of discussion | Compte rendu

Background note | Note de référence

View below all papers and documents