The Spanish regulator CNMC has extended for a further three years all but one of the commitments related to take-over over TDS by Telefónica in 2015.
In a statement, it says that the only exception relates to the exclusive acquisition of broadcast rights in Spain of third-party non-sports audiovisual content for broadcast on SVOD. It adds that the commitments proposed by Tekefónica before it received permission for the take-over fall into three categories: commitments related to the pay television market in Spain; commitments related to the wholesale marketing markets for audiovisual content and television channels in Spain; and commitments related to access to the Telefónica internet network.
In the regulator’s view, they commitments should continue to be in place for a further three years as risks to competition still exist.
The SVOD exception now applies as the incumbent’s purchasing power has been significantly reduced since 2015.