The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has cleared the acquisition of Dutch media company RTL Nederland by DPG Media.
However, ACM has placed a series of conditions on the Belgian company to ensure there are no negative effects on media pluralism.
RTL Nieuws and DPG’s NU.nl will each be required to establish a foundation with priority shares that will be given a brief to maintain the mission and identities of the two organisations. They will also have vetos over the appointment and dismissal of the editor-in-chief and any plans or sell or end the organisation’s newsgathering activities.
As part of its assessment, ACM considered the rise in social media and changes taking place within news market.
Martijn Snoep, Chairman of the Board of ACM, said the news landscape plays a crucial role in democracy. “DPG and RTL are major competitors in the media sector. This acquisition cannot lead to a reduction in media pluralism. News consumers must continue to be able to choose from different, independent news sources. With these conditions, we have safeguarded that.”
The news sites of RTL and NU.nl will continue to be freely accessible without any paywalls. RTL Nieuws and NU.nl will continue to operate as separate news brands. Both news sites will continue to be created by separate, independent newsrooms, which will not exchange any content (including video) or data. In its app and on its website, RTL will not use content from other DPG-owned national news brands on a structural basis. In that way, RTL’s identity will remain intact.
DPG and RTL are major competitors in the news market in the Netherlands. DPG publishes newspapers, such as Algemeen Dagblad, de Volkskrant, Trouw, and Het Parool. In addition, DPG owns free news websites, including NU.nl. RTL Nederland has several commercial television stations. In addition, RTL offers video streaming service Videoland. RTL also offers free news through its television channels, its website rtl.nl, and in the RTL Nieuws app.
