Italy’s communications regulator Agcom has confirmed the launch of an investigation into the full extent of the telecommunications and media assets held by France’s Vivendi and Comcast’s Sky Italia. Both probes are set to last 4 months and are aimed at ascertaining whether the companies’ holdings are harmful to media plurality in the country by examining total revenues, entry barriers and the level of competition in the telecom and media sectors.
The inquiry into Vivendi’s assets will examine its stakes in commercial broadcaster Mediaset and Telecom Italia (TIM), said Agcom, adding that it will also be probing Sky Italia Holding’s activities via directly or indirectly controlled companies in the respective markets. The pay-TV giant has recently moved into the fixed broadband market with its Sky Wifi service using Open Fiber’s FTTH network.
Separately, Reuters reported that Vivendi has lodged a complaint with the European Commission against the stop-gap legislation brought in by Italian government that paved the way for Agcom’s inquiry. The French company argued that the law is designed to circumvent the EU Court of Justice's September ruling that the Italian law requiring Vivendi to freeze its stake in Mediaset on antitrust grounds infringed the bloc's regulations.
Vivendi is Mediaset’s second-largest shareholder with a 28.8 percent stake, although it was forced to cut its voting rights in the broadcaster to 10 percent following an Agcom ruling. It is also TIM’s biggest shareholder with a 23.9 percent holding.
