Planned merger of Super RTL, Nickelodeon withdrawn, says German cartel office (updated)

Bertelsmann SE & Co KGaA

17/09/2024 10:33

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       BERLIN, Sept 17 (Reuters) - German broadcaster RTL
 BTGG.F  and Paramount  PARA.O  have withdrawn their bid to
merge Super RTL, a children's television network, with
Nickelodeon, the German cartel office said on Tuesday.
    The office said the withdrawal had occurred after it
informed the companies that it intended to prohibit the planned
merger.
    Super RTL, belonging to Bertelsmann's RTL Group  AUDK.LU ,
in April said it had struck a deal to acquire Nickelodeon series
in Germany. 
    Under the agreement, Super RTL would have acquired a rights
package to bring current and upcoming series from Nickelodeon,
owned by Paramount Global  PARA.O , to its television programme.
    Popular Nickelodeon series include "PAW Patrol" and
"SpongeBob SquarePants".    
    German cartel office head Andreas Mundt said its intention
to prohibit the merger was mainly due to the limited space for
advertising targeted at children aged three to 13.
         "There are only a very limited number of companies that
offer advertising space specifically aimed at children, above
all RTL with its relevant TV programme," he said. 
  
        Even if YouTube Kids were included in the analysis,
Super RTL remains the dominant provider of such advertising and
would further significantly grow with the addition of
Nickelodeon, the cartel office said.
  

 (Reporting by Miranda Murray, writing by Marleen Kaesebier,
editing by Thomas Seythal and Friederike Heine)
 ((Miranda.Murray@thomsonreuters.com;))