The Dutch Competition Authority clears merger between a supplier of pay television and an operator of television networks (Chellomedia Programming, Canal+)

1. Introduction On 15 December 2004 the Dutch Competition Authority (Nederlandse Mededingingsautoriteit,hereinafter "NMa") received a notification for a merger between UPC Programming B.V. ("UPC", now Chellomedia Programming B.V.) and Canal+ N.V. ("Canal+"). According to the proposed merger UPC would acquire control over (i) the wholesale distribution of premium television on the Dutch market, (ii) the retail distribution of pay television broadcastings to subscribers in the Netherlands through cable in specific areas and through DVB-T (Digital Video Broadcasting – Terrestrial) and (iii) the required technical and administrative services [1]. Chellomedia Programming B.V. provides for services in the Netherlands under the name UPC. UPC is an operator for distribution networks of radio