J. Sroczyński for WuW No. 9/2009 – Antitrust proceedings concerning the broadcasting of football matches
The President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (“OCCP”) has opened antimonopoly investigation against Polsat Cyfrowy, a satellite operator which had purchased the exclusive rights to broadcast Euro 2008 Football Championships in Poland. Polsat Cyfrowy has been faced with allegations of abusing is market dominance through tie-in arrangements, allegedly conditioning sales of public transmission rights to the purchase of Polsat’s decoders and technical support. Polsat Cyfrowy denied these allegations, claiming that its contractors had the necessary freedom of choice.
The President of the OCCP has refused to institute legal proceedings against Empik, the leading Polish network book retailer. Allegations of the abuse of dominance were submitted by the Institute of the Book, a governmental agency established to promote and support the book market in Poland, but were rejected by the OCCP on the grounds of a different market approach. The OCCP stated that the book retail market should be defined broadly, without slicing it to the network form of sales. The position of the OCCP is important especially for small or niche publishing houses, complaining that Empik has been applying a range of different exploitation practices, while a continued existence in the otherwise efficient sales network of Empik is a “to be or not be” issue.
The President of the OCCP has cleared two merger notifications, both taking place on the Polish pharmaceutical wholesale market. The first consent was granted to Torfarm for an acquisition of Prosper, and the second to Hurtap acquiring MultiPharme. Those acquisitions decrease the number of the leading players on that market in Poland to some 5-6. However, according to the market report published by the OCCP, the concentration tendencies will likely continue also in the coming years.
J. Sroczyński, Wirtschaft und Wettbewerb. Developments in national competition law, No. 9/2009.
