Commission unconditionally approves RTL’s acquisition of Sky DACH

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission.

The European Commission has unconditionally approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition by RTL Deutschland GmbH (‘RTL‘) of Sky German Holdings GmbH (‘Sky DACH‘). The Commission concluded that the transaction would raise no competition concerns in the European Economic Area (‘EEA’).

RTL is an entertainment group based in Germany and active across a broad spectrum of media such as TV and streaming, print and digital, radio and podcasts. It has activities in various levels of the audiovisual value chain, including in the production and broadcasting of audiovisual content as well as in video advertising services. Sky DACH, headquartered in Germany, is a pay TV operator and also active across the audiovisual value chain. Both companies make their products available in German-speaking areas of the EEA, namely in Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein and South Tyrol (Italy) as well as, outside the EEA, Switzerland.

According to the companies, the transaction will enable them to better compete with global streaming platforms and react to the rapid changes in audiovisual content delivery.

The Commission’s investigation

The Commission investigated the impact of the transaction on the markets for:

• the supply and acquisition of audiovisual content,
• the wholesale supply and acquisition of TV channels and audiovisual services,
• the retail of audiovisual services to end customers, and
• the supply of advertising space in audiovisual content.

RTL and Sky DACH’s activities overlap in these markets, and in some narrower segments within these markets, and give rise to non-horizontal links in Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and South Tyrol (Italy).

The Commission investigated the impact of the transaction in these markets and gathered extensive feedback from customers, suppliers and competitors of RTL and Sky DACH on all levels of the audiovisual value chain. On the basis of this investigation, the Commission found that the transaction, as notified, would not significantly reduce competition. In particular:  

• the transaction is unlikely to result in increased buyer power of RTL and Sky DACH in the markets for the acquisition of audiovisual content. The Commission concluded that, for both entertainment and sports content, RTL and Sky DACH currently have different focuses and are therefore not close competitors, there are sufficient alternative purchasers, there are no significant barriers to entry and there is increasing competitive pressure, in particular from global streaming platforms.
• the transaction does not lead to a reduction of competition for wholesale supply or acquisition of TV channels and audiovisual services, as the merged entity only has moderate market share, the companies are not close competitors, and sufficient alternative suppliers for audiovisual retailers will remain.
• the transaction would not affect competition in the markets for audiovisual retail services to end customers (for instance TV package offers and subscription-based streaming services). The Commission found that the companies do not have a strong market position in audiovisual retail, depend on a broad distribution of their channels and services, and that competing providers of audiovisual retail services can choose from sufficient alternative channels and subscription services.
• the transaction does not lead to a significant reduction of competition in the market for the supply of advertising space, which the parties submitted is a market under significant pressure in view of shifting viewership to, in particular, global streaming platforms. The Commission concluded that, even in the market for the supply of linear TV advertising, the transaction only results in a small increment in the companies’ position and sufficient evidence shows that they are not close competitors, there are sufficient alternatives (or sufficient entry is likely), and customers can switch easily and do so in practice.

RTL submitted commitments to remove these potential concerns relating to advertising markets. However, upon further investigation, the Commission concluded that the commitments offered by RTL were not necessary. The Commission therefore concluded that the proposed transaction would raise no competition concerns on markets in the EEA, and cleared the transaction unconditionally.

Merger control rules and procedure

The transaction was notified to the Commission on 27 February 2026.

The Commission has the duty to assess mergers and acquisitions involving companies with a turnover above certain thresholds (see Article 1 of the EU Merger Regulation) and to prevent concentrations that would significantly impede effective competition in the EEA or any substantial part of it.

The vast majority of notified mergers do not pose competition problems and are cleared after a routine review. From the moment a transaction is notified, the Commission generally has 25 working days to decide whether to grant approval (Phase I) or to start an in-depth investigation (Phase II).

For more information

More information will be available on the Commission’s competition website, in the public case register under the case number M.12076.