RTL expects regulator to approve sale to DPG Media within the next month and a half

RTL Group is expecting the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) to approve the deal to sell their Dutch activities to DPG Media within the next month and a half. RTL said during the presentation of their quarterly figures that they are expecting the deal to be approved before the end of the current quarter.

The ACM said in May of last year that they were going to investigate the deal thoroughly as it could have significant consequences for the media landscape in the Netherlands.

DPG Media is a Belgian company that is the publisher of news outlets like the AD, the Volkskrant, and Trouw. It also owns the news site Nu.nl, and he radio channel Qmusic. RTL Nederland manages the TV channels RTL 4, RTL 5, RTL 7, RTL 8, RTLZ, and the streaming platform Videoland. The ACM is concerned about the consequences that the takeover could have for the quality of news provision in the country.

Het Financieele Dagblad reported on Wednesday that the regulator will likely approve the deal and that their concerns regarding certain agreements are solvable. An example of this is the assurance that DPG gave to the regulator that the websites and editorials of RTL Nieuws and Nu.nl will remain separate entities for the next 10 years.

Despite the reports, RTL still seemed a little cautious when speaking about the deal being approved during the presentation of their quarterly figures.

RTL’s initial plan was to have their Dutch branch merge with the media company Talpa, but the ACM blocked this deal in 2023. The regulator feared that the two companies together would be too powerful on the commercial television market.

RTL Group booked 1.3 billion euros in turnover, a drop of 2 percent compared to last year. The media group cited lower revenues from the films, series, and documentaries of its production company, Fremantle, and lower revenues from TV advertising as the reason.

The business had 7.1 million paying subscriptions to its streaming services, an increase of over 18 percent. The results exclude the activities of RTL Nederland.