Conditional Merger Of Poland's Two Leading Cable TV Providers

The acquisition of cable TV provider Aster by its direct competitor UPC has been given conditional approval by UOKIK, the Polish competition authority.

UPC and Aster operate primarily in Warsaw and Cracow. Their combined market share in both cities is between 50-60%.

Before approving the merger, UOKIK conducted a market inquiry to establish the views of the companies' competitors. It noted that giving unconditional consent for the merger would result in the creation of a dominant undertaking and could lead to the significant restriction of competition in the pay cable TV market. This could be potentially harmful to consumers, recipients of fixed-line broadband internet and pay cable TV.