"KiKa-Telemedien": MDR commissions EE&MC with expert opinion on economic effects in digital markets

Re-definition of the three stage test on the horizon

MDR Leipzig

The Broadcasting Council of MDR has commissioned "Team Hildebrand" with the economic assessment of KiKa-Telemedien, the leading German children broadcasting media offer. EE&MC will analyse the economic effects of changes of Kika.de in the context of the socalled three-stage test "KiKa-Telemedien" in the relevant markets.  

 

The expansion of GAFAM (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft) determines these relevant markets. Next to them in the media sector, user interfaces such as Amazon Fire TV, Samsung Smart TV, Magenta TV, Giga TV, etc., web portals such as YouTube or video portals such as Netflix are exerting increasing competitive pressure on public service offerings. 

 

Along with the new players in the market, competition authorities and courts have refined their relevant market definitions. These "new" market definitions from the jurisprudence are the frame for the economic evaluation EE&MC is conducting.   

 

In 2009, EE&MC carried out the first three-stage test in Germany - also for KiKa telemedia. However, EE&MC's expertise with the three-stage test is even longer. As early as 2006, EE&MC supported ZDF in the state aid compromise with the European Commission. In this compromise, the three-stage test was conceptually designed for the first time. If the observed market dynamics confirm today, that the conceptual idea of the 2006-state aid compromise is outdated, a redefinition of the three-stage test in digital markets could be on the agenda for 2022.

 

The MDR Broadcasting Council will publish the results of the EE&MC expert testimony on its homepage.

Press release Drei-Stufen-Test Kika-Telemedien