France: D-Day broadcasters under antitrust fire

As France is set to host top government leaders from around the globe on Friday to view events commemorating D-Day, reports say the event broadcasters are now under fire for alleged antitrust violations regarding the celebration.

The European Commission confirmed it is aware of complaints that accuse French broadcasters’ share of content broadcasting of being anticompetitive and threatening to induce high access charges. Commercial television stations and new agencies have condemned French broadcasters’ handling of that sharing agreement as one muddled with confusion.

Known as the pool, the agreement made between media groups to share the content – and how it was handled by French broadcasters – was the subject of complaints sent to the Commission, which declined to name which companies submitted the complaints. While the European Broadcasting Union can allow national, public broadcasters to secure access to the content, reports say other international broadcasters could have to pay up to $83,000 to access the programming, reports say.

France’s President Francois Hollande responded to early complaints about those costs on Friday to assure that foreign stations could access the main D-Day ceremony content for free.

Full content: Reuters

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