Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.11523 – WBD / TWDC / FOX / JV) – Candidate case for simplified procedure
Date: 2024-06-07
Institutions: Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
Subjects: United States, audiovisual industry, culture industry, digital content, distributor, economic concentration, mass media, merger control, programmes industry, sport








C_202403679EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2024/3679


7.6.2024






Prior notification of a concentration
(Case M.11523 – WBD / TWDC / FOX / JV)
Candidate case for simplified procedure
(Text with EEA relevance)
(C/2024/3679)


1.   
On 3 June 2024, the Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1).
This notification concerns the following undertakings:






—


Warner Bros. Discovery (‘WBD’, UNITED STATES),










—


The Walt Disney Company (‘TWDC’, UNITED STATES),










—


FOX Corporation (‘FOX’, UNITED STATES).




WBD, TWDC and FOX (together, the ‘Parties’) will acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of a greenfield Joint Venture (‘JV’).
The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares in a newly created company constituting a joint venture.


2.   
The business activities of the undertakings concerned are the following:






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WBD is a global media and entertainment company that combines the WarnerMedia Business’s entertainment, sports and news assets with Discovery’s non-fiction and international entertainment and sports businesses, thus offering audiences a differentiated portfolio of content, brands and franchises across television, film, streaming and gaming,










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TWDC comprises Disney Entertainment, ESPN, and Disney Experiences. Disney Entertainment includes the company’s global portfolio of entertainment media and content. ESPN includes ESPN networks, ESPN+, and the company’s international sports channels. Disney Experiences offers Disney-themed activities and products beyond audio-visual content,










—


FOX produces and delivers news, sports and entertainment content through its brands, including FOX News Media, FOX Sports, FOX Entertainment, FOX Television Stations and Tubi Media Group.






3.   

The business activities of the JV will be the following: develop, launch, and operate a new, sports-centric Virtual Multichannel Video Programming Distributor (the ‘Platform’) that shall distribute solely in the United States certain channels that offer sports programming and sports streaming services distributed by the Parties. The Platform intends to offer subscribers in the United States a new way to access the Parties’ sports-centric content, in addition to the Parties’ current offerings.



4.   
On preliminary examination, the Commission finds that the notified transaction could fall within the scope of the Merger Regulation. However, the final decision on this point is reserved.
Pursuant to the Commission Notice on a simplified treatment for certain concentrations under Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 on the control of concentrations between undertakings (2) it should be noted that this case is a candidate for treatment under the procedure set out in the Notice.


5.   
The Commission invites interested third parties to submit their possible observations on the proposed operation to the Commission.
Observations must reach the Commission not later than 10 days following the date of this publication. The following reference should always be specified:
M.11523 – WBD / TWDC / FOX / JV
Observations can be sent to the Commission by email or by post. Please use the contact details below:
Email: COMP-MERGER-REGISTRY@ec.europa.eu

Postal address:





European Commission




Directorate-General for Competition




Merger Registry




1049 Bruxelles/Brussel




BELGIQUE/BELGIË







(1)  
            OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1 (the ‘Merger Regulation’).

(2)  
            OJ C 160, 5.5.2023, p. 1.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/3679/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)