The Future of the Control of Media Concentration

Not just since the publishing house Axel-Springer-Verlag was refused a majority shareholding in ProSieben SAT.1 Media AG have the regulation and the processes of controlling concentration in the media field been the subject of jurisprudential and juridical policy-making discussions. Ambiguities exist above all, when so-called cross-media integration is included (that is, for instance, broadcasting and the press): is the current focus on broadcasting still appropriate? What significance accrues to online and mobile offerings in this context? How can an unambiguous legal situation and security at law be guaranteed for the benefit of all involved parties?

After the Institute had offered suggestions for developing the control of concentration further, an analysis was made in 2007 for the Commission on Concentration in the Media (Kommission zur Ermittlung der Konzentration im Medienbereich KEK) on the legislative reaction in other countries to cross-media connections.