The Bundeskartellamt takes a critical view of the ARD/ZDF online platform project "Germany’s Gold". In April 2012 several companies of the ARD and ZDF broadcasting groups, together with eleven other production and licensing companies, set up the online platform "Germany’s Gold". After carrying out a preliminary assessment of the project the Bundeskartellamt has now expressed its concerns about it to the companies involved.

Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt: "ARD and ZDF act as entrepreneurs and competitors on the video-on-demand market which means that, like any other company, they have to market their products independently of one another. However, according to the broadcasters' concept of the project so far, the joint online platform would mean that the prices and choice of videos, in particular, would be coordinated between the two broadcasters. The problems arising under competition law are obvious. In addition, the media libraries and the production of content are financed by user fees and therefore already distort competition to a considerable degree on the video-on-demand market. Further-reaching restrictions of competition by the commercial subsidiaries of the broadcasters cannot be accepted. The general question whether it is justified to demand payment for the use of content which has already been financed by user fees is not an issue under competition law."

The joint marketing of videos on the Internet by the commercial subsidiaries of ARD and ZDF would not only lead to the coordination of prices and availability of the videos. It is also to be suspected that alternative platforms would have no or only limited access to the videos.

The companies have expressed their willingness to offer commitments. The competition concerns can be dispelled if, in particular, the parties were to abandon their business model of joint marketing and limit the project to the operation of a purely technical platform.

The proceedings for examining the online platform under competition law are two-fold. The launch of the joint venture first necessitated merger control proceedings, which the Bundeskartellamt was able to conclude with a clearance decision. It could be ruled out that the project would create or strengthen a dominant position, which is the object of examination under merger control (cf. Bundeskartellamt press release of 28 November 2011).