EC vetoes KommAustria's plan to keep wholesale broadcasting regulation unchanged

Following a two months in-depth investigation the European Commission required the Austrian broadcasting regulator (KommAustria) to withdraw plans for continued regulation of the wholesale market for analogue terrestrial radio broadcasting transmission in Austria, as such plans would place the national radio broadcaster (ORF) at an undue competitive advantage over other broadcasters.

The Commission is particularly concerned by the fact that despite the lack of competitive developments in Austria under the current regulatory regime since 2013, KommAustria proposed to impose a practically unchanged set of regulatory obligations but excludes from the regulated market the supply of radio transmission services by the main operator (ORS) to its parent company, the national broadcaster (ORF).