Media mergers

The Federal Government discussion paper on media reform issued in March 2006 indicated that the ACCC would be asked to articulate its proposed approach to media mergers, with a particular focus on media market definition. The Government announced its media reform proposals on 13 July 2006. Consequently, the ACCC has now issued a paper on media mergers.

The ACCC's paper provides guidance on its approach to media mergers. It discusses how the ACCC might consider such issues as the various dimensions of media markets—products, geographic and functional—as well as the relevant timeframe for considering media mergers.

The paper does not and cannot provide hard-and-fast rules about the impact of specific media mergers on competition.

The individual circumstances and competitive implications of any media merger proposals will need to be considered during a comprehensive and public clearance process.

For further information on this paper, please contact the ACCC Infocentre on 1300 302 502 or email mergers@accc.gov.au.

This publication has been updated to refer to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 which replaces the Trade Practices ACT 1974 on 1 January 2011.For more information on the Australian Consumer Law changes see www.consumerlaw.gov.au