Contract Rights Renewal undertakings review

13 February 2008

The OFT has published a statement of issues (pdf 84 kb) concerning the Contract Rights Renewal undertakings review.

30 January 2008

The OFT and Ofcom have formally launched a review of the Contract Rights Renewal (CRR) undertakings. The review will be conducted by the OFT and Ofcom in partnership and is expected to take around one year.

See press release.

For more information see the joint statement on scope of the CRR review (pdf 66 kb).

The OFT has also published a series of frequently asked questions (pdf 73 kb) for the CRR review.

ITV has prepared a short summary (pdf 43 kb) of its reasons for requesting the CRR review.

Background

The CRR undertakings were accepted by the Secretary of State in November 2003 following a finding by the Competition Commission (CC) that a proposed merger of Carlton and Granada would be expected to be contrary to the public interest. Among other things, the CC found the merger would have an adverse effect on competition for the sale of advertising airtime. The CRR undertakings were intended to directly address the CC's concerns about increased market power following the proposed merger.

Back to: Current reviews of undertakings