The Government endorsed this Wednesday the divestment of Disney (ESPN) in Argentinawhich includes the transfer of signals and television rightsas a prior step to authorizing its merger with Fox. This was confirmed by sources from the Ministry of Internal Trade to THE NATION. The decision will be published in the Official Gazette.
The resolution was signed by the Secretary Roberto Felettiand was supported by the Minister of Productive Development, Matias Kulfas. With the detachment of Disney, the Spanish company enters the country’s television market MediaProwhat it is mostly controlled by Chinese capital.
From the government portfolio they clarified, however, that the resolution signed this Wednesday does not definitively authorize the merger of Disney, owner of ESPN, with Fox. To do this, they explained that companies must meet “a series of requirements” that “will be evaluated in a timely manner.” Is regarding marketing and bundling actions that minimize “portfolio effects” for a period of five years, as suggested the National Commission for the Defense of Competition (CNDC).
As LA NACION had publishedthe divestment includes the transfer of Fox cable TV channels and the transmission rights of the Copa Libertadores, the UEFA Champions League, the NFL, the MLB, Formula 1, the UFC, the WWE, the Premier Boxing Champions, the ACB Basketball League, the World Rugby Sevens and the ATP World Tour 250 – ATP Córdoba.
In this way, will transfer to MediaPro the basic cable TV channels called Fox Sports, with all of the corresponding rights to the contents that were transmitted by them at the time of the merger.
For its part, Disney retains all of Argentine soccer and does not transfer the transmission of River or Boca.
Detachment was a necessary condition that the government had put in January to give the green light to Disney’s desire to join Fox. Then, the statement from the National Commission for the Defense of Competition forced Disney to sell its rights to “an external competitor of pay TV.”
