Presidencia de la Nación

The CNDC issued an Objection Report under Section 14 of Act 27.442 of Defence of Competition concerning the transaction in which Discovery acquired WarnerMedia from AT&T.

Discovery is a media company established in the USA and active in more than 220 countries. In Argentina, it mainly produces and trades pay-tv signals and its platform Video on Demand.

WarnerMedia is part of an AT&T conglomerate established in the USA. It produces and licenses audio-visual content, creates and markets basic and premium pay-TV signals, and trades its VoD platform.

The CNDC has concluded that the transaction raises concerns about horizontal effects within the markets of children's programming signals, films and series, and non-fiction entertainment signals.

Due to the range of signals produced by both companies, there is additional concern about the potential portfolio effects of this acquisition.

Finally, there are concerns about the vertical effects that can emerge if the business created by the transaction tries to restrict the content of pay TV to reroute it through its direct distribution platforms.

In its Objection Report, the CNDC also recommended the Secretary of Trade issue an anticipatory injunction to order the companies to keep businesses separated until the case is solved.

Under Argentina's competition law, the CNDC releases a public Objection Report whenever it finds that a transaction might potentially restrict or damage competition.

The parties are then called to a special hearing to review potential remedies to lessen the transaction's impact on competition.