Bratislava, April 10, 2025 — The Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic (AMO) has launched administrative proceedings against a major commercial television broadcaster over concerns that it may be abusing its dominant market position.
The proceedings, initiated on April 9, focus on the broadcaster’s practices related to licensing TV archive and other non-linear television program services. According to the AMO, preliminary investigations suggest the broadcaster may have imposed unreasonable business conditions on retransmission operators — a move that could have raised operating costs for some service providers in Slovakia and potentially violated competition law.
While the AMO has not publicly named the broadcaster involved, the case targets a provider of linear TV services — traditional scheduled broadcasting — that also licenses content for on-demand platforms such as archives and catch-up services.
Under Slovak competition law, if a company is found guilty of abusing a dominant position, it could face a fine of up to 10% of its global turnover from the previous financial year.
However, the AMO stressed that the initiation of proceedings does not imply guilt, nor does it predetermine the outcome of the case. The investigation will now proceed with a detailed examination of the broadcaster’s licensing terms and market behavior.
This case adds to growing regulatory scrutiny across Europe of how media and telecom giants manage access to digital content, especially in markets where few players dominate the supply of broadcasting rights.
