Two local Dutch newspapers are no longer required to operate independently

Dutch regional newspapers PZC and BN/De Stem are no longer required to operate independently from each other. The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has come to this decision after an investigation into the competitive positions of regional newspapers in the region of Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, which is in the southwestern part of the Netherlands.

In 2000, ACM attached instructions to the concentration of PZC’s and BN/De Stem’s parent companies, VNU Dagbladen and Wegener. With the instructions, ACM wanted to maintain competition between the two regional newspapers in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, and to safeguard the independence of the editorial boards of both papers. Furthermore, ACM wanted that both papers continued to be distributed in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen. In that way, ACM sought to prevent a dominant position from emerging, which would enable the parties to raise prices and reduce quality.

Regional news market has changed

The media landscape has changed tremendously over the past few years due to the rise of online media. ACM had already established this when it assessed the 2015 acquisition of British publishing company Mecom by Belgian publishing company De Persgroep, and also when Belgian publishing company Mediahuis acquired Telegraaf Media Groep (TMG) earlier this year. This trend can be observed in the regional news market in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen as well. Local market conditions have changed so much that the abovementioned instructions no longer serve any purpose. With the advent of regional-news websites, sufficient competitive pressure is placed on the regional newspapers in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen. Furthermore, circulation figures of these two regional newspapers are in decline. ACM therefore would not expect any anticompetitive risks if the newspapers were no longer to operate independently.