French Competition Authority: TF1 and M6 propose keeping their advertising agencies after the merger

As part of the planned merger between TF1 and M6, the French industrial group Bouygues (TF1's parent company) and the German audiovisual group RTL Group (M6's parent company) are proposing to maintain their separate advertising agencies (TF1 Publicité and M6 Publicité) for the three years following the merger, in response to the first unfavourable report by the French Competition Authority, according to information reported by the daily newspaper Le Figaro on 19/08/2022.

The strict separation of the two advertising agencies (autonomous governance, a ban on communicating with each other, etc.) could be extended by three years if the Authority so requests. The radio advertising agencies (TF1 markets the advertising space for 130 radio stations grouped together in Les Indés radio, and M6 those of its subsidiaries RTL, RTL 2 and Fun Radio) would also remain separate, according to Le Figaro.

The French competition authority issued a first unfavourable report on the merger between the two groups, according to TF1 and M6 on 26/07/2022. The Authority's investigation services considers "that…