Broadcast market structures and retransmission payments: A European perspective

Abstract

As a considerable area of conflict in the US broadcast market, the issue of retransmission payments has gained momentum in Europe as well. By conducting case studies of two European regions, Flanders and Denmark, this article focuses on the political economy of retransmission payments in the broadcaster-to-distributor market. It is suggested that the competitive position of an actor in a bargaining game crucially depends on contextual factors, including market concentration, vertical integration and product differentiation.