The Bertelsmann SA-Kirch Gruppe digital pay-TV joint venture, DF1, now looks as if it will be cleared by the EC competition authorities. However, the companies involved have had to make further unspecified concessions to get the venture past the previously openly hostile commission. The breakthrough was made in negotiations last Tuesday. CLT (Ufa), the television company in which Kirch has a 50 percent stake, revealed that concessions had been made but made no further comment. These concessions are in addition to Bertelsmann-Kirch consortium agreeing to give up the broadcast rights to 25 percent of its Hollywood sourced output to other broadcasters and offering to sell off 25 percent of decoder makers, Beta Research.
