German broadcaster RTL and Paramount have withdrawn their offer to merge Super RTL, a children’s television network, with Nickelodeon, the German cartel office said on Tuesday.
The office said the withdrawal came after it informed the companies that it intended to prohibit the planned merger.
Super RTL, part of Bertelsmann’s RTL Group, said in April that it had reached an agreement to acquire the Nickelodeon series in Germany.
Under the deal, Super RTL would have acquired a package of rights to incorporate current and future series from Nickelodeon, owned by Paramount Global, into its television programming.
Popular Nickelodeon series include “PAW Patrol” and “SpongeBob SquarePants.”
The head of Germany’s antitrust office, Andreas Mundt, said his intention to ban the merger was primarily due to the limited space for advertising aimed at children between three and 13 years old.
“There are only a very limited number of companies that offer advertising spaces specifically targeted at children, most notably RTL with its corresponding television programme,” he explained.
Even if YouTube Kids were included in the analysis, Super RTL remains the dominant provider of such advertising and would grow significantly further with the addition of Nickelodeon, the cartel office said.
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