The Federal Cartel Office has approved the formation of a joint venture between the Banijay Group and All3Media without imposing any conditions. This will enable two of the largest international production groups to combine their activities in the field of audiovisual content and form a new production powerhouse.
The decision was published on 2 June 2026 and concerns joint control of a company that is likely to be regarded in future as one of the largest producers of TV content for third parties in terms of volume. Both groups are already firmly established in the German market.
No competition law concerns
According to the Federal Cartel Office, the merger will not lead to a critical restriction of the market. Whilst it will create a very large player in the production market, the competitive structure will remain sufficiently diverse.
Andreas Mundt, President of the Federal Cartel Office, pointed out in particular that production companies in Germany face only a few major buyers – including RTL, ProSiebenSat.1, ARD and ZDF. He added that some of these broadcasting groups are themselves active in content production and are therefore not exclusively reliant on external providers.
The partners’ differing market positions
The authority’s analysis also takes into account the different strategic focuses of the two companies. Whilst Banijay is particularly well-positioned in the primetime formats sector, All3Media’s focus is more on early-evening and daytime programmes.
According to the Cartel Office, this complementary structure helps to ensure that no excessive market power arises within the same segment.
A strong manufacturing sector in Germany
Despite the merger, the German market remains highly fragmented. Alongside the major broadcasting groups, numerous independent companies are successfully producing content for the market. These include, amongst others, ITV Studios, Seapoint Productions, Warner Bros. ITVP Germany, Leonine Studios and Constantin Entertainment.
The German subsidiaries of both groups also have a broad portfolio: Banijay Germany includes, amongst others, EndemolShine Germany and Brainpool TV, which produce programmes such as „Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?“, „TV total“ and „The Masked Singer“. All3Media operates in Germany through Filmpool Entertainment, amongst others, with programmes such as „Berlin – Tag & Nacht“ and „Undercover Boss“.
Approval during the first test phase
The Federal Cartel Office was able to approve the merger as early as the first phase of its investigation. The decision was based on previous sector inquiries into the TV production market, current market data and surveys of market participants.
International reviews have also reached similar conclusions: the project has already been approved in Austria and filed in other jurisdictions.
Classification
The approval paves the way for a new global heavyweight producer in the TV and streaming content market. At the same time, the competition authorities’ decision signals that consolidation in the production sector is currently still within acceptable competitive limits – despite the growing market power of individual studios.