09/03/2026
Briefing

Introduction

The Media Regulation Bill proposes a number of changes to the Competition Act 2002 (as amended) (“Competition Act”) to give effect to Ireland’s obligations under the European Media Freedom Act (“EMFA”)[1], including changes to the existing media merger regime.[2]

If adopted, the Media Regulation Bill will widen the scope of Ireland’s existing media merger regime, while excluding certain transactions that are unlikely to impact on media plurality or have a limited connection to Ireland.

This briefing summarises the proposed reforms and comments on the practical implications of these changes for stakeholders.

Current media merger regime

Ireland’s current media merger regime is governed by Part 3A of the Competition Act 2002 (as amended) (“Competition Act”).  Under this framework, all “media mergers” must be notified to:

  • the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (“CCPC”) under the Competition Act (or the European Commission under the EU Merger Regulation) to assess the merger’s impact on competition; and
  • the Minister to assess the merger’s impact on the plurality of the media in Ireland.

A media merger is a merger between two media businesses, where at least one of those businesses has either a physical presence in Ireland or at least €2 million of annual sales in Ireland.

Notification of media mergers is required irrespective of whether the standard financial thresholds for notification of mergers under the Competition Act are met.  In addition, the current regime can apply to media mergers between media businesses where only the purchaser operates in Ireland and where the transaction itself may have little or no impact on the media landscape in Ireland.

EMFA

The EMFA is an EU Regulation that aims to safeguard media pluralism and editorial independence by harmonising national rules across the EU.  It is directly applicable to Member States, with most of the provisions coming into force on 8 August 2025.

Relevant to Ireland’s media merger regime, the EMFA requires Member States to facilitate an assessment of “media market concentrations” that could have a significant impact on media pluralism and editorial independence.[3]  “Media market concentrations” are mergers and acquisitions involving a media service provider or a provider of an online platform that provides access to media content.

From an Irish perspective, EMFA requires that national media regulators (rather than government ministers) be substantively involved in assessing “media market concentrations” and that national procedures incorporate common EU assessment principles.  “Media market concentrations” are mergers and acquisitions involving a media service provider or a provider of an online platform that provides access to media content.

The regulatory framework must meet certain requirements, including that Coimisiún na Meán (Ireland’s media regulator) be responsible or substantively involved in the assessment of media mergers.  This change removes ministerial discretion from the plurality assessment process and aligns the Irish regime with EMFA’s governance model.  The EMFA also requires certain elements be taken into account when a media market concentration is assessed (for example the expected impact of the media market concentration on media pluralism and editorial independence).

The Department for Culture, Communications and Sport (the “Department”) considers that, while Ireland’s existing media merger regime under the Competition Act largely complies with the EMFA, certain amendments are needed for Ireland to fully give effect to the EMFA.  These changes are reflected in the Media Regulation Bill.

Proposed substantive changes

The main substantive changes proposed in the Media Regulation Bill are to:

  • Alter the scope of mergers that require notification from mergers involving two media businesses where at least one operates in Ireland to mergers where the target or object carries on a media business in Ireland;
  • Expand the definition of “media business” to include media service providers and online platforms which provide access to media content (such as social media platforms);
  • Amend the meaning of “carrying on a media business in Ireland” to exclude media businesses that have a physical presence in Ireland but do not meet the €2 million annual turnover threshold; and
  • Amend the existing call-in power under the Competition Act to allow Coimisiún na Meán to call-in a merger when they are of the opinion that the merger may have a significant impact on the plurality of the media or editorial independence in Ireland.
  • Provide that parties to a transaction which is not subject to mandatory notification as a media merger may notify the transaction to Coimisiún na Meán on a voluntary basis.
  • Task Coimisiún na Meán with creating and maintaining a media ownership database, increasing transparency regarding ownership structures in the Irish media market.  The database is intended to support more robust media‑plurality assessments.

These proposed changes will broaden the scope of the regime, as all acquisitions of Irish media businesses that exceed the €2 million annual turnover threshold will need to be notified (regardless of whether the purchaser has a media business).  The proposed changes will also better target the regime at mergers that do not significantly impact on the media landscape in Ireland (for example, by excluding acquisitions of foreign media businesses by purchasers that have a media business in Ireland and acquisitions of small, local Irish media businesses that do not exceed the turnover threshold).

Proposed procedural changes

Under the current regime, media mergers are referred to the Minister to review their impact on media plurality.

The Media Regulation Bill proposes to transfer full responsibility for the assessment of media mergers from the Minister to Coimisiún na Meán.  This will give effect to the EMFA’s requirement that Member States’ designated media regulator is substantively involved in assessing media market concentrations.  Coimisiún na Meán will be required to consider whether the merger will be contrary to editorial independence as well as media plurality in Ireland. The Media Regulation Bill does not change the competition‑law aspects of merger review, and the competition law limb of any transaction will continue to be reviewed by the European Commission or the CCPC.

There are also some changes proposed to how Phase 1 and Phase 2 assessments for media mergers will operate to streamline the procedural aspects of the review.  For both Phase 1 and Phase 2 mergers, Coimisiún na Meán will be required to publish the fact of making the determination, under what basis the determination was made, and a summary of any conditions.  For Phase 2 mergers, Coimisiún na Meán will be required to consult with the European Board for Media Services (the “Board”) and take “utmost account” of the Board’s opinion on the media merger in question.

What’s next?

The Media Regulation Bill will now enter the full Oireachtas legislative process, where the draft legislation will undergo detailed scrutiny and may be changed through Committee and Report Stage amendments, before final approval.

As significant reforms to Ireland’s media merger regime are on the horizon, businesses active in the media sector should continue to assess carefully how the Irish merger control framework may affect their transactions. This will be particularly important as the jurisdictional rules are updated on commencement of the Media Regulation Act 2026.

For more information, please contact a member of the Competition and Regulated Markets Group.

[1] Regulation (EU) 2024/1083 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024 establishing a common framework for media services in the internal market and amending Directive 2010/13/EU.

[2] The Media Regulation Bill follows on from the publication of the General Scheme of the Media Regulation Bill on 2 July 2025. For more, read our previous briefing: A new EMFA-sis on Ireland’s media merger regime | Arthur Cox LLP

[3] Article 22, EMFA.