EU policy inconsistency, market concentrations and satellite television: a specific case with pan‐business implications?

This article is concerned with European Union policy inconsistencies and failures, and the subsequent development of market concentrations, in the newly developing technology of satellite television broadcasts direct to the individual’s home (DTH). In particular, it considers these issues in the context of European Union Directive 98/84/EC “On the legal protection of services based on, or consisting of, conditional access” which is likely to be incorporated into national laws during the course of 1999 or early 2000. The article considers whether there are general lessons to be learnt for business from the failure of this specific EU policy.