Hulu Copycat Struck Down in Germany

German broadcasters RTL and ProSiebenSat.1 had proposed plans to create a joint online video platform, but the court said the move would only strengthen the "duopoly" in regional ads. Together, the two companies control about two-thirds of the free TV advertising market in Germany, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The proposal to create such a streaming service stems from fears over international competitors, such as Netflix and Hulu, entering the German market. As it stands, both RTL and ProSiebenSat.1 have online video portals (the latter's on-demand service Maxdome has recently made headlines for inking a licensing deal with NBC Universal International Television Distribution to stream the studio's catalog), and the country's public broadcasters have also launched their own service called Gold, which has yet to undergo regulatory approval.

 

Expect to see more international online video news in the coming months, as well as more legal battles over who has access to online viewers.