Discovery, Scripps merger gets approval from European Commission
Discovery Communications Inc. announced today that the European Commission has approved its acquisition of Scripps Networks Interactive . The merger was announced last July and both companies' shareholders voted to approve the $14.6 billion deal in November. Discovery, which owns TLC, Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel will gain Scripps holdings such as HGTV, Food Network and the Travel Channel and once combined, the company will control around 20 percent of ad-supported, pay-TV audiences in the US. Discovery agreed to some concessions in order to get the EC's approval. It will allow third-parties to distribute two Polish TV channels -- TVN24 and/or TVN24 BiS -- on a non-exclusive, unbundled basis as part of the agreement. Discovery says the acquisition is expected to close during the first quarter of this year, though it stills needs approval from US regulators. While it certainly hasn't attracted as much regulatory attention as the AT&T/Time Warner deal , Dis...