ABSTRACT
During the debates about the implications of media convergence during the last decade, the bottleneck problem has been consistently and widely recognised as a significant issue for regulatory attention. Convergence has forced a closer analysis of the various components of the value chain for producing media content and it has become apparent that anybody who controls entry to, or movement along, the chain will exert considerable power. Understandably, the exercise of such power has been regarded as analogous to control over media ownership. It has seemed to follow, therefore, that, as sector-specific ownership rules become increasingly inappropriate for many media markets, their place may be taken by measures directed at bottleneck problems. The chapter expresses that the Directive is not a sufficient means for regulating concentrations of power in new and converged media. The kinds of bottleneck issues that it regulates have been allowed to distract attention from the policy requirements that underlie media ownership regulation.
