Desmond Says ITV 'Arrogant' And 'Monopolistic' - Newspsper

25th Jul 2010 13:13

LONDON (Dow Jones)--Richard Desmond, cited in The Sunday Times, said pay-television broadcaster ITV PLC (ITV.LN) is "arrogant and monopolistic", following the British publisher's acquisition Friday of U.K. television channel Five from RTL Group S.A. (RTL.BT). Desmond, whose Northern & Shell company paid around GBP103.5 million in cash for Five, also indicated he would call for a competition inquiry into ITV's role in the GBP3 billion television advertising market. "I don't know how they get away with it. The whole thing has got to be looked at," he is quoted as saying in the newspaper. Desmond also criticized Five's previous owner, the pan-European broadcaster RTL, which is majority owned by German media giant Bertelsmann AG, saying, "Channel Five has been owned by absentee landlords who are Germans. There is a different culture here." Newspaper Web site: http://www.times.co.uk -By Simon Zekaria, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 207 842-9410; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 25, 2010 08:13 ET (12:13 GMT)