The office believes that the agreement between the two companies and SES-Astra is an attempt to seal off the pay-TV market in Germany by establishing their own decoder and technology standards. Astras Munich-based subsidiary APS, ProSiebenSat.1 and RTL have been in talks for several months over the plan that could ultimately end the history of free-to-air broadcasting in Germany. In recent deals with the German cable companies, the broadcasters have agreed to encrypt their satellite signals, the question is in doing so will they be shutting out potential new entrants into the market.
