Get big or die trying has become the strategy of Europe’s traditional broadcasters. Merger mania is everywhere. Last month, Comcast‘s Sky signed a $2.13 billion (£1.6 billion) deal to acquire British commercial broadcast giant ITV. Last year, MediaForEurope (MFE), the TV group controlled by the Berlusconi family, took majority control of German commercial network ProSiebenSat.1, adding to its pan-European conglomerate that includes Mediaset, Italy’s largest broadcaster, and Spain’s top commercial network Telecinco. The reasoning behind this consolidation is simple. European TV companies, seeing a decline in traditional advertising and…
