The Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic (PMÚ) has initiated administrative proceedings against two major commercial television stations, TV Markíza and TV JOJ, on suspicion of abusing their dominant market positions by restricting the possibility of rerunning advertisements.
In late July 2025, the PMÚ expanded ongoing proceedings against TV Markíza to include a potential new act of anti-competitive behavior, specifically concerning limitations on rewinding advertisements when viewers access archived programs. Subsequently, in August 2025, the PMÚ opened separate administrative proceedings against TV JOJ for a similar practice.
According to the PMÚ, investigations suggest that both television stations may have imposed unfair commercial terms on retransmission operators, requiring them to implement restrictions on the rerun of advertisements from a certain date. Compliance with these terms has reportedly affected viewers, limiting their flexibility in watching programs and advertisements on two of the most-watched television stations in the Slovak market.
Under Slovak competition law, the Antimonopoly Office may impose fines of up to 10% of a company’s global turnover from the previous accounting period for violations of the prohibition on abuse of a dominant position.
The PMÚ point out that the initiation of administrative proceedings does not constitute a determination of wrongdoing and does not preempt the conclusions that may be reached following a full assessment of the cases.
