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Regulator warns Global-GMG radio deal may hit competition
GLOBAL Radio’s £70m deal to buy GMG Radio was yesterday cleared by the Competition Commission, but the regulator warned that the takeover could drive up advertising prices across the UK.
In London – where Global Radio runs Heart, LBC, Choice, Gold, Capital and Xfm – the commission cleared the deal, which would see Global take ownership of GMG’s Smooth Radio.
But in Manchester, Scotland, Cardiff, Yorkshire, the east Midlands and north Wales it cautioned that competition in local advertising markets could be affected.
“The CC has found that in many areas where Global and Real and Smooth stations currently overlap and compete, advertisers … could face higher costs,” the commission said in a statement.