Italian electricity utility Enel has received the necessary go-ahead from the EU to take a 30 per cent in Canal Plus-led digital platform Telepiu, but is facing criticism from leading Italian publisher RCS.

Responding to a written question from an Italian member of the European Parliament, the EU commissioner responsible for competition, Mario Monti, said that the entrance of Enel as a shareholder of Telepiu does not represent a problem. "The entrance of a publicly owned company such as Enel as shareholder in a private company which operates in the pay-TV sector does not constitute in itself a distortion of competition on that market. The rules of the treaty authorise public companies to use their own resources to carry out acquisitions, under condition that the proceeds of the investment are comparable to that requested by any investor in a system of free markets." Monti also added that he submitted a request to the Italian authorities requesting further information regarding the operation.

However, Enel’s decision to enter the pay-TV market came under severe criticism from Italian publishing giant RCS. Speaking in Rome on November 25, RCS president Cesare Romiti said that Enel, "in the role of a public utility, cannot become a shareholder of Telepiu." Romiti added that this problem would not be posed if Enel was a private company "which took its own risks by entering the TV sector". Romiti also criticised the role of Enel’s fellow shareholder in Telepiu, RAI.