Chilean Competition Court rules to lift asymmetric regulation on América Móvil’s VTR

Compass Lexecon provided economic advice to América Móvil’s VTR in the context of a non-contentious procedure to request the lifting of asymmetric regulation measures on VTR. We supported VTR’s counsel with a report submitted to the Chilean Competition Court (‘TDLC’) in November 2024. The TDLC ruled unanimously to lift all measures on VTR in February 2026.

Situation

VTR Comunicaciones SpA (‘VTR’) is Chile’s largest Pay TV operator. The company initiated a non-contentious procedure in November 2024 to request Chile’s Competition Court, the Tribunal de Defensa de la Libre Competencia (‘TDLC’), to lift asymmetric regulation measures that were imposed upon VTR since the VTR/Metrópolis Intercom merger in 2004.

Our role

We wrote a report on behalf of VTR explaining the evolution of the industry since the 2004 merger, arguing that the measures were not warranted amidst the current context. Our report covers how VTR has seen increasing competitive pressure from rivals, mainly due to the entry of multiple new players into the market over the past two decades. We also shed light on the nationwide deployment of fiber-to-the-home internet connectivity, which has boosted innovative ways to access video content, such as over-the-top (“OTT”) video platforms and streaming TV, increasing the amount of quality and variety of content available to consumers. Furthermore, we documented how this new competitive environment has been challenging for legacy players such as VTR, which have resorted to bundling OTT services with their Pay TV plans to maintain relevance, but nonetheless are facing growing operative losses due to cord-cutting. Our report was submitted alongside the counsel’s motion, where several arguments put forward by VTR were based on the conclusions of our economic report.

Outcome

Multiple industry players, as well as the TDLC and Chile’s competition agency, the Fiscalía Nacional Económica (‘FNE’), submitted filings in the case with arguments that were aligned with our report. In February 2026, the TLDC ruled unanimously to lift all measures on VTR. Our involvement in the case was made public in the court’s resolution.

The team

Compass Lexecon’s team was co-led by Fernando Coloma and Daniel Urdaneta and included Diego Tello and Ignacio Frixone. They advised VTR’s external legal counsel from FerradaNehme, headed by Nicole Nehme and Sebastián Dufeu.