The Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC) has sanctioned Telefónica with a €20 million fine due to its failure to adhere to commitments made during the acquisition of DTS in 2015. These commitments included not imposing customer retention periods for its pay-TV services.

Between August 30, 2021, and April 30, 2023, Telefónica marketed its Movistar Fusión and MiMovistar products with pay-TV and device rentals, which included conditions that violated these commitments. Specifically, the company imposed retention conditions and penalties for early termination, restricting customer mobility.

This is not the first time Telefónica has faced penalties for such violations; in 2023, the CNMC had already fined the company €6 million for similar breaches related to its Movistar Fusión offer with smartphone rentals. The current resolution indicates that Telefónica expanded these practices to other electronic devices and reinforced retention conditions.

The CNMC considers the breach of commitments from a concentration operation a serious infringement under Article 62.4.c of the Competition Defense Law (LDC). The authority has applied an aggravating circumstance due to repeated violations, as Telefónica has been sanctioned multiple times for failing to comply with the commitments tied to the concentration operation C/0612/14.

Telefónica has the right to appeal this decision through a contentious-administrative appeal to the National Court within two months from the notification date.