France’s two major satellite-television broadcasters have been given the green light from the French Finance Ministry to pair up.

According to the French government on Sept. 6, a merger of Canalsat and TPS may take effect by the end of the year, though its consequences may take longer to work out. Both are under contract with Eutelsat and SES to lease capacity; early termination of those agreements would likely result in costly penalties.

Another potential financial consequence of the merger is that customers’ rooftop antennas might require changing should one satellite broadcaster be chosen over the other. Vivendi, the media conglomerate controlling the merged company, may therefore choose to maintain both satellite providers.