A PYMNTS Company

South Africa: Competition Commission fines publishers for colluding

By  |  February 18, 2018

Newspaper publisher Caxton has been fined 5.8 million South African rand (US$498,900) and the Independent Group ZAR2.2 million (US$189,200) for colluding on the prices they charged to advertisers‚ the South African Competition Commission said on Friday, February 16.

    Get the Full Story

    Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no additional logins required.

    yesSubscribe to our daily newsletter, PYMNTS Today.

    By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.

    In addition to the fines for price-fixing‚ the media companies have agreed to contribute to black economic empowerment development funds and to offer advantageous deals to small‚ black-owned advertising agencies.

    These fines were delivered after Naspers’s pay-TV subsidiary DStv was given a ZAR 22.3 million (US$1.9 million) fine.

    “The matter relates to a November 2011 investigation which found that‚ through the Media Credit Co-ordinators (MCC)‚ various media companies agreed to offer similar discounts and payment terms to advertising agencies that place advertisements with MCC members‚” the Commission’s statement said.

    The Commission found MCC-accredited agencies were offered a 16.5% discount‚ while non-members were offered 15%.

    Full Content: The Times Live

    Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.