Agencies and broadcasters have formally complained about ITV’s new
airtime sales policy (Campaign, 7 November) which they say may be
anti-competitive.
Members of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising this week
agreed to take a stand against the policy which, buyers claim, involves
the three ITV sales houses pushing for airtime deals based on the
proportion of total TV spend agencies are willing to commit to the ITV
network.
The IPA’s Media Policy Group has decided that to stipulate such terms is
anti-competitive. While the IPA agrees that individual ITV sales houses
should be allowed to deal on the basis of their own particular share of
broadcast spend, it says they must not be allowed to stipulate an ITV
share, or a share for other nominated sales houses or stations.
At the same time, a number of rival broadcasters, thought to include
Channel 5 and Channel 4, have written to the Independent Television
Commission, advising it to monitor the situation, again fearing that any
share of broadcast policy could prove to be anti-competitive.
Historically, the three ITV sales houses - Carlton, Laser and TSMS -
have fought among themselves for a share of ITV spend, and have received
bonuses on this basis.
Now the new policy has been sanctioned by ITV chiefs as a way of trying
to ensure more money stays in ITV, even if it means some deals are not
concluded by the new year and ITV loses revenue in the first part of
1998.
Ray Kelly, chairman of the IPA’s Media Policy Group, said: ’We have no
evidence that this is an ITV-wide policy, but we felt it was necessary
to clarify our position over what we would be prepared to accept. We
hope our statement means this never becomes an issue, but we’re
monitoring the situation.’
Jerry Hill, the chief executive of TSMS, responded: ’We can’t dictate
terms like this. The irony is that a number of clients and agencies are
making share of broadcast offers to ITV.’
