Airtime sales rap for TV companies

COMMERCIAL broadcasters ITV, GMTV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 have been rapped by the Office of Fair Trading for acting as a cartel and enforcing over-stringent terms and conditions on advertising agencies.

Under pressure from the OFT, TV Eye, which sells airtime to media buyers on behalf of the four broadcasters - which also own the business - have agreed to act more fairly, allowing greater competition between buying agencies and enabling new entrants into the market.

After a six-month investigation, the OFT found the TV stations were collectively agreeing and enforcing terms on buyers without what the competition agency called 'objective justification'. It also found new buyers trying to enter the market had 'unduly strict' registration policies imposed on them.

The row blew up last year after the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising complained to the OFT that TV Eye had cranked up the levels of credit insurance it forced buyers to pay in advance of them settling their bills at a later date.

TV Eye's clean-up plan will include leaving it to individual broadcasters to decide whether they want to work with a particular advertising agency.