The Competition Commission has said that 28 media companies, including the SABC, have been referred to the Competition Tribunal for prosecution on charges of price fixing and the fixing of trading conditions. A Cape Argus report says the matter relates to an investigation initiated in 2011 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 said that MCC-accredited agencies were offered a 16.5% discount, while non-members were offered 15%. The commission also found that the implicated companies, through MCC, employed services of an intermediary company – Corexalance – to perform risk assessments on advertising agencies for purposes of imposing a settlement discount structure and terms on advertising agencies.

The commission found the practices restricted competition among the competing companies as they did not independently determine the discounts and thereby fixed the price and trading terms in contravention of the Competition Act. The commission is seeking an order declaring that the firms broke the Act and are liable to pay penalties.

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