Pretoria – DStv Media Sales has agreed to an accumulative remedy of R180 million in terms of a consent agreement entered into with the Competition Commission after admitting to price fixing and the fixing of trading conditions in contravention of the Competition Act.
Sipho Ngwema, head of communications at the commission, said on Thursday the group agreed to pay an administrative penalty of R22.26 million; R8 million to the Economic Development Fund over three years and to provide 25 percent in bonus airtime for every rand of airtime bought by qualifying small agencies over three years with a cap of R50 million.
The bonus airtime is aimed at helping smaller agencies participate in the market as well as provide start-up capital for the development of black-owned small media or advertising agencies and assist black students requiring bursaries to study media or advertising.
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The consent agreement was reached following an investigation launched by the commission in 2011 that found various media companies, through Media Credit Co-ordinators, agreed to offer similar discounts and payment terms to advertising agencies, which restricted competition.