The Spanish regulator CNMC will shortly directly address the market dominance enjoyed by Atresmedia and Mediaset, the country’s two leading commercial broadcasters.
According to El Economista, it will from the beginning of this summer prohibit them from selling joint or packaged advertising on their channels. Failure to do so will result in fines of between €15 million and €30 million on both groups, which currently account for almost 85% of TV ad spend in Spain.
By imposing this restriction, the regulator aims to eliminate entry barriers for so-called smaller DTT channels and see Atresmedia and Mediaset change their current commercial strategy, which they have employed for the last 10 years.
El Economista notes that TV ad spend in Spain most recently amounted to €1.508.1 million.
Mediaset claimed 43.7% of the total, followed by Atresmedia with 40.9%.
Other FTA broadcasters accounted for 5.9%, pay-TV channels 4.9% and autonomous channels 4.7%.
