Poland’s Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has closed an investigation into discounts used by media brokers on the TV advertising market.
In a statement, it says that in Poland, Polsat Media, TVN Media and TVP Advertising Office operate on this market, providing services both to entrepreneurs from their capital group and to other broadcasters.
It adds that during the proceedings, mainly progressive-rotary discounts (also referred to as “AVB” – Agency Volume Bonus, or so-called kick-back) were checked. As part of the proceedings, they were understood as remuneration paid to a media house or advertiser by the entity offering space in the media. This discount is a bonus for achieving a sales target or other arrangements related to the implementation of contractual terms in a given period.
UOKik investigated whether progressive turnover discounts distort the decisions of media houses regarding the allocation of budgets for TV advertising and thus may encourage them to concentrate orders or expenses with specific brokers.However, the analysis conducted did not reveal such trends. When choosing a broker, media houses are guided by the matching of media to the needs of the campaign and the client’s target group. It was also established that there are no significant market barriers that would prevent broadcasters from changing their broker.
Commenting on the results of the investigation, UOKiK president Tomasz Chrostny said: “The aim of the proceedings was to verify whether the discounts used by these entities may contribute to closing the market for brokerage services in the field of television advertising sales. We have analyzed the market situation very thoroughly and we see that kickbacks are currently a certain standard used by market participants, which does not limit competition between entrepreneurs”.
The proceedings regarding television advertising have been completed. However, the UOKiK’s president does not exclude the possibility of conducting a future analysis of discount systems used in other segments of the advertising market, including digital, press or radio.
