BAILII is celebrating 24 years of free online access to the law! Would you
consider making a contribution?
No donation is too small. If every visitor before 31 December gives just £1, it
will have a significant impact on BAILII's ability to continue providing free
access to the law.
Thank you very much for your support!
[New search]
[Printable RTF version]
[Help]
Adsites Ltd/David Allen Ltd [1994] IECA 381 (15th December, 1994)
Competition
Authority decision of 15 December, 1994 relating to a proceeding under Section
4 of the Competition Act, 1991.
Notification
no. CA/1127/92 - Adsites Limited/David Allen Holdings Limited
Decision
No. 381
Introduction
1. This
decision concerns an Option Agreement between David Allen Holdings Limited
(DAH) and Adsites Limited (Adsites), which was notified to the Authority on 30
October 1992, with a request for a certificate or a licence. The agreement
gave DAH an option to purchase some 200 48 sheet advertising panels from
Adsites, at any time up to and including 12 noon on 30 September 1994, provided
DAH complied with its obligations under the terms of a related licence
agreement. DAH has exercised the option under the terms of the agreement.
Under the terms of the licence agreement DAH obtained from Adsites an exclusive
licence to market and sell the advertising panels owned by Adsites up to 31
December 1994. The Authority refused the request for a certificate or licence
in respect of that agreement.
[1]
The Authority issued a Statement of Objections to the parties in respect of the
notified agreement on 13 September 1994 and an Oral Hearing was held on 27
October 1994.
The
Facts
(a)
The subject of the Notification
2. This
decision concerns an Option Agreement between DAH and Adsites dated 2 January
1992 under which DAH acquired the option of purchasing Adsites right, estate or
title in the 48 sheet outdoor advertising panels owned by Adsites and marketed
by DAH under the exclusive licence agreement referred to earlier, at any time
up to and including 12 noon on 30 September 1994. Some 200 48 sheet advertising
panels located throughout the State were covered by this agreement. DAH
exercised its option to acquire the panels in early September 1994.
(b)
The Parties
3. DAH
is an English registered company established in 1859 and is part of the Avenir
Havas Media Group. DAH has operated through a branch (David Allen) in Ireland
since 1859. It is an outdoor advertising contractor and is involved in the
business of providing space for use in outdoor advertising. It negotiates a
site rental with a property owner, constructs and maintains an advertising
structure on the property and rents the space to advertisers in fortnightly
units.
4. The
Avenir Havas Media Group (AHM), is a Paris based multinational, whose shares
are publicly quoted. It is 97% owned by Havas which was established in 1835 and
which is now France's largest media and communications group. Havas is also
engaged in seven major business areas in France and worldwide, including
publishing, tourism and audiovisual. Havas' total revenue in 1992 was FF28
billion. Adsites is an outdoor advertising company which comprises Adsites
Limited, Campaign Poster Sites Limited and Adsites (Northern Ireland) Limited.
(c)
The Product and the Market
5. The
agreement relates to large (48 sheet) panels which are used for poster
advertising. There are a large number of alternative media available for firms
wishing to advertise their products to consumers. In its submission to the
Authority DAH argued that the market could be broken down into two expenditure
categories, i.e. traditional forms of media and ´below-the-line'
expenditure. Media advertising includes television, radio, press and outdoor
advertising. According to DAH, industry estimates indicated that expenditure on
traditional forms of advertising in Ireland in 1991 was IR170m.
´Below-the-line' activity refers to sponsorships, supermarket tasting and
any other activity which does not involve employing a media company. It is
difficult to assess the level of expenditure in this area but according to DAH
it was in the region of IR100m. Table 1 below indicates the level of
advertising expenditure in Ireland in 1993. It is based on figures which the
Authority has obtained on the national advertising market from Advertising
Statistics Ireland Ltd. (ASI), a company which specialises in monitoring the
overall advertising market. Their figures are not wholly accurate since their
estimates of newspaper advertising in particular are based on the ´rate
card' whereas it is widely acknowledged that newspapers regularly give
significant discounts from these rates. According to ASI total expenditure on
media advertising in Ireland in 1993 was £235.3m. The national press were
estimated to account for 45% of this with television representing a further
31%. Outdoor advertising, including posters was estimated to account for just
5% of the total.
Table
1: The Advertising Market in Ireland.
Media £m %
Market Share
National
Press
105.9
45%
Regional
Press
8.1
3%
Consumer
Press
12.3
5%
Television
72.1
31%
Radio
22.9
10%
Outdoor
12.8
5%
Cinema
1.2
1%
Total 235.3
100
Source:
ASI
6. DAH
submitted that the buyers in the market are advertisers and advertising
agencies. The method of advertising chosen is influenced by factors such as
cost per thousand of audience, size of the audience and the number of times it
can be reached, target audience and availability. The sellers in the market are
the media owners or advertising contractors.
7. Outdoor
or poster advertising can be divided into three different sectors namely
roadside, transport and other. Roadside advertising includes posters displayed
by the side of the road and in pedestrian areas, while transport posters are
those which are displayed on buses, railways and taxis. Posters may also be
displayed at airports, sporting events or on vehicles in various locations.
Outdoor advertising may also include neon lights and other special structures.
The market is geographical and seasonal. Demand for outdoor advertising is
highest for sites located in urban areas. The greatest demand occurs in the
summer during the long daylight hours, with the six months from October to
March accounting for only 30% of annual turnover.
8. Posters
come in various sizes and are attached to structures which are known as panels.
This panel is placed, possibly with other panels on a poster site. The main
sizes of posters in use are as follows:
(a)
4-sheet (5' X 3'4"). This small sized panel is aimed at pedestrians and is
often found in shopping centres.
(b)
6-sheet (1.8m X 1.2m). Often referred to as ´superlites', these are mainly
located on bus shelters and are aimed at motorists as well as pedestrians. They
are often back-lit to improve night time effect.
(c)
12-sheet (5' X 10')
(d)
16-sheet (10' X 6'8"). These posters are often attached to the sides of
buildings.
(e)
32-sheet (10' X 13'4"). Again posters of this size are often attached to the
sides of buildings.
(f)
48-sheet (10' X 20'). The predominant large poster size, sited on panels. Such
posters are aimed at both motorists and pedestrians.
(g)
64-sheet (10' X 26'8"). This is a variant on the 48-sheet
48
sheet posters account are the most common size of outdoor advertising posters.
The other most commonly used poster sizes are 4-sheet and superlites. In
recent times there has been a move away from 4-sheet sites towards superlites.
A DAH representative referred to the 4 sheet posters as a dying product.
9. Poster
contractors own the panels on which the posters are displayed and have rights
to use the sites on which they are displayed. In general the sites are not
owned by contractors but are rented from the owner. The advertiser pays the
contractor for the use of the panels and also pays the production costs of his
poster. Advertising agencies design a campaign to meet the needs and objectives
of a particular manufacturer or supplier. Outdoor specialists occupy an
intermediate position between the contractor and the advertising agency. They
act for advertisers and advertising agencies as planners and/or buyers of
poster campaigns. The advertising agency and the outdoor specialist receive
their remuneration by way of a commission from the poster contractor.
10. There
are three principal ways in which poster panels are booked. A contractor may
sell individual panels for a particular advertising campaign, a form of
short-term spot selling known as line-by-line sales. Alternatively the
contractor may collect a group of panels into 'pre-selected campaigns' or
'packages' for a single period sale. Thirdly, a contractor may accept long term
bookings for a panel for at least a year or possibly for an indefinite period.
11. According
to DAH two specialist companies operated in the Irish market up until 1991,
Outdoor Advertising Services Limited, (OAS) and Poster Management Limited
(PML). Their respective market shares were 70% and 30%. The specialists were
treated as principals by the outdoor contractors. These specialists negotiated
exclusive rights to sell the plant of some of the contractors thus causing
distortion in the market, according to DAH, as access to sites depended on
which specialist was used. In August 1991, OAS went into liquidation. Following
the liquidation the poster contractors revised their terms and conditions of
trading to establish the advertiser/advertising agency as principal. Payment is
now arranged through the advertising agency. According to DAH there are three
specialists currently operating within this system, PML, PosterPlan Limited and
PosterLink Limited.
12. Within
the outdoor advertising medium there are a number of alternative products.
These include different poster sizes along with advertising on buses. It can
be seen from Table 2 that large 48 sheet panels are the most popular outdoor
advertising medium accounting for almost 46% of such advertising. Smaller size
posters account for about one third of outdoor advertising with transport
advertising (primarily buses) accounting for the remaining 21%.
Table
2: % Distribution of Outdoor Advertising
48
sheet panels
45.8
Bus
shelters
25.0
4
Sheets
8.3
Transport
advertising 20.9
Total
100.0
Source:
DAH
13. The
arrangements in this notification relate to 48 sheet posters. In their
submission DAH indicated the breakdown of 48-sheet panel holdings was as follows:
Table
3: % Distribution of 48 Sheet Advertising Panels
David
Allen
1,425 (56%)
Adsites
207 ( 8%)
1,632
64%
MOF
Adshel Ltd.
311
12%
Metro
Advertising Ltd
176
7%
Computer
Advertising Network 278
11%
Summerbrook
Ltd.
140
6%
2,537
100%
Source:
DAH
14.
The exercise of the Option Agreement increased the share of DAH in the 48
sheet outdoor advertising market from 56% to 64%. This represents 29% of all
forms of outdoor advertising or 37% of all poster advertising. It is also
relevant that there are only a relatively small number of firms engaged in the
overall poster advertising business. The top two poster advertising firms each
account for more than 30% of poster sites of all sizes, while the top four have
in excess of 90%. While David Allen has a large share of the the 48 sheet
market, the other main firm engaged in outdoor advertising has around 90% of
the smaller posters. There are a number of smaller poster advertising firms but
they each have only a tiny share of the poster business.
15. There
is a degree of overlap between roadside posters of different sizes as well as
some complementarity in their use. The value to an advertiser of particular
panels depends upon their location as well as other factors such as design
features in terms of angle to passing traffic, illumination and the number and
size of panels on a site. Indeed evidence presented by DAH indicated that the
prices which advertisers will pay even for large posters vary considerably
depending on the site of the poster. There is considerable variation not only
between Dublin and other parts of the country but prices can also vary
depending upon the specific location and other features of poster panels even
within Dublin. The price of the top grade of poster in Dublin, according to
the DAH rate card is more than five times that of the cheapest grade. In
contrast price differentials for the same grade vary far less between
geographic locations. The rate card also indicates that price changes for
different grades and in different geographic areas have varied considerably
over the past 3 years raising some question as to whether all 48 sheet panels
should be regarded as substitutes for one another. In fact it would appear
that a 48 sheet panel in a rural location is not a substitute for a 48 sheet
panel in a prime location in Dublin City suggesting that there are a number of
separate market segments in the case of 48 sheet panels.
16. The
operation of the poster market depends on the availability of sites. No
advertisement can be displayed without first obtaining planning permission from
the local authority. DAH submitted that entry to the market requires that a
contractor negotiate for advertising rights with a property owner, obtain
planning permission for an advertising display and erect an advertising
structure. This would cost £2,000 per 48 sheet site. The planning
regulations which limit the number of new structures that can be erected,
significantly constrain the extent to which a new entrant can construct panels
or a small firm can expand. The past decade has also seen a shift towards the
development of poster networks. The AHM Annual Report for 1991, for example,
stated that the development by it of the network concept meant that outdoor
advertising had become a powerful new mass medium. The network concept
involves thinking ´no longer in terms of single billboards but in terms of
sets of billboards which target groups of people.'
[2]
The Report points out that a poster network was made up of a set of billboards
linked by the same marketing idea, with local networks for cities, for urban
areas, for regions or even national networks. This tends to imply that
effective entry to the market would require firms to establish a widespread
range of poster sites. Technical advances within the industry, the growth of
packages by leading firm and other improved services tend to make it more
difficult and more expensive for smaller firms to compete.
17. All
of the advertising media may be considered to be substitutes, to some degree,
with clients deciding which forum to choose based on cost, audience and
product. The extent to which other media are substitutes for roadside posters
will vary according to the product being advertised and to the nature of the
campaign and over time. In general an advertiser makes use of more than one
advertising medium and may use various media to portray different messages or
concentrate on particular aspects of a product. In choosing which media to use
an advertiser will take into account a broad range of factors. Television
advertising, although expensive is capable of portraying a strong image,
reaches a wide audience and has a high impact inside the home. Press
advertising includes national newspapers, local and regional newspapers and
specialist periodicals. It costs less than television and may be aimed at
different population segments or particular groups. Posters are relatively
cheap, and large sized panels in particular offer strong visual impact. They
may be used close to the point of sale and can be geographically directed.
Posters are often used in conjunction with another medium to reinforce the
message which the advertiser is trying to portray. To this extent posters
should be regarded as complements rather than substitutes to other forms of
advertising. Thus the Authority believes that outdoor advertising constitutes
a distinct advertising medium.
18. Pricing
is a significant factor in determining the substitutability of posters by other
media. Posters tend to be significantly cheaper than other forms of media
advertising. Expenditure on poster advertising also tends to constitute a
relatively small proportion of an advertiser's total marketing expenditure. In
such circumstances it might be expected that it would require a significant
increase in the cost of poster advertising before users would switch to other
forms of advertising. Two other factors must also be considered in defining
the market. Firstly there are legal restrictions in respect of certain types
of advertising in specific media, e.g. tobacco advertising is banned on
television. Such restrictions restrict the number of alternative outlets
available to advertisers of such products. In addition the UK Monopolies and
Mergers Commission found that poster advertising appeared to be favoured more
by advertisers of particular products. A similar pattern is also true of
Ireland with poster advertising more frequently used by some advertisers than
others.
19. The
Authority believes that the relevant market is primarily that for large (48
sheet) outdoor advertising panels. It considers that smaller outdoor
advertising panels may, to some extent, constitute substitutes to larger
panels. However, in its view they are only substitutes to a limited degree,
since they do not have the same visual impact as larger size posters. Other
advertising media are also not sufficiently close substitutes to be regarded as
in the same market as large outdoor panels.
(d)
The arrangements
20. The
Option Agreement gave DAH an option to acquire from Adsites 200 48 sheet
advertising panels located throughout the State.
[3]
These panels had been marketed by DAH under the licence agreement since early
1992. DAH exercised the option to acquire the panels in September 1994.
Clause 6.1 requires Adsites to notify DAH if it acquired any new panels, giving
full details of such acquisitions including the anticipated revenue to be
derived from them and DAH has the right within 30 days to decline to include
such panels in the agreement.
(e)
Submissions of the parties
21. DAH
argued that the agreement was not anti-competitive since there were no
post-term non-compete restrictions. DAH submitted that outdoor advertising had
experienced decline in relation to other media fora in recent years due to
innovations in other media and lack of investment in this area of the market.
They stated their intention to concentrate on broadening the base of
advertisers using outdoor advertising. They pointed out that the market was
subject to variations that arose from such a highly competitive industry.
Competition took place at media expenditure level, between owners of different
sizes of outdoor advertising sheets and between different owners of 48 sheets
and also between transport advertising, press, radio and TV. In order to
compete with other media, outdoor advertising had to be able to sell audiences
to advertisers/advertising agencies. While other media forums could advise
advertisers of viewing figures there were at present no figures indicating
measurement of the outdoor advertising audience. Therefore other forms of
advertising had an advantage over outdoor advertising. DAH submitted that the
use of Adsites sites and their investment would improve the service available
and make it more efficient and competitive, thus increasing the quality of the
market and the product available and resulting in benefit to the consumer.
22. DAH
submitted that the purpose of the arrangement was to provide a sound commercial
base for investment in the medium. The beneficiaries of the arrangement would
be users and owners of the medium. Users would have a medium that could compete
effectively with other forms of media while owners would benefit when market
share for outdoor advertising had been regained. DAH concluded that the
arrangements were not regarded as being anti-competitive and would effectively
develop outdoor advertising to a higher standard so that it would be in a
position to compete with other fora with higher market shares of advertising.
(f)
Views of third parties
23. The
Authority received a submission from an outdoor advertising company [ ],
in which they claimed that DAH, by marketing the outdoor sites of Adsites, had
achieved control of the 48 sheet market and currently had a 70% market share.
They claimed that in addition to Adsites, DAH had also acquired approximately
100 X 48 sheet sites from More O' Ferrall in exchange for regional bus shelter
sites and had also acquired Phoenix Poster Sites which had a small number of 48
sheet sites.
24. [
] argued that DAH's dominance in the market enabled them to dictate prices
and availability. It was likely that the cost of advertising would rise and the
cost would be passed on to the consumer. In addition it was claimed that DAH
were in a position to dictate rents paid to landowners/siteowners thereby
ensuring that small contractors were unable to compete on rental offers for
sites. It was claimed that this eliminated competition and minimised the income
potential of the landlord.
(g)
Other Relevant Factors.
25. The
AHM Annual Report states that one of its subsidiaries, Mills and Allen, which
operated in the outdoor poster advertising market in the UK, had acquired
another firm operating in that market. This acquisition had been investigated
by the MMC and had been found likely to operate against the public interest.
The MMC Report found that, while outdoor advertising represented only a small
proportion of total advertising, it nevertheless constituted a distinct product
market. It also found that large outdoor posters constituted a separate market
from other forms of outdoor advertising. Although the acquisition would have
increased Mills and Allen's share of the market to 33.8 per cent, the MMC found
that this was likely to reduce competition and choice of supply in the relevant
market and would in time lead to higher prices. While it found that Mills and
Allen had introduced improvements to the industry which were beneficial it
concluded that there were unlikely to be sufficient benefits from the merger to
offset the adverse effects identified and that it would therefore offend
against the public interest. An earlier investigation of a previous
acquisition by Mills and Allen had reached similar conclusions but had been
permitted on condition that Mills and Allen divest itself of a substantial
number of panels.
[4]
The later acquisition would have given it control of these panels.
(h)
Subsequent Developments
26.
The Authority issued a Statement of Objections to the parties in respect of the
notified agreement on 13 September 1994 and an Oral Hearing was held on 27
October 1994.
DAH
argued that the arrangements were not anti-competitive. They stated that the
relevant market was not that for large size posters but rather was that for all
forms of advertising since they claimed that these were all substitutes for one
another. They stated that the ability of poster firms to raise their prices
was constrained by the ability of customers to switch to other forms of
advertising. They also submitted that at the very least the relevant market
should be regarded as that for all outdoor advertising.
27. DAH
submitted that there was no evidence that they had been able to secure
significant price increases since they secured the right to market Adsites
poster panels under the licence agreement in early 1992. They stated that
their prices had only increased in line with inflation and that this showed
that they were not in a position to impose significant price increases on their
customers.
28. DAH
argued that section 4(1) of the Competition Act was not applicable in the case
of an agreement such as this which was effectively an acquisition. They argued
that Article 85(1) did not apply to mergers and acquisitions and by analogy
section 4(1) should not apply to them either. They claimed that while the
arrangements might result in DAH achieving a dominant position in the market
any abuse of such a dominant position was not a matter coming within section
4(1) of the Act and so the arrangements could not be regarded as
anti-competitive for this reason. DAH also argued that the position in Ireland
was somewhat different to that applying in the UK and that therefore the
conclusions of the MMC Reports in the case of Mills & Allen were not
applicable. They also stated that advertisers in the UK were preparing a
submission to the OFT disputing the MMC definition of the market. It was put
to DAH that the agreement to swop their smaller poster sites for 48 sheet
panels with one of the other major outdoor advertising firms appeared to
contradict their contention that small and large posters were part of a single
market. In response the former MD of DAH stated that in his view, this
arrangement had been a mistake.
29. In
a written reply to the Statement of Objections, Adsites stated that they agreed
with the Authority's assessment. They stated that DAH had raised prices since
the licence agreement first came into force. They also argued that the rate
card had been revamped and that the effect of this had also been to raise
prices. They also claimed that DAH were incorrect in stating that there were
no audience figures available for outdoor advertising thereby placing it at a
disadvantage relative to other media, since extensive research had been
undertaken in this area in recent years and the results were known to market
participants.
Assessment
(a)
Section 4(1)
30.
Section
4(1) of the Competition Act states that 'all agreements between undertakings,
decisions by associations of undertakings and concerted practices, which have
as their object or effect the prevention, restriction or distortion of
competition in goods or services in the State or in any part of the State are
prohibited and void'.
(b)
The Undertakings and the Agreement
31. Section
3(1) of the Competition Act defines an undertaking as ´a person, being an
individual, a body corporate or an unincorporated body engaged for gain in the
production, supply or distribution of goods or the provision of a service.' DAH
is a corporate body engaged for gain in the business of providing outdoor
advertising space. Adsites is also an outdoor advertising company and is
engaged for gain. Therefore, they are both undertakings and the arrangements
constituted an agreement between undertakings.
(c)
Applicability of Section 4(1)
32.
Under the Option Agreement DAH has an option to acquire all of the large poster
panel sites of Adsites. DAH have argued that such an arrangement does not come
within the scope of section 4(1). The Authority has given its views on this
point in a number of earlier decisions and it is not necessary to restate its
views at length for the purposes of the present decision. The Authority has
stated in a number of previous decisions that, in its opinion, a sale of
business
per
se
does not offend against Section 4(1).
[5]
It has indicated, however, that where such an agreement is likely to result in
a significant diminution of competition in the market it would be regarded as
offending against section 4(1). Specifically the Authority has stated that,
where in the aftermath of an acquisition the level of concentration as measured
by the four firm concentration ratio or the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index exceeded
certain thresholds, a detailed examination of the arrangements would be
necessary to establish whether or not it could be considered anti-competitive.
[6]
33. The
effect of the acquisition by DAH of the Adsites 48 sheet panels is to increase
DAH's share of such panels to 64%. The market is therefore a highly
concentrated one and the effect of this agreement is to increase that level of
concentration. According to figures supplied by DAH there are five other
outdoor advertising companies operating in the 48 sheet poster market, but
these all have much smaller market shares. Where there are only relatively few
competitors and one firm has a large market share, the elimination of a
competitor and its acquisition by the largest firm may be expected to restrict
or at the very least distort competition unless there are offsetting factors at
work. Even if all outdoor posters were deemed to constitute the relevant
market, the level of market concentration would be sufficiently high for an
acquisition by one of the largest firms to have adverse implications for
competition. This is particularly so given that one firm accounts for a major
portion of small posters.
34. As
pointed out earlier there are significant regional variations even within the
large advertising panel market. A firm with a large number of sites in rural
areas would not constitute an effective competitor to one with a large number
of sites in Dublin. As a result of the agreement DAH now has over 700 large
panels in Dublin and more than 400 in the other main urban centres. It has
increased the number of panels it has in Dublin by more than 20%. Thus
although the Authority does not have a detailed breakdown of market shares
within the Dublin region, it is clear that the arrangements result in the
elimination of a significant competitor within that region and a considerable
increase in the market share of the largest firm. Urban centres and, in
particular, Dublin are very important in the outdoor advertising business. The
arrangements also restrict and/or distort competition within Dublin.
35.
In this instance the Authority believes that there are significant barriers to
entry. The requirement to obtain planning permission and the cost involved in
assembling a large number of suitable poster panel sites reduce the threat of
new entry. DAH have argued that some poster site developments do not need
planning permission. Nevertheless the Authority believes that in most
instances planning permission would be required and that this would constitute
a significant barrier to entry. Poster advertising by its nature is not
subject to competition from imports. The Authority therefore concludes that
the arrangements will result in a significant diminution of competition in the
relevant market. This would still be the case even if it considered that all
outdoor posters came within the definition of the market since it would still
be a highly concentrated one and the arrangements result in one of the two
largest firms increasing its market share.
36. DAH
had sought to argue that the relevant market was that for all advertising
media. While the availability of other media outlets for advertising would
represent some constraint on the ability of DAH to exercise market power, the
Authority believes that this would be somewhat limited as it does not believe
that the relevant market includes all media fora. In particular it believes
that it would be possible for DAH to increase prices significantly for the
rental of large poster sites. DAH has submitted an extensive amount of
material on price changes over the past few years in support of its arguments
that prices have not increased significantly. In particular DAH claimed that
in many instances poster prices had fallen since 1991 and that it had only
increased rate card prices by about 3% per annum since it had started
marketing Adsites panels. The position is complicated by the fact that DAH has
changed the basis on which it sets its poster rates since 1991. Rates are now
related to periods of 14 rather than 28 days. In addition the classification
of posters was revised in 1992 so that in comparing prices in 1994 with 1991 it
is difficult to ensure that one is comparing like with like. This is important
since the claim that poster prices have not increased to any significant extent
is highly dependent on the figures quoted by DAH for 1991. These suggest that
prices for many poster categories fell between 1991 and 1992, some quite
sharply. Direct comparisons are possible for the past two years and these are
summarised in Table 4 below.
Table
4: % Increases in Poster Rates.
1993 1994
Cumulative
Dublin
5.3
5.2 10.9
Other
Urban
5.2
5.3 10.8
Regional
4.4
0.0 4.4
Total
5.1
4.1 9.4
Note:
Posters are graded into five categories. The price changes shown above are a
weighted average for the 5 poster categories for each region.
Source:
DAH
37. Over
the past two years the national average DAH base card rate has increased by
almost 10%. This is almost double the rate of inflation over the period.
Increases in urban areas have been greater running at almost 11% over the two
years. In the case of the most common poster categories the rates of increase
have been even greater with some poster categories showing increases of almost
17% in Dublin. The increases in the rate card do not fully capture what has
happened to prices. There have been some changes to the rates of discount
offered so that average prices for the year as a whole in 1994 increased by
between 1 and 3% more than the rate card figure. In addition some areas
previously included within the regional category up to 1993 now come within the
other urban rate, implying a significant increase in the case of those sites,
which admittedly are rather limited in number. Nevertheless the substantial
increase in poster sites in urban areas, particularly in the case of the most
common categories, together with other changes in the rates of discount offered
and the re-classification of certain sites from regional to other urban do not,
in the Authority's view, support claims that competition from other media
sources has imposed a serious constraint on DAH increasing its prices. When
questioned about the figures DAH executives stated that, while some prices
increased by more than others, they were obliged to keep their overall price
increases in line with inflation or face the prospect of losing business to
other media.
38. As
pointed out DAH have pioneered the concept of poster campaigns whereby
advertisers purchase a number of poster sites as part of a package rather than
renting individual sites. In effect only DAH have a sufficient number of 48
sheet sites to offer such a package. In the case of some of these campaigns
the price per site has increased by a considerable amount over the past two
years, (20% or more in some instances). When asked to comment on this DAH
stated that this was attributable to an improvement in the quality of the sites
available. DAH stated that about 50% of their sites are included in campaigns.
In the case of Dublin the ratio may be much higher since the total number of
Dublin sites available for inclusion in campaigns accounts for 74% of DAH's
Dublin sites. (The fact that sites are available for inclusion in campaigns
does not mean that all such sites are booked for campaigns at any given point
in time).
39. It
is relevant that the MMC in the UK found that an acquisition by another member
of the same group which would have given it a much lower share of the relevant
market would reduce competition. In the Authority's opinion the extent of
competition, both national and local, from other media in the form of
television, radio, national and local newspapers would be likely to be much
greater in the UK given the larger number of firms in those markets. The
Authority therefore concludes that the Option Agreement offends against section
4(1).
(d)
Applicability of Section 4(2)
40. Under
Section 4(2), the Competition Authority may grant a licence in the case of any
agreement which offend against Section 4(1) but which, ´having regard to
all relevant market conditions, contributes to improving the production of
goods or provision of services or to promoting technical or economic progress,
while allowing consumers a fair share of the resulting benefit and which does
not -
(i)
impose on the undertakings concerned terms which are not indispensable to the
attainment of those objectives;
(ii)
afford undertakings the possibility of eliminating competition in respect of a
substantial part of the products or services in question.'
41. The
Authority does not believe that the notified agreements will contribute to
improving the production of goods or the provision of services or to promoting
technical or economic progress. The parties have offered no convincing
arguments to show how the notified agreements would produce such benefits.
Since all four of the tests must be satisfied in order for a licence to be
granted the fact that the agreements fail to satisfy this requirement is of
itself sufficient for the Authority to refuse a licence. Nevertheless the
Authority believes that it should set out its views in respect of the other
tests for purposes of clarity. In the Authority's view the agreement produces
no benefit in which consumers may share. Essentially as the agreement
themselves are anti-competitive and do not produce any benefits the question of
the indispensability of individual terms does not arise. The large share of
the relevant market afforded to DAH by virtue of the notified agreement means
that it affords the undertakings the possibility of eliminating competition in
respect of a substantial part of the products in question. The Authority
considers that 64 per cent of the market constitutes a substantial part of the
market.
The
Decision
42. In
the Authority's opinion DAH and Adsites are undertakings within the meaning of
Section 3(1) of the Competition Act and the notified arrangements constitute
agreements between undertakings. In the Authority's opinion the Option
Agreement dated 2 January 1992, whereby DAH secured the option to acquire all
of Adsites 48 sheet advertising panels has the object and effect of preventing,
restricting or distorting competition and consequently offends against Section
4(1). The Authority does not believe that the agreement satisfies the
requirements for a licence set out in Section 4(2). The Authority therefore
refuses to issue a certificate or grant a licence to the Option Agreement of 2
January 1992 between David Allen Holdings Limited and Adsites Limited
(notification no. CA/1127/92), notified on 30 October 1992 under
Section 7 of
the
Competition Act, 1991.
For
the Competition Authority
Patrick
Massey
Member
15
December, 1994.
NOTES
© 1994 Irish Competition Authority
BAILII:
Copyright Policy |
Disclaimers |
Privacy Policy |
Feedback |
Donate to BAILII
URL: http://www.bailii.org/ie/cases/IECompA/1994/381.html