Romania's Competition Council launches investigation among media agencies

The Romanian Competition Council has launched an investigation on the local media market, eyeing media buying and planning agencies, the institution announced in a press release on Monday. The investigation is related to a possible deal among companies in this sector with the purpose of eliminating competition in media agency pitches. The investigation is related to a newly formed Media Club, an entity announced recently by ten major media agencies in Romania.

The Media Club was announced this autumn and says its focus is to improve the image of the market by measures such as an ethics code and guidelines for the organization of pitches based on transparent criteria. The club unites important agencies which are part of affiliated to international networks, such as Initiative, Starcom MediaVest, Optimedia, MEC Romania, Zenith Romania.

Competition Council head Bogdan Chiritoiu told HotNews.ro on Monday that the investigation was launched following a notification from a market player and that checks were made at several agencies last week.