Weko sees no elimination of competition through advertising alliance
In its review of the advertising alliance between Swisscom, SRG and Ringier, the Weko concluded that it does not eliminate competition. Therefore, the Weko can neither prohibit this merger nor impose conditions.
This is what Weko Director Rafael Corazza told the SDA news agency on Wednesday. The Weko's decision is a source of controversy in terms of media policy. This is mainly because various publishers and the publishers' association have already made clear in the run-up to the Weko decision that they will fight this advertising alliance of a private media house with two state-affiliated companies such as Swisscom and SRG. Their main argument was that this advertising alliance would lead to further distortion of competition. In fact, the Weko expects the joint venture to become one of the strongest advertising marketers in Switzerland. Nevertheless, the Weko assumes that the advertising market will continue to function because there are other strong competitors, according to Weko Director Rafael Corazza. The fact that Swisscom and SRG, two state-affiliated companies, are involved, played no role in the decision, he said. "We treat them the same as private companies," says Corazza.
Politically intended distortion of competition
With regard to the argument of distortion of competition, Corazza refers to the mandate of the Weko. The decisive question for the authority in assessing the merger was whether it would create a dominant position that would eliminate competition, says Corazza. The question of distortion of competition, on the other hand, did not arise. If there is a distortion of competition, then it already exists today as a result of the advertising activities of the fee-financed SRG, which is politically intended. "The Weko cannot correct politics with a decision on a merger." Corazza further points out that by stating that competition in the advertising market would not be eliminated even with the advertising alliance, the Weko could not impose any conditions on this alliance. It is therefore also not possible to force the joint venture to hand over data, as demanded by individual publishers.
According to Corazza, however, the current decision does not mean that the Weko will not intervene in the advertising market in the future. Indeed, should it become apparent, for example, that smaller media companies would be forced to join the alliance, the Weko would intervene in the event of abuse by the joint venture, Corazza promises. "Then we would have the legitimacy."
