The Competition Commission of South Africa has ordered the media companies SABC, Primedia, and Ster-Kinekor to pay millions of rands in penalties after they admitted to cartel behaviour, including price-fixing.
“The three media companies admitted to being involved in price-fixing and the fixing of trading conditions in contravention of the Competition Act,” Commission spokesperson Sipho Ngwema said on Sunday, January 27.
The investigation, which started in November 2011, found that various media companies offered similar discounts and payments to advertising agencies who placed ads via Media Credit Co-Ordinators (MCC).
SABC will pay a fine of 31.8 million rand (US$2.3 million), while Primedia agreed to pay an administrative penalty of 9.6 million rand (US$702,122), and Ster-Kinekor’s settlement agreement will see it pay a fine of 437,000 rand (US$31,961).
All three companies will have to appear before the Competition Commission tribunal before the funds can be paid, says Ngwema.
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