The Competition Authority has today published a decision No. 16/2013, Submission from the publisher of Viðskiptablaðið, Mylluseturs ehf., concerning the alleged abuse of a dominant market position by 365 miðla ehf. The decision concludes that there are substantial grounds to believe that 365 miðlar ehf., the publisher of Fréttablaðið, is a dominant undertaking in the market for newspaper advertising in Iceland. However, it is concluded that the complainant's submission and the evidence gathered during the examination of the case do not provide sufficient indications of the abuse of a dominant position to warrant further investigation.
The decision concerns a submission from Myllusetur ehf., the publisher of the Viðskiptablaðið newspaper, to the Competition Authority, in which it complains about the alleged misuse of a dominant market position by 365 miðlar. It was alleged that 365 Midlar had abused its alleged dominant position in the market for the publication of newspapers and in the market for newspaper advertising by entering into an agreement with Icelandair for the sponsorship of English football on Stöð 2 Sport 2 and other commercial terms for the purchase of advertising.
Following a complaint from Mylluseturs and other information received by the Competition Authority regarding the competitive situation in the media market, the authority decided to launch an investigation into certain aspects of the said competitive market. The Competition Authority obtained, among other things, contracts relating to advertising and the like from some of the largest clients of 365 Media, various information from 365 Media, and information on the revenues of the main media outlets in Iceland.
The decision, as previously stated, concludes that there are no grounds to take further action in respect of the Mylluseturs' request.
"*" indicates required fields
