Australian watchdog: Courier advertising anti-competitive

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on May 30, 2008 at 8:56 PM

The Wentworth Courier's 15 year hold on real estate advertising in Sydney's eastern suburbs is over, after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on Thursday revoked the paper's exclusive dealing notification it has held since 1993, The Sydney Morning Herald reported Friday

The complaint that the deal was anti-competitive was placed by Fairfax Media, which reported the deal gave the Courier “immunity from court action.”

The contracts gave agents significantly lower advertising rates, but in return, required them to place 75 percent of their total print display advertising in the Courier, The Sydney Morning Herald, a Fairfax-owned newspaper, reported.

“Importantly, the current advertising discounts offered by the Wentworth Courier are not necessarily lower than those that would be offered in a more competitive environment,” said Graeme Samuel, the commission's chairman, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. Samuel also said the contracts made it nearly impossible for other local newspapers to compete.