7th Apr 2005 11:00
Office of Fair Trading07 April 2005 66/05 7 April 2005 WAY CLEAR FOR NEW LONDON AFTERNOON NEWSPAPER The way has been cleared for a new afternoon or evening newspaper to bedistributed to London commuters, following an OFT investigation. The OFT investigation centred on the exclusive rights of AssociatedNewspapers Ltd (ANL), publishers of the London free morning newspaper the Metroand paid-for afternoon/evening newspaper the Evening Standard, to distribute theMetro via London Underground, Network Rail and various train operatingcompanies' (TOC) stations in and around London. The OFT had concerns that, byexcluding rivals' newspapers from stations 24 hours a day, despite the fact thatthe Metro is only distributed in the morning, the exclusivity granted by theseagreements went beyond what could be objectively justified. The OFT wasparticularly concerned that the agreements prevented competing publishers fromdistributing a free evening newspaper to London commuters, given the importanceof access to stations for ensuring sufficient distribution. ANL has now offered to give up its rights to the afternoon/evening distributionslots, allowing London Underground, Network Rail and the relevant TOCs tore-tender those rights. ANL has also offered to allow third party access to itsdistribution racks in stations and make reasonable room for third partybranding. The OFT will shortly be consulting third parties through publicationof a formal commitments notice, which will set out in more detail how ANL'sproposed commitments address the OFT's competition concerns. Assuming theconsultation process confirms the OFT's preliminary position, it intends to makea decision to accept binding commitments and close its file. NOTES 1. The OFT launched an investigation under the Competition Act 1998 in 2003 into the exclusive agreements between ANL and London Underground, Network Rail and various train operating companies following a complaint from Northern & Shell, which publishes the Daily Express. Northern & Shell alleged that it was unable to launch a free afternoon/evening paper in competition with the Evening Standard as a result of ANL's exclusive rights over distribution in London stations. 2. The Competition Act 1998 prohibits agreements, practices and conduct that have a damaging effect on competition in the UK. The Chapter I prohibition prohibits anti-competitive agreements and concerted practices, that have the object or effect of preventing, restricting or distorting competition in the UK or a part thereof. The Chapter II prohibition prohibits conduct that amounts to an abuse of a dominant position in a market in the UK, or part thereof. 3. The Competition Act 1998 has been amended, with effect from 1 May 2004, to allow the OFT to accept binding commitments from those under investigation. The formal acceptance of such commitments, which must address the OFT's competition concerns, requires the OFT to close its investigation into the conduct addressed by the commitments. The proposed commitments must be subject to consultation before they can be accepted by the OFT. 4. Formal acceptance of commitments means that the OFT will terminate its investigation into the party's conduct and will not proceed to a final decision. A commitments decision will not include any statement as to the legality or otherwise of the parties' actions, either prior to acceptance of the commitments or once the commitments are in place. Accordingly, the offer of commitments by ANL, and their provisional acceptance by the OFT, does not imply acceptance of an infringement on the part of ANL. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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