Media24 found guilty of 'exclusionary act'

Cape Town - The Competition Tribunal in Pretoria found this week that Media24 had committed an "exclusionary act" under the Competition Act in the way it operated one of its community publications, Goudveld Forum, in the Free State town of Welkom between 2004 and 2009.

The Competition Commission, which originally brought the case against Media24, alleged that Media24 positioned Forum in opposition to an existing community newspaper in Welkom, Gold-Net News (GNN), and ran Forum at a loss until GNN's closure.

In terms of section 8(c) of the Competition Act, which Media24 was found by the Tribunal to have contravened, it is prohibited for a dominant firm to engage in an "exclusionary act" if the anti-competitive effect of such conduct outweighs any technological, efficiency or pro-competitive gain.

The Tribunal found that Media24's actions at the Forum in Welkom had an anti-competitive effect and that there was no evidence of any pro-competitive gain that outweighed this effect.

READ: Media24 heading to Competition Tribunal

On the main charge in the case, however, the Tribunal found that the Competition Commission, could not prove on a balance of probabilities under section 8(d)(iv) of the Competition Act that Media 24 priced Forum below the relevant cost measures. This charge against Media24 was, therefore, dismissed.

The tribunal has postponed the case to a date yet to be determined in order to hear the parties on the kind of remedy sought.

In reaction to the Tribunal's decision Media24 said it takes note of the judgment handed down by the Competition Tribunal. The company emphasised that it was not found guilty on the main charge, but only on the alternative charge.

"The matter is not completed yet as the Tribunal will be convening a further hearing to deal with remedies that may be imposed. We are preparing for this hearing and will only consider our options once the process at the Tribunal has been completed," said Media24.

* Fin24 is part of Media24.

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