By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable Online, 5-2-19
Department of Justice antitrust chief Makan Delrahim provided a number of breadcrumbs that broadcasters and advertisers can follow on the trail to what changes DOJ may or may not make to its view of the competitive advertising market when it comes to merger reviews.
Justice and the Federal Trade Commission divvy up such antitrust reviews, with Justice almost always getting the broadcasting and cable and telco merger review.
Delrahim was speaking Thursday (May 2) at the outset of a two-day forum on the impact of digital platforms on traditional broadcast and cable ad markets.
He sounded like a combination of the American Association of Advertising Agencies and broadcast and cable ad groups in extolling the virtues of the ad-supported content model and acknowledged the rise of digital ad competitors. But he said that it was not clear how much of a substitute online ads were for broadcast spot ad buys, for example. » Read More