CyTA fined for violating competition laws

THE COMPETITION watchdog (CPC) has fined state telecoms company CyTA and Greece’s Forthnet AE €2.9mln and €2.3mln respectively for violating competition laws through an agreement to broadcast several Greek pay television channels to the Cypriot market.

The two companies signed an exclusive agreement in 2011 to broadcast, through CyTA’s television arm, Cytavision, NOVACINEMA and NOVASPORTS.

The two companies were found in violation of three articles relating to restricting competition through indirect price fixing, restricting or control of production, availability, technological development and investment, and geographical sharing of markets or supply sources.

The two companies must avoid a repeat of the practice in the future, CPC chief Loukia Christodoulou.

“They are required to cease the violations immediately,” Christodoulou said.

The November 23, 2011 agreement included exclusivity and no competition clauses.

The commission ruled that such an agreement restricts competition since sharing the market entailed a reduction of production and rise in prices “something that leads to improper distribution of resources and worsening of consumer welfare.”

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.