The TV Stations and Advertising Companies Affiliated to the Democratic Party and Party of Socialists - Massively Represented in the Tender Committee that Will Select the Company of Audience Measurement

Representatives of the following TV broadcasters are among the nominated members of the new Tender Committee that will select audience measurement company in the broadcasting - Prime, belonging to the leader of Democrats Vladimir Plahotniuc, Canal 3, owned by Oleg Cristal, his advisor, Exclusiv TV (publicly warned by BCC in November 2017 because it did not broadcast a single hour of local content), owned by the Socialist MP Corneliu Furculita, and sales houses - Casa Media Corp, and Exclusiv Sales House, previously accused by other market players of the monopolisation of advertising market. Broadcasting Coordination Council (BCC) approved 13 members of the Committee with the right to vote of the 15 necessary, at the meeting of 22 October. Furthermore, two BCC members were also appointed as observers in this Committee - Veronica Cojocaru and Artur Cozma.

At the meeting, BCC member Olga Gugutui mentioned that other members of the regulatory authority, except for Veronica Cojocary and Artur Cozma, had no access to the files of the selected candidates and that the BCC vote could be questioned. In her turn, Veronica Cojocaru said that BCC members, as observers, are responsible for the information they have learned from the respective companies, which requested for their turnover not to be made public.

5 representatives of the following broadcasters were appointed: Prime TV, Exclusiv TV, Moldova 1 public television broadcaster, Canal 3 and N4. 
Other 5 members of the Committee will represent the advertising agencies Eficient Media (founders Alla Malinovscaia and Andrei Copot), Maximize (founder Diana Boico), Prior Media (founders Alexandr Spatari, Vladislav Botnarenco), Target Group Worldwide (founders Sergiu Diaconu and Adela Baxan-Diaconu), IPG - Initiative (founders Marina Ochisor, Elena Bajan).
BCC approved a Moldtelecom representative as one of the local advertising clients who allocated the highest budget for TV advertising in 2018. BCC member Veronica Cojocaru explained that besides Moldtelecom company, the Tender Committee will include other two local advertising clients who will be appointed later.

Also, during the meeting of 22 October, BCC approved one representative from sales houses: Casa Media Corp. (founder Dorin Pavelescu) and Exclusiv Sales House (founder of EXCLUSIV MEDIA PP SRL, owned by Corneliu Furculita).
Note that Casa Media House sales house has the right to place broadcast advertising for the following television broadcasters: Prime, Canal 2, Canal 3, Publika TV, СТС Moldova, Familia Domashniy, N4, Ren-Moldova and Exclusiv Sales House - on television broadcasters NTV Moldova (owner - Corneliu Furculita), Exclusive TV and Accent TV. Casa Media Corp. places advertising for TV broadcasters affiliated with the Democratic Party and Exclusive House — for broadcasters affiliated with the Party of Socialists.

PRO TV Chisinau, RTR-Moldova, Jurnal TV and TV 8 have previously lodged a common complaint to Competition Council (CC), in which they accused Casa Media and Exclusive Sales House advertising sales houses of concluding a cartel agreement, thus using abusively their dominant position on the market. The two advertising companies denied this.

Previoulsly, CC representatives said to Media-azi.md that authority had already initiated an investigation of this case.
The Tender Committee, a collegial body made up of 15 members with the right to vote, of whom: 5 representatives from 5 broadcasters that had the highest revenue from TV advertising in 2018, except for election advertising revenue; 5 representatives of 5 advertising agencies that had the highest revenue from TV advertising in 2018; and 5 representatives of 3 local advertising clients who allocated the highest budget for TV advertising in 2018, and of 2 sales houses that earned the highest revenue from TV advertising in 2018, as well as 2 BCC members without the right to vote, as observers.
According to the Broadcasting Code, the audience ratings measurement shall be carried out by a company selected on the basis of a transparent tender, at least once every 5 years, under the procedures and terms set by a Regulation approved by the Broadcasting Coordinating Council.

Currently, there is a single company that measures the audience ratings in the Republic of Moldova – TV MR MLD, which is licensed by AGB Nielsen Media Research from Switzerland.