‘If CCI probe on ad agencies only about price, then it’s wrong’: AAAI President

New Delhi: Srinivasan K Swamy, the newly elected President of the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI), defended ad agencies over the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) probe into alleged cartelisation.

“If CCI’s view is that it’s only about price, then it’s wrong. The advertising business doesn’t move on price alone,” Swamy told BestMediaInfo.com. 

He stressed that clients award business based on strategy, team capability, technology and trust; not marginal price differences. 

“Nobody is going to decide to give crores of advertising budget based on whether someone is 0.2% lower or higher. Far more important factors are the team, the process and the strategy,” he said.

Swamy also clarified that there is “no case against AAAI or any of its agencies” as yet. 

He maintained that the CCI has only issued preliminary findings and that individual agencies are addressing the queries raised. “It’s still under investigation. No formal show cause has been issued,” he noted.

Swamy’s line of defense, however, stands against evidence already placed before regulators by Dentsu.

In February 2024, Dentsu India submitted a leniency petition to the CCI under the regulator’s disclosure framework, which offers reduced penalties in exchange for cooperation. The petition alleged that leading agencies colluded to fix media buying rates and curb pricing competition.

Evidence shared with CCI included WhatsApp chats titled “AAAI media agencies,” where at least 11 senior executives from global networks allegedly discussed pitch pricing and client strategies. 

On August 11, 2025, French ad giant Publicis Groupe filed a lawsuit against CCI in the Delhi High Court. Its Indian arm, TLG India, accused the regulator of withholding case files, thereby denying it a fair chance to defend itself.

The petition also contests a summons issued on August 4 to Publicis South Asia chief Anupriya Acharya, seeking contracts and revenue-sharing documents. Publicis argues that without access to case records, the summons is unjust. The Delhi High Court is expected to hear the matter soon.

The CCI probe, which included raids in March 2025, has shaken India’s nearly $30 billion media and entertainment sector. Agencies and industry bodies such as the IBDF and the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) are all under scrutiny. If charges are proven, firms face penalties of up to three times their profits or 10% of their global turnover from Indian entities for each year of misconduct.

AAAI chief opposes government’s proposal for multi-agency TV rating systems

In the freewheeling chat with BestMediaInfo.com, Swamy also spoke against the government’s proposal to open the market to multiple television rating agencies, warning that India neither has the scale nor the financial bandwidth to sustain more than one.

“BARC, as a rating agency, is doing the work and doing a good job. It is co-owned by IBDF, IAA, AAAI and ISA. I don’t think the market is big enough for two rating agencies,” Swamy told BestMediaInfo.com.

Pointing to international practices, he argued that most countries operate with a single measurement system. “Globally also there’s only one rating agency in each country. There’s no point in looking at multiple because there’s no budget to support two rating systems,” he said.

Swamy underlined that instead of fragmenting resources, the industry must strengthen and reform BARC India. “Let’s fix the issues in the BARC rating system. Let the stakeholders get together and fix it rather than starting something new. You will never have money for two or more,” he added.

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) has been considering allowing more players into the audience measurement space to improve competition, accuracy, and accountability. The move comes against the backdrop of periodic concerns over BARC’s credibility, methodology, and governance.

Proponents of multiple rating bodies argue that greater competition could lead to more transparency and better service for broadcasters, advertisers and agencies. However, critics caution that splitting resources across competing systems could create confusion in the market and erode trust in measurement currency.