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Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
FTC could bar Omnicom, Interpublic from boycotting sites over political views as merger condition: report
The Federal Trade Commission could reportedly bar advertising giants Omnicom and Interpublic from suppressing ads to websites over their political views as a condition for approving their pending merger. The FTC, led by President Trump-nominated chairman Andrew Ferguson, is considering imposing the consent decree as it engages in a broader effort to investigate and stop collusive ad boycotts that unfairly target conservative media. New York City-based Omnicom was among the companies called out by House Judiciary Committee chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) over its involvement with the Global Alliance for Responsible Media, a left-leaning advertising cartel that allegedly sought to defund news outlets and platforms, including The Post. Jordan launched an investigation into Omnicom after the merger was first announced last December. The FTC is currently reviewing a $13.25 billion all-stock deal between the two ad giants. If approved, the combined entitles would form the largest ad agency in the world, with around $25 billion in annual revenue. The terms of the merger deal are still under review and have yet to be finalized, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing a source familiar with the matter. Representatives for the FTC, Omnicom and Interpublic did not immediately return The Post's request for comment. The FTC's move points 'to a much more highly politicized environment for agencies than we have ever seen before, at least in the United States,' analyst Brian Wieser wrote in a midyear industry update on Tuesday that was cited by the New York Times, which first reported on the proposed consent decree. Fergson has said that any boycotts organized by advertisers can be illegal because they involve coordinated refusals to do business, which may restrict competition. Earlier this week, the FTC requested documents from top ad agencies, including Omnicon, Interpublic, WPP, Dentsu, Havas and Publicis, as part of a broad review into whether the firms had violated antitrust law by participating in boycotts against certain news outlets. The FTC is also targeting so-called watchdogs like Media Matters and Ad Fontes Media in the investigation and in May requested documents about their dealings with a dozen firms, the Wall Street Journal reported. The probe is focused in part on how the firms dealt with Elon Musk's X, which suffered a mass exodus of advertisers after the mogul bought the social media company formerly known as Twitter in 2022 and loosened its content moderation practices. The agency's letter to Media Matters requested 'all documents that Media Matters either produced or received in discovery in any litigation between Media Matters and X Corp. related to advertiser boycotts since 2023.' Last year, Musk filed a sweeping antitrust lawsuit against the World Federation of Advertisers and its now-defunct GARM initiative, which shut its doors after the suit was filed. X CEO Linda Yaccarino told The Post at the time that the entire online advertising ecosystem was 'broken' as a result of the alleged boycotts. 'We were victimized by a small group of people pushing their authority or ability to monopolize what gets monetized,' Yaccarino said. With Post wires
New York Post
13-06-2025
- Business
- New York Post
FTC could bar Omnicom, Interpublic from boycotting sites over political views as merger condition: report
The Federal Trade Commission could reportedly bar advertising giants Omnicom and Interpublic from suppressing ads to websites over their political views as a condition for approving their pending merger. The FTC, led by President Trump-nominated chairman Andrew Ferguson, is considering imposing the consent decree as it engages in a broader effort to investigate and stop collusive ad boycotts that unfairly target conservative media. New York City-based Omnicom was among the companies called out by House Judiciary Committee chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) over its involvement with the Global Alliance for Responsible Media, a left-leaning advertising cartel that allegedly sought to defund news outlets and platforms, including The Post. Advertisement 3 The FTC is currently reviewing a $13.25 billion all-stock deal between the two ad giants. Bloomberg via Getty Images Jordan launched an investigation into Omnicom after the merger was first announced last December. The FTC is currently reviewing a $13.25 billion all-stock deal between the two ad giants. Advertisement If approved, the combined entitles would form the largest ad agency in the world, with around $25 billion in annual revenue. The terms of the merger deal are still under review and have yet to be finalized, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing a source familiar with the matter. Representatives for the FTC, Omnicom and Interpublic did not immediately return The Post's request for comment. 3 The Omnicom and Interpublic merger deal was first announced in December. REUTERS Advertisement The FTC's move points 'to a much more highly politicized environment for agencies than we have ever seen before, at least in the United States,' analyst Brian Wieser wrote in a midyear industry update on Tuesday that was cited by the New York Times, which first reported on the proposed consent decree. Fergson has said that any boycotts organized by advertisers can be illegal because they involve coordinated refusals to do business, which may restrict competition. Earlier this week, the FTC requested documents from top ad agencies, including Omnicon, Interpublic, WPP, Dentsu, Havas and Publicis, as part of a broad review into whether the firms had violated antitrust law by participating in boycotts against certain news outlets. The FTC is also targeting so-called watchdogs like Media Matters and Ad Fontes Media in the investigation and in May requested documents about their dealings with a dozen firms, the Wall Street Journal reported. Advertisement 3 Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Andrew Ferguson, testifies during a House Committee on Appropriations – Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government on a oversight hearing of the US Federal Trade Commission on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on May 15, 2025. AFP via Getty Images The probe is focused in part on how the firms dealt with Elon Musk's X, which suffered a mass exodus of advertisers after the mogul bought the social media company formerly known as Twitter in 2022 and loosened its content moderation practices. The agency's letter to Media Matters requested 'all documents that Media Matters either produced or received in discovery in any litigation between Media Matters and X Corp. related to advertiser boycotts since 2023.' Last year, Musk filed a sweeping antitrust lawsuit against the World Federation of Advertisers and its now-defunct GARM initiative, which shut its doors after the suit was filed. X CEO Linda Yaccarino told The Post at the time that the entire online advertising ecosystem was 'broken' as a result of the alleged boycotts. 'We were victimized by a small group of people pushing their authority or ability to monopolize what gets monetized,' Yaccarino said. With Post wires
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
U.S. booze is back on the shelf in two provinces. But is anyone buying?
Canadians in Alberta and Saskatchewan will see U.S. booze back on the shelf after the two provinces lifted their bans on American-made alcohol imports. Andrew Ferguson, the owner of an independent liquor store, says he does not expect this change to have a big impact because not a lot of people are buying American anyway.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
U.S. booze is back on the shelf in two provinces. But is anyone buying?
Canadians in Alberta and Saskatchewan will see U.S. booze back on the shelf after the two provinces lifted their bans on American-made alcohol imports. Andrew Ferguson, the owner of an independent liquor store, says he does not expect this change to have a big impact because not a lot of people are buying American anyway.
CBC
10-06-2025
- Business
- CBC
Alberta lifts ban on American liquor imports — but local demand for U.S. booze isn't the same
Social Sharing The Alberta government has lifted its ban on American liquor imports, but that doesn't necessarily mean there will be more U.S. booze landing on shelves anytime soon. Following the province's lifting of a three-month ban on American liquor imports, provincial alcohol regulator Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) announced on June 6 that it will once again accept liquor products from the United States. WATCH | Will consumers go back to American booze? Alberta gives U.S. liquor imports another shot, but will consumers imbibe? 15 hours ago Duration 1:51 But with a 25 per cent tariff on all American alcohol imports, the buy-local sentiment by Canadian consumers may not be going away anytime soon. Andrew Ferguson, owner of Kensington Wine Market, said that after over two decades in the liquor business, he hasn't seen anything like the consumer backlash stemming from the Canada-U.S. trade war. "If people aren't buying American products like they were before, they're not going to buy them at a premium," he said on price mark-ups due to tariffs. He said that his store's American liquor sales, which prior to the trade war accounted for around 10 per cent of business, have plummeted. With that in mind, Ferguson's not eager to make any major purchases from down south. "When there's no certainty for us in terms of what our cost is going to be, whether people are even going to want it, it's difficult to make a decision, so you don't," he said. "If people aren't buying them, we're not gonna restock them." He called the lifting of the import ban "a non-decision in some ways," as even with the ban lifted, the 25 per cent tariff on U.S. alcohol imports is unlikely to motivate local importers to purchase American liquor. "Margins in the liquor industry aren't huge for either the importers or the retailers," said Ferguson. "Maybe if you're Jack Daniel's, you can afford to eat that tariff cost and you're going to want to probably have your products in stock for Stampede," he said. "But for a lot of the small and medium-sized players, it's going to be too much of a burden to eat that, so they'll just wait until this passes over." Matt Stortz, general manager of Cork Fine Wine, Liquor & Ale in Calgary, said he doesn't expect the lifting of the import ban to have a significant impact on retail operations at his store. He said that while demand for American liquor has noticeably dropped, U.S. products have remained on his shelves. "We did pause buying American products for a couple weeks, but in general, we carry the products that our customers love from the people that we know that make good quality things," Stortz said. He said uncertainty remains around what retail pricing of American liquor will look like with tariffs, but pointed to a recent markup on Alberta wine prices as a more immediate issue for him. Significant drop in U.S. liquor imports Amid bans and restrictions implemented by other provinces, American liquor imports into Canada have taken a noticeable hit. Canada, which according to the American Association of Wine Economists was the largest export market for American wine last year, has seen a 93 per cent drop in wine imports from the States. Last November, U.S. wine exports to Canada were valued at $54 million. This April, they plummeted to $2.7 million. U.S. liquor imports are down across the board in Canada — malt and beer imports have dropped 50 per cent since last April, while distilled liquors are down 56 per cent, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Yvonne Martinez, president of the Alberta Liquor Store Association, said the decline could largely be attributed to other provinces such as Ontario and B.C., but that the buy-local sentiment in Alberta has certainly had an impact. "Here in Alberta, we definitely see people moving towards Canadian products … or made anywhere else but the United States," she said. She said that "from the perspective of the liquor industry," the province's decision to lift the ban "was a good move." But while stores with customers looking for American products may benefit, the buy-local movement across the province and country remains dominant — though it's unclear how long that will last, Martinez said. "Whether that will change now that the premier made her announcement, and depending on what happens with the United States and Canada and their trade talks, I can see them changing their mind and maybe giving [American products] another look," she said. Province encourages shopping local While AGLC is now permitted to accept American liquor imports, the province is still promoting the buy-local sentiment, said Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Minister Dale Nally in a statement. "As always, we encourage Albertans to continue supporting local producers, even as more U.S. options return to store shelves," the minister said. He said the decision to lift the import ban "sets the stage for more constructive negotiations ahead of a Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement renewal, potentially leading to increased trade opportunities and economic growth for Alberta." He also pointed to Prime Minister Mark Carney's efforts to reset the U.S. trade relationship, as well as Alberta's unique privatized liquor marke t, as being factors behind the decision. "We are focused on highlighting Alberta's role as a responsible and collaborative trading partner and will continue working alongside other provinces to advocate for a tariff free relationship," he said.
