NMBS ordered to remove all advertising from stations
A court has ordered rail authority NMBS to remove all advertising panels and hoardings from inside and outside their train stations based on a contract with Clear Channel deemed unfair
Most advertising space in country
JCDecaux claimed that the agreement under which NMBS gave the advertising concession to their main competitor, Clear Channel, was arrived at unfairly, blocking all possible competition until 2021. A court of first instance turned down the Decaux action, but the judgement was reversed in appeal, with the court finding that Publifer, a joint venture between Clear Channel and NMBS, was at fault.
The judgement involves 1,700 advertising hoardings and some 100 digital screens for a total advertising surface of 10,000 square metres, making it the largest advertising space in the country. NMBS has been given eight months to remove all of it.
The rail authority said it would examine the ruling, while considering a possible recourse to the Cassation Court. “We have three months to decide if we will appeal,” a spokesperson said. “You won’t be seeing empty advertising boards in stations tomorrow.”
Photo courtesy Clear Channel
