Greek broadcaster blasts closure of Leo Burnett Athens

Greek broadcaster Antenna has criticised Maurice Levy's Publicis Groupe for shutting a local advertising agency, claiming it will cost media owners millions in payments for TV and radio campaigns, during what is a financially dire period for the country.
 Publicis Groupe has taken the decision to close the Greek office of Leo Burnett, one of the French advertising giant's global ad networks, after it initially entered a pre-bankruptcy process last summer. Antenna, one of the largest media companies in Greece with assets including several TV and radio stations, claimed that Publicis has decided to withhold payments due for TV and radio campaigns.
 
 Alexander Holland, chief operating officer of Antenna's Greek operations, said a number of local media groups stand to lose multimillions of euros in unpaid fees for ad campaigns. The broadcaster said Leo Burnett has booked ad campaigns for major clients including Procter & Gamble – historically Greece's largest advertiser – Ferrero and Samsung. Antenna added that it understands that Publicis Groupe is offering Greek media companies a fraction of the payments that they are owed by Leo Burnett. Antenna said that it has rejected the settlement proposal. Antenna said it is considering a "range of options" in order to recover the fees owed by Leo Burnett.