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It has been seven years since the launch of Walker Media, the last media agency start-up of any stature. There have been some high-profile launches in more recent years - for instance, Naked Communications in July 2000 - but none have aspired to become full-service media agencies.

They tend to be planning specialists or brand communications consultancies and steer clear of the buying end of the business.

And well they might. It has become a bruising game. The media owners that matter are as uncompromising as they are consolidated and they tend to be rather enthusiastic about leveraging the market share they've spent decades acquiring. Pitting a small and under-resourced boutique against the might of the global media corporations would surely be like sending the Girl Guides in against the All Blacks.

At certain levels, the game is now closed to newcomers. But we might just be about to see the theory put to the test as, last week, it emerged that three Carat veterans - Mark Jarvis, Colin Mills and Jenny Biggam - were contemplating a genuine full-service media agency start-up.

But how difficult would it be to make any sort of impact with a new media agency these days? You'd be forgiven for assuming that the big networks had closed out all but the smallest of gaps in the market. On the other hand, their one-size-fits-all network systems and their pooled-agency-deal mentality can often seem, to the untutored eye, stiflingly inflexible.

Is there a new opportunity here? The prospect is a lot more daunting than it was when Walker Media was launched. Christine Walker, its founding partner, isn't so sure. She explains: "It's never easy. It all depends on what your proposition is. It depends on your commitment and your stamina and whether you actually have experience of the right sort to achieve what you're trying to achieve. You won't find out until you do it. It needs cash commitments - the research alone is very expensive. People told me it wasn't possible."

Clearly it was possible. And another who's ideally placed to comment on media start-ups is Colin Gottlieb, one of the co-founders of Manning Gottlieb Media back in 1990 but now the chief executive of OMD Europe - one of the largest media networks around.

He says: "If you have a group of people who believe in themselves, have talent and something specific to offer, you may have every chance of succeeding. It would be a good thing for the business which, after all, has been built on the endeavours of entrepreneurs. The media market is changing rapidly, largely driven by digital, and this could give new players an opportunity."

But the flip side, Gottlieb says, is encapsulated in a single word - resource. You can't get away from the fact that a start-up these days would need deep pockets, especially if it hoped to offer a comprehensive range of services.

Maybe, Steve Booth, the chief executive of BLM Media, concedes but there's a greater opportunity here than most people think. He explains: "The big networks put about this myth that what they do is so complicated that no-one else can do it. It's just not true. And the way the world is changing, there are so many new things you can do - not just new-media opportunities but new things you can do with old media. Consolidation doesn't help (the big networks) address those opportunities. Intelligence - especially intelligence that can be applied at the business end of the media market - is at a premium. There's an opportunity here. This is not as big a risk as some people would have you believe."

Tellingly, Steve Huddleston, the head of media operations and trading at BT, agrees with much of that. Perhaps this isn't surprising - BT is a big client that hasn't been scared of using a small agency, The Allmond Partnership.

He does believe that it's becoming harder to do that, however, given the increasing power of procurement people - and, of course, their allies at the media auditing companies.

But this, he reckons, is an opportune moment. He concludes: "The big factor currently is Contract Rights Renewal. It's basically a Government-backed scheme guaranteeing what you get (in the television airtime market). It puts a smaller agency on a more level playing field. And what better time to be negotiating deals than in a depressed media marketplace? What better time could there be for a talented buyer to make a mark?"

YES - Christine Walker, partner, Walker Media

"My view is that all markets need competition. They thrive on it. It helps to keep everyone's performance razor sharp. The truth about what is happening in our business is that choice (for advertisers) is being massively reduced - and that is not healthy. My best wishes will go to any new start up."

MAYBE - Colin Gottlieb, chief executive, OMD Europe

"Unless you have very deep pockets, a start up just won't be able to afford the talent, systems and research to carry the sorts of business that will allow you to grow significantly. Don't believe the people who say it's all smoke and mirrors. You can't do what we do for tuppence ha'penny."

YES - Steve Booth, chief executive, BLM Media

"The talented people at the big networks don't do media, they manage the network. An important part of their job is keeping down costs, particularly staff costs. In consequence they turn media into a mechanical process that they can make monkey-proof. Performance is often mediocre. There's an opportunity here."

YES - Steve Huddleston, head of media operations and trading, BT

"Procurement people are astonishingly risk-averse but there are ways for agencies of all sizes to reassure procurement people. There's more than one way for an advertiser to spend its money - and what advertisers tend to want above all else is genuine time spent on their business by senior people."

Got a view? E-mail us at campaign@haynet.com.