Magazine publishers fear the impact on their product if the OFT holds to its draft opinion that retailers should be free to buy magazines from any wholesaler rather than, as currently, the one wholesaler that holds the exclusive right to distribute magazines and newspapers in a territory.
The OFT has confirmed that it would not be releasing its final opinion today, which was the deadline it gave itself. A publishing industry source said that the OFT had led laywers to expect it would issue its opinion on Wednesday morning but has since blamed the delay on "technical problems".
Over the summer, associations representing magazine publishers, wholesalers and newsagents have been desperately trying to win the OFT's case team over to a compromise.
They have argued that the draft opinion threatens the viability of less popular magazines and could lead to the closure of thousands of small shops.
Political figures such as Lord Michael Heseltine, chairman of Haymarket Publishing, and Mayor of London Ken Livingstone have each interceded against the OFT's draft opinion.
In addition, newspaper publishers have been in discussions with the OFT. They are worried that their distribution costs will rise if magazines have to be distributed separately from newspapers, although they are satisfied by the OFT's judgment that newspapers should remain under the exclusive territory system.
Senior negotiators believe that the OFT may compromise and allow weekly magazines to remain part of the current system, but are not certain of this. Such a judgment would hit lower frequency publications.
The OFT's opinion would provide a basis for interested parties, such as the large retailers which would like to choose between wholesalers, to mount a legal challenge to the current system of distribution on the grounds that it is anti-competitive.
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