The supermarket giant was reported yesterday (15 October) to have approached several agency networks regarding its media arrangements, ahead of a formal pitch process tipped for after Christmas.
It follows similar speculation regarding Tesco gearing up for a review of its media business last year.
A Tesco spokesman said: "There is no truth in the story whatsoever. We are not talking to other agencies and Initiative will continue to be our media agency."
This statement was further bolstered by Deborah Cornwall, head of marketing procurement at Tesco, who told Media Week: "If it [a review] were happening, I'd know about it because I would be involved with helping to run any pitch process. We are not reviewing our media."
No one from Tesco was able to confirm or deny any long-term commitment to Mediabrand's Initiative, but this is said to be standard practice regarding any supplier.
The company has managed to weather the economic storm better than most after expanding its offering beyond food.
At the start of October, Tesco reported a 1% rise in pre-tax profit for the first half of 2009, to £1.42bn.
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