• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, July 7, 2011

In a surprise development, two of the industry's biggest and fiercest competitors -- Omnicom Media Group and Horizon Media- - have teamed up to jointly pitch Comcast's estimated $1.4 billion media services account.

The review, which follows Comcast's takeover of NBC Universal, and includes all of NBCU's media properties, is expected to be one of the most closely watched pitches of the year.

Comcast acquired NBCU in January and launched a media agency consolidation review in April. Comcast retained Michael Kassan of MediaLink to advise it during the review process. Agency pitches have concluded and a decision is expected shortly, possibly as early as this week or next, according to sources.

Executives familiar with the pitch said OMG and Horizon proposed combining their resources into a new entity called OH, which would service the Comcast account.

The fact that OMG, the media division of Madison Avenue holding company giant Omnicom, and Horizon, the biggest independent media services agency, have been collaborating could have even bigger implications. There has already been talk -- so far unconfirmed -- that with a victory, Omnicom might make an offer to acquire Horizon.

Over the years, various suitors have explored buying Horizon, Founder and CEO Bill Koenigsberg has so far indicated that he plans to remain independent. Both Omnicom and Horizon declined to comment on their partnership to pursue Comcast or what a victory might portend for their relationship going forward.

The alliance, while highly unusual, has advantages for both parties.

Omnicom's OMD, is the incumbent for the Universal Studio business, but it has a significant conflict preventing it from pitching Comcast's television businesses: a long-term relationship with CBS and Showtime Networks.

OMG, the parent of OMD, has plenty of other assets to bring to the table, including talent from OMD sister agency PHD and a number of specialty shops. PHD also has a potential conflict: HBO.

Horizon, meanwhile, is the incumbent on NBC's account.

By teaming up with Omnicom, Horizon hopes to retain that business and win a greater share of Comcast, while Omnicom hopes to pick up business without jeopardizing CBS.

Other contenders include Starcom MediaVest Group, whose MediaVest is the incumbent on Comcast's MSO and programming networks.

In addition, WPP's GroupM has thrown its hat in the ring with a so-called holding-company solution that draws on resources from various parts of the media agency conglomerate. Several of the WPP media shops have studio accounts that conflict with Universal. MEC, for example, handles Paramount and MediaCom has the Warner Bros account, while Mindshare services Summit Media.

But with consolidation continuing in many business categories, conflicts often emerge during agency reviews. And increasingly, shops are turning to their parents for solutions. Earlier this year, both Publicis' Vivaki and OMG forged teams from their media arsenals to pursue the Disney account, which had gone into play. Vivaki took a similar tack during the Microsoft review. In both reviews, the Vivaki units came away with big chunks of business.

That strategy, however, isn't always the right solution.

Early in the Comcast pitch, Interpublic Group's Mediabrands proposed an approach using assets from multiple shops and specialty units, but subsequently pulled out, concluding that conflict with Sony, its existing client, was unavoidable, per sources. The agencies and Comcast either declined comment or didn't return calls inquiring about the review at press time.