On 11 October 2023, the CMA launched an investigation under section 25 of the Competition Act 1998 (‘CA98’) into a suspected infringement or infringements of the Chapter I prohibition of the CA98 by a number of undertakings involved in the production, creation and/or broadcasting of television content.
The investigation concerns the activities of these undertakings in relation to the purchase of services from freelance providers, and the employment of staff, who support the production, creation and/or broadcasting of television content in the UK, excluding sport content.
The CMA is investigating suspected breaches of competition law by at least the following undertakings: the British Broadcasting Corporation, Hartswood Films Limited, Hat Trick Productions Limited, ITV PLC, Red Planet Pictures Limited, Sister Pictures Limited and Tiger Aspect Productions Limited.
At this stage the CMA believes it has reasonable grounds to suspect one or more breaches of competition law. The CMA has not reached a view as to whether there is sufficient evidence of an infringement of competition law for it to issue a statement of objections to any party or parties. Not all cases result in the CMA issuing a statement of objections and no assumption should be made at this stage that the CA98 has been infringed.
The CMA is separately investigating suspected breaches of competition law in relation to the purchase of freelance services and the employment of staff supporting the production and broadcasting of sports content in the UK. Please see the case page for further details.