The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has found Sky, ITV, IMG, the BBC and BT unlawfully colluded to fix the rates they paid freelancers for working on major sports events.
The CMA first announced its investigation into anti-competitive behaviour by the companies in July 2022.
The broadcasters were investigated under Section 25 of the Competition Act, which allows the CMA to look into potential cartels.
The CMA found 15 instances where a pair of companies unlawfully shared sensitive information about pay with each other, including day rates and pay rises.
In most cases, “the explicit aim was to coordinate how much to pay freelancers” said the CMA. For example, on one occasion a business told another they have “no intention of getting into a bidding war” but “want to be aligned and benchmark the rates”. In a separate instance, a company said they wanted to “present a united front” with its competitor.
The CMA said four of the companies – BT, IMG, ITV and BBC – have agreed to pay fines totalling £4,240,356. IMG and BT were each fined approximately £1.74 million, while the BBC and ITV were fined £339,918 and £424,165, respectively. Sky is exempt from a financial penalty as it alerted the CMA to its involvement before the investigation had been launched.
Juliette Enser, executive director for competition enforcement, added: “Millions watch sports on TV each day, with production teams working behind the scenes to make this possible – and it is only right they are paid fairly.
“Companies should set rates independently of each other so pay is competitive – not doing so could leave workers out of pocket. Employers must ensure those who hire staff know the rules and stick to them to prevent this happening in the future.”
The UK’s broadcasting union Bectu reacted to the CMA’s ruling by stating that the broadcasters involved should “consider how to regain the trust of freelance workforce who work in sport.”
“None of us would be able to watch the sports we love on TV without the dedicated freelancers working hard behind the scenes,” added head of Bectu, Philippa. Childs. “They must be compensated fairly for their time and skills. This would best be achieved via collective agreements, an approach the CMA has indicated it would also support.”
