UK Regulator Fines Sports Broadcasters £4 Million for Colluding on Freelance Pay

Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has imposed fines totaling approximately £4 million ($5.2 million) on four major sports broadcast and production companies for sharing sensitive information about freelance pay rates. According to Reuters, the penalties stem from the companies’ unlawful exchange of details on fees for freelance camera operators and sound technicians.

Per Reuters, the companies involved—Sky, IMG, ITV, and the BBC—admitted to breaking competition laws by colluding on pay rates for freelancers. The CMA’s investigation, which began in 2022, uncovered 15 instances where two companies unlawfully shared sensitive information on topics such as daily rates and pay increases.

The regulator noted that businesses should independently determine rates to ensure fair competition, preventing freelance workers from being underpaid due to collusion. “Companies should set rates independently of each other so pay is competitive – not doing so could leave workers out of pocket,” said Juliette Enser, the CMA’s executive director for competition enforcement, in a statement cited by Reuters.

Read more: UK Chancellor Set to Reform Merger Rules to Attract More Business Investment

Sky, a subsidiary of Comcast, avoided financial penalties as it was the first to report the misconduct, prompting the regulator’s probe. Meanwhile, BT, IMG, ITV, and the BBC received reduced fines as they cooperated with the investigation, according to Reuters.

Representatives from Sky, ITV, IMG, and BT emphasized that they had taken steps to bolster compliance with competition laws. The BBC also reaffirmed its cooperation with the CMA throughout the inquiry and expressed its commitment to fairly compensating freelancers.

Alongside the sports broadcasting investigation, the CMA has also announced the closure of a separate probe into potential anti-competitive behavior in non-sports television production and broadcasting.

Source: Reuters