Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Sky, BT, IMG, ITV and BBC found guilty of fixing freelancer pay rates

21/03/2025

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

By Jenny Priestley

Published: March 21, 2025 Updated: March 24, 2025

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

target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin>

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.

Sky, ITV, BT Sport, IMG under investigation over anti-competitive behaviour'
LINK: https://www.tvbeurope.com/business/sky-bt-img-itv-and-bbc-found-to-hav...
See more stories from tvb

Europe Stories

04/09/2025

Monumental Sports & Entertainment and Dalet Win Prestigious 2025 NAB Show Project of the Year Award

Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...

25/04/2025

Agile Content and Tiscali team up to launch the tv service Linkem My TI-VI in Italy Agile TV

Agile Content joins forces with Tiscali to introduce a new platform in Italy, of...

25/04/2025

Agile Content is Now AgileTV Agile TV

The company positions Agile TV as the commercial brand focused on delivering TVaaS solutions for operators and media. The chosen tagline TVaaS your way enca...

25/04/2025

Agile TV, United Teleports, and BNS Launch a More Profitable, Hassle-Free TV Service Agile TV

A Fully Managed Solution That Maximizes Revenue for North American Operators Whi...

25/04/2025

VEON Files its 2024 Annual Report on Form 20-F

25 Apr 2025 VEON Files its 2024 Annual Report on Form 20-F Dubai, April 25, 2025: VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON), a global digital operator ( VEON' or the Compa...

25/04/2025

High Kicks and High Stakes: Sky Arts announces new series, The Battle of the Irish Dancers

Friday 25 April 2025 Hot on the heels of the Irish Dancing World Championships ...

25/04/2025

dB at MPTS 2025

Following last year's successful event, we're back at the Media Production and Technology Show (MPTS) in London this year. As before, we're looking ...

25/04/2025

Thales and Deloitte form Strategic Alliance to Help Enhance Data Protection and Governance Services

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Enhancing Data Protection and Governance Service...

24/04/2025

Spotify Expands AI Playlist in Beta to Premium Listeners in 40+ New Markets

Playlists have always been at the heart of the Spotify experience. Since AI Playlist in beta launched last year, Premium users have used it to create millions o...

24/04/2025

How Latin Artists Are Thriving Both at Music Festivals and on Spotify

From the California desert and Chicago's Grant Park to New York City's Flushing Meadows Corona Park and beyond, music festivals this spring and summer w...

24/04/2025

82 Artists, 10 Countries, Limitless Sounds: Meet the RADAR Asia Class of 2025

The sounds of Asia are as diverse and vibrant as the continent itself. From the lively beats of Indonesian pop to the gritty rhymes of Pinoy hip-hop, the region...

24/04/2025

Ateliere Acquires Agile Live Software

Century City, Calif. and Bilbao, Spain (July 8, 2024) - Ateliere Creative Technologies, a leading GenAI media software solutions company, and Agile Content, a l...

24/04/2025

AgileTV Showcases TVaaS at IBC 2024

Agile Content to Showcase Industry-Leading TV-as-a-Service Platform at IBC 2024 Bilbao, September 4th - Agile Content, a leading provider of Internet televisio...

24/04/2025

AgileTV & Netorium Boost TVaaS in DACH

Boosting TVaaS in the German-speaking countries with expert integration and 24/7 local support Bilbao/Wiesbaden, September 5th 2024 Agile Content and netorium...

24/04/2025

AgileTV & GlobalDots Revolutionize CDN

New partnership between Agile Content and GlobalDots promises to introduce automated multi-CDN solutions, optimizing content delivery and easing provider manage...

24/04/2025

AgileTV & Agama Boost Streaming at Telenor

Empowering operators with real-time content delivery optimization, improved video quality, and reliable end-to-end service visibility Amsterdam, Netherlands, S...

24/04/2025

Agile Content and Convergenze partner to launch Convergenze TV in Italy Agile TV

Agile Content joins forces with Convergenze to introduce a new platform in Italy, offering a wide range of premium content for all audiences. Bilbao, September...

24/04/2025

AgileTV Earns Bronze EcoVadis Rating

Bilbao, October 10th 2024 - Agile Content, a global provider of PayTV end-to-end solutions, has received the Bronze EcoVadis Sustainability Rating. This ranking...

24/04/2025

MASORANGE & AgileTV Renew Deal

Through this agreement, MASORANGE will incorporate new AGILE CONTENT technologies into its television service, enhancing customer experience with optimum servic...

24/04/2025

AgileTV Reports Q3 Growth

The company reports positive results in the third quarter, despite ending the first half of 2024 with an 8.8% decline in revenue and an 18.3% drop in EBITDA com...

24/04/2025

AgileTV & Tiscali Launch Linkem My TI-VI

Agile Content joins forces with Tiscali to introduce a new platform in Italy, offering a wide range of premium content for all audiences. Bilbao, November 26,...

24/04/2025

Agile Content Rebrands to AgileTV

The company positions Agile TV as the commercial brand focused on delivering TVaaS solutions for operators and media. The chosen tagline TVaaS your way enca...

24/04/2025

AgileTV, BNS & Teleports Launch TV Service

A Fully Managed Solution That Maximizes Revenue for North American Operators While Combining Traditional Cable TV and OTT Apps in one Single Interface. Bilbao,...

24/04/2025

AgileTV & CANAL+ Launch Entertainment Hub

The Entertainment Hub is a fully integrated TV solution that represents a significant step in redefining the white-label TV business model for operators across ...

24/04/2025

AgileTV Picks Evolution Digital for STBs

Feature-Rich, Widely Deployed Android TV Devices Enable Seamless Transition to Fully Managed Pay-TV Services for Network Operators NAB Show 2025, Las Vegas, A...

24/04/2025

AgileTV & Verimatrix Expand TVaaS Security

Aix-en-Provence, France, San Diego, USA and Bilbao, Spain, March 27, 2025 - Verimatrix, (Euronext Paris: VMX), the leader in powering the modern connected world...

24/04/2025

VoIP quality monitoring takes off: R&S AVQA from Rohde & Schwarz now operational for ANS Czech Republic

VoIP quality monitoring takes off: R&S AVQA from Rohde & Schwarz now operational...

24/04/2025

Rohde & Schwarz receives VESA approval for DisplayPort testing solutions

Rohde & Schwarz receives VESA approval for DisplayPort testing solutions Rohde & Schwarz test solutions have been officially approved by the Video Electronics...

24/04/2025

FOX Unveils Its Summer 2025 Schedule, Featuring New and Returning Unscripted Series and All-New Episodes of Animation Domination Favorites

FOX Unveils Its Summer 2025 Schedule, Featuring New and Returning Unscripted Ser...

24/04/2025

dB Appoints New Project Manager to the Team

We're delighted to welcome Ambiga Ram to our Projects Team as a Project Manager. With over 20 years of experience managing complex projects across internat...

24/04/2025

New RT series narrated by Brendan Gleeson tells the story of Kerry's rich natural history

Episode one airs Sunday April 27th, 6.30pm on RT One and RT Player Watch: Ke...

24/04/2025

Thales reports its order intake and sales for the first quarter of 2025

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Order intake: 3.8 billion, down -25% (-27% on an organic basis1) Sales: 5.0 billion, up 12.2% ( 9.9% on an organic basis) A...

23/04/2025

Finding Accountability

In 2024, Thomson's Total Turnout project played a pivotal role in elevating ethical election reporting and strengthening journalist safety in Pakistan. Wit...

23/04/2025

Comscore to Announce First Quarter 2025 Financial Results

Comscore to Announce First Quarter 2025 Financial ResultsRESTON, VA, April 23, 2025 Comscore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR), a trusted partner for planning, transacting...

23/04/2025

RT opens Voluntary Exit Programme 2025

In an email to RT staff today, RT Director-General, Kevin Backhurst confirmed that RT 's Voluntary Exit Programme (VEP) 2025 is open from today, Wednesday...

23/04/2025

RT coverage of The Funeral of Pope Francis

RT will air live coverage on television, radio and online of the funeral of Pope Francis which takes place this Saturday, 26 April 2025. Beginning at 8.30am o...

23/04/2025

Thales and Michelin drive software revenue growth with innovative simulation software

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Enables Michelin to focus on development of its ...

23/04/2025

Dolby Ushers in the Future of In-car Entertainment at Auto Shanghai 2025

April 23 2025, 02:00 (PDT) Dolby Ushers in the Future of In-car Entertainment at Auto Shanghai 2025 Dolby and industry partners demonstrate robust momentum ...

22/04/2025

Celebrate Earth Day With New Music Featuring the Sounds of Nature

Music has the power to connect us to one another and to the world around us. Spotify is once again teaming up with the Museum for the United Nations - UN Live&#...

22/04/2025

Spotify and ELLE Once Again Collaborate in Celebration of Emerging Women in Music

Spotify has an unwavering commitment to supporting emerging artists across all g...

22/04/2025

Celebrate Earth Day With Audiobooks That Educate and Entertain

This year marks the 55th anniversary of Earth Day, celebrated annually on April 22. On Spotify, listeners can explore a world of stories about our planet in our...

22/04/2025

Sky Releases Official Teaser for Exclusive Film Mountainhead, Written and Directed by Jesse Armstrong

Tuesday 22 April 2025 To view this content, please enable our use of cookies. T...

21/04/2025

Fox Corporation Executives to Discuss Third Quarter Fiscal 2025 Financial Results Via Webcast

Fox Corporation Executives to Discuss Third Quarter Fiscal 2025 Financial Result...

17/04/2025

What NAB told us about the future of media tech

This year's NAB Show in Las Vegas marked a noticeable shift in the priorities of media and broadcast organisations. Gone are the days of chasing flashy, or ...

17/04/2025

Changing Sustainable Production in Wales and Beyond

class=attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail f-align-center alt= decoding=async data-lazy-srcset=https://www.antonbauer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Amy-Daniel-1...

17/04/2025

Si's 50th marathon and Guinness World record attempt

Big shout out for our Managing Director Simon Couchman who is running his 50th and final marathon ahead of his 50th birthday in fancy dress! Simon hopes to ach...

17/04/2025

Amateur drama takes centre stage as the 2025 RT All-Ireland Drama Festival launches in the Abbey Theatre

Festival programme promises a feast of drama, an action-packed fringe festival a...

17/04/2025

MGCS Project Company GmbH (MPC) established in Cologne

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Thursday, 17 April 2025 - The next step has now been taken in the Franco-German armaments project Main Ground Combat System (MGC...

17/04/2025

RT Wins | Ireland's Wild Islands' Best Series at the 2025 International Wildlife Film Festival

RT 's Ireland's Wild Islands wins Best Series at the 2025 International ...