Broadcasters fined £4m for freelance pay collusion

For illegally colluding with freelancer pay rates, four of the biggest sports broadcast and production companies have received fines of more than £4 million.

After being discovered to have shared information about fees for freelancers like camera operators and sound technicians, the UK’s competition regulator ordered the BBC, BT, IMG, and ITV to pay a total of £4.2 million.

Before the investigation even started, Sky admitted breaking the law, but it was spared a fine after telling the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) about its involvement.

The CMA reported finding 15 instances of two businesses illegally sharing pay information, including day rates and increases, to coordinate how much freelancers should be paid.

According to the investigation, one of the companies stated that it “wanted to be aligned and benchmark the rates” but that it had “no intention of starting a bidding war.”

Juliette Enser, the regulator’s executive director for competition enforcement, cited the fact that “millions of people watch sports on TV every day, with production teams working in secret to make this happen,” and that it was “only right they are paid fairly.

She argued that companies should set rates independently of one another to ensure that workers’ pay is competitive; doing so could result in pocket-paying.

Employers must make sure staff members are aware of the rules and adhere to them in order to stop this from happening in the future.

BT and IMG were each fined £1.7m, while the BBC must pay £424, 000 and ITV received a £340, 000 fine.

It “takes its competition law obligations seriously,” according to a BBC spokesman.

The BBC admitted liability for three of the 15 violations identified by the CMA as soon as possible, he continued.

We value the independent contractors we work with, both in the BBC and in the sport, and we will continue to work hard to invest and develop talent with them.

A BT Group spokeswoman added that the company “agreed to settle this case” and “seriously” accepted the findings of the investigation.

We have taken a number of steps to strengthen our competition and compliance initiatives in order to ensure that our obligations are incorporated into all aspects of our business.

ITV stated in a statement that it had worked with the CMA throughout its investigation and was “fully committed to complying with competition law.”

We have expanded our business’ efforts to comply with competition law in light of the CMA’s investigation.

IMG claimed in a statement that the issue has now been resolved and that it has taken all necessary steps to address any existing compliance issues.

The BBC, ITV, Hartswood Films, Hat Trick Productions, Red Planet Pictures, Sister Pictures, and Tiger Aspect Productions were the subject of a similar investigation that the CMA closed on Friday.