Suspected anti-competitive behaviour relating to freelance and employed labour in the production, creation and/or broadcasting of television content, excluding sport
Source: gov.uk (2025-03-21)

The CMA investigated suspected breaches of competition law in relation to the purchase of freelance services and the employment of staff supporting the production, creation and/or broadcasting of television content in the UK, excluding sport content.

Administrative timetable

Case closure

21 March 2025: The CMA closed, on administrative priority grounds, its investigation into suspected breaches of competition law in relation to the purchase of freelance services and the employment of staff supporting the production, creation and/or broadcasting of television content in the UK, excluding sport content.

The reasons for closing the investigation are set out in the CMA’s case closure statement.
- Case closure statement (PDF, 114KB) (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67dc2e3e0f38d929e57ee383/Case_closure_statement.pdf) (21.3.25)
Case information

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 concerned 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 separately investigated suspected breaches of competition law in relation to the purchase of freelance services supporting the production and broadcasting of sports content in the UK. Please see the case page (https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/suspected-anti-competitive-behaviour-relating-to-the-purchase-of-freelance-services-in-the-production-and-broadcasting-of-sports-content?cachebust=1697032612) and the CMA’s press release (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/sports-broadcast-and-production-companies-fined-4-million-in-freelancer-pay-investigation) regarding the outcome of both investigations for further details.

Personal data

The CMA may collect, use and share personal data for its investigations, including investigations under the Competition Act 1998. This includes processing personal data for the purposes of the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.

For more information about how the CMA handles personal information, please see the CMA’s Personal Information Charter (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/competition-and-markets-authority/about/personal-information-charter).

Contacts

Project Director, Emma Lindsay xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx)

Senior Responsible Officer, Lucília Falsarella Pereira xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx)

Media contact

Any media enquiries should be directed to a member of our Press Office: xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx).

Information about suspected anti-competitive activity can be reported to the CMA (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tell-the-cma-about-a-competition-or-market-problem).