(Bloomberg) — The offices of UK-based IMG Media Ltd. were searched by Britain’s antitrust watchdog as part of a wider probe into how some of the nation’s top sports TV broadcasters and production firms may have colluded to buy freelance services.
The Competition and Markets Authority said in a statement on Wednesday it had opened an investigation as it “has reasonable grounds to suspect one or more breaches of competition law” by firms also including Sky UK Ltd. and BT Group Plc and ITV Plc.
The investigation looks into the purchase of freelance services which support the production and broadcasting of sports content in the UK, the CMA said.
IMG confirmed its offices were visited by the CMA. “IMG is co-operating with the CMA in its inspection,” a spokesperson said. “No further comment will be made at this time.”
The CMA doesn’t confirm whether it has raided premises during investigations.
Sky declined to comment when asked if they were also raided but said it’s cooperating fully with the authority. ITV said in a statement that it’s committed to complying with competition law and is cooperating with the CMA.
BT Group said in a statement it’s reviewing the details of the probe but will be “co-operating fully with the CMA.”
“It is clear that CMA’s investigation is focused very specifically on the purchase of freelance services and not any other aspects of the BT Sport or wider BT Group business,” the company said.
SEE: BT’s Sport TV Deal With Warner Bros. Discovery Gets UK Probe
(Updates with comment from IMG in the fourth paragraph)
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