International Insider: Drama In UK Drama; Cannes Plan Underway; Studiocanal Charts TV Path
deadline.comWelcome back, Insider crew. Jesse Whittock taking you through another eventful week in film and TV. Let’s begin. Antitrust the process: Not great news for the UK’s fabled TV drama community this week as we brought news that the antitrust investigation spooking producers will be prolonged for at least six months – and likely far longer.
A reminder: the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) probe is examining whether BBC Studios, ITV Studios and four other storied indies colluded by informally fixing freelancers’ wage rates.
The extension will see the CMA implement “further investigatory steps” and assessment of evidence” for the next six months, and those Max spoke with said the authority has an enormous wealth of evidence to get through. “Stressed” and “jittery” was the vibe described by one connected source about those being probed, who now face months and months of worry that they will eventually be found guilty of breaching competition law, although at present we understand no assumption is being made to this effect.
Drama producers desperate to get back to the day job won’t be best pleased, and for those outside the investigation, there is still that nagging fear that it could be expanded and they could be next.
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