Netflix And LoveFilm Included In BSkyB Movie Probe

UK regulators examining British Sky Broadcasting’s position in the pay-TV movies market have expanded the scope of their investigation to include VOD providers.
The Competition Commission, which is investigating the U.K. pay TV market, has widened its focus to include providers such as Netflix and Lovefilm.
Last summer the competition regulator published a provisional decision that BSkyB's contracts with the six major Hollywood studios – Disney, Warner Bros, Paramount, 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures and Universal Studios – were anti-competitive and needed to be weakened to allow rivals to flourish.
The watchdog said: "BSkyB’s 'control' over film rights was restricting competition between pay-TV providers, leading to higher prices and reduced choice for subscribers."
At this time the complaints commission were considering the likes of BT and Virgin Media as market rivals: but not online video streaming services.
The long-running investigation, which published a revised deadline of July for delivering its final report, has now said that it needed to extend the consultation to take into account changes in the movie market.
The said that there is a need to assess "potentially relevant" developments, in particular the arrival of US giant Netflix which launched in the UK and Ireland in January and LoveFilm, which is owned by internet retailer Amazon and has extended its rental-by-post model to offer streaming movies to customers.
(LB)