BSkyB says competition probe should include Netflix

UK pay TV operator BSkyB says that the Competition Commission should include online content providers such as LoveFilm and Netflix.

The Commission is investigating the market for pay TV movies in the UK and whether Sky has a dominant position. Sky says it has neglected to include the online services already present in the UK or, as in the case of Netflix, about to launch. Both compete for movie rights, Sky noted in a submission to the Commission.

“Both Amazon LoveFilm and Netflix have successfully competed for pay TV movie rights in the UK and elsewhere, including first subscription pay TV window rights, and there is no good reason to believe that their ambitions are confined to acquiring rights from non-major studios, as they have to date in the UK,” Sky noted. It added: “The CC’s failure properly to investigate these issues is a significant procedural flaw in the conduct of its inquiry and is unfair to Sky.”