The wholesale pay TV market in the UK. An economic analysis of the 1996 OFT review

Campbell Cowie and George Yarrow

Telecommunications Policy, 1997, vol. 21, issue 7, 635-648

Abstract: During 1996, the Office of Fair Trading investigated allegations of anti-competitive behaviour, by the major supplier of programming material in the UK wholesale programme market, BSkyB. At the heart of the review is the rate card that links the wholesale prices paid for premium BSkyB channels to the direct-to-home retail price. It was alleged that the nature of the linkage stified retail price competition and dissuaded cable operators from marketing services effectively. In this paper the authors explain the rate card and analyse the pro- and anti-competitive effects of the structure. The paper concludes that while the level of prices may not be anti-competitive, the structure certainly has behavioural consequences.

Date: 1997
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