Netflix and Lovefilm drawn into Competition Commission probe

The rise of movie streaming services Netflix and Lovefilm in the UK has forced the Competition Commission to delay its investigation into BSkyB’s subscription movie services.

Last summer the Competition Commission announced plans to investigate Sky Movies’ deal with the major Hollywood studios for its pay TV offer. However, The Telegraph reports that the study has now seen its remit altered to include the effect of streaming movie services.

One possible outcome of the initial investigation was the enforced break down of BSkyB’s deals with 20th Century Fox, Universal, Paramount, Warner, Disney and Sony into individual components.

But the sudden boom in movie streaming could work in Sky’s favour, with consumer choice being significantly widened.

We recognised in our provisional findings that, were developments in the market tooccur, it would be necessary to take them into account before reaching our finalviews,” the Commission stated.

We are considering their implications, alongside other evidence received since the provisional findings, both with regard to our assessment of whether there is an provisional findings on the movies on pay TV investigation in August 2011.”