Another very good article from the consistently smart Sarah O’Connor in the FT[£].
There’s little more to add than that Bectu members can substitute ‘broadcast commissioners’ for ‘supermarkets’ and a lot of this will ring true for them. It’s the big story in the factual / entertainment sector but it also applies, to some extent to drama.
They may not quite be a monopsony, but they’re not far off. Production companies are forced to compete in a race-to-the-bottom in terms of prices, with all that this entails.
Monopsonies are bad for business and need market-correcting regulation. For such an important part of the economy not having such regulations is a policy failure.
Low prices are important for consumers, especially those on low incomes. But in single-minded pursuit of that goal, we traded resilience for efficiency. Now we are paying the price. https://t.co/xtS6ipIQ6H pic.twitter.com/p1xX858sCt
— Sarah O'Connor (@sarahoconnor_) September 22, 2021