Quote:
Originally Posted by JustaBloke
I'm sorry mate. What point?
The Whopper is available from BK only - other burgers are available.
JD is available from Diageo only - Other bourbons are available.
The Astra is available from Vauxhall only - There are loads of other crap cars available.*
There is no monopoly. broadcast platforms are offered by VM, BT, TT, Freesat & Freeview in the UK. Programme production is carried out by the BBC, ITV, C4, C5 and countless independents in the UK and importation of programmes is too.
So no free market is being prevented. We're all absolutely free to join any provider we want. 
*OK. Opel too, if anyone wants to split hairs. |
You are speaking of
brand names used by individual companies, a totally different situation. Sure, Sky Atlantic is a brand name of Sky and they can do with that as they please. Once again, the supply being restricted is
HBO content. HBO is not a Sky brand name, it is a third party product.
Obviously there isn't a free market for HBO content when Sky's exclusivity deal prevents the supply of HBO content to other platforms.
In my original example of Tesco exclusively controlling the supply of fuel, the public would be free to shop at Tesco but similarly there wouldn't be a free market for fuel.