EU TV Directive Subjects Internet Services to ‘Light’ Regulation
The European Commission (EC) unveiled its proposal for revamping TV regulation Tues. The TV Without Frontiers (TVWF) draft has sparked strong criticism from Europe’s telecom sector over its distinction between traditional scheduled TV services (linear) and on-demand (non-linear) services. Under the proposal, TV rules would be updated to account for technological changes and market developments such as new viewing habits. Ad and product placement rules would be updated. On-demand audiovisual (A/V) content would come under less oversight, focussing mainly on protecting children and minors and quashing incitement to hatred.
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The directive focuses not on means of transmission but content, Information Society & Media Comr. Viviane Reding said. Traditional programming and non-linear services would get different handling, but a balance would be attainted among creation of European content, protection of consumers and minors and cultural diversity, she said.
The EC’s “light-touch approach” means minimum standards on all content, Reding said. Existing rules on traditional TV -- quotas, the right of reply, access to major events -- would remain. Rules on ad quantity will be amended to remove daily limits on ads and strict rules on ad slots. “Small bursts” of ads would be permitted during sports programs but not elsewhere. The EC doesn’t want TV programs “swamped” by ads, so the 12 minutes-per- hour limit stays. Feature films and children’s programs still would be allowed one ad slot per 35 minutes.
Product placement would be allowed under the revised directive if conditions are met. But it would be barred from news or current affairs shows and children’s programs, Reding said. Three new provisions have been added: (1) A nondiscriminatory right to shorter extracts will be created. (2) Self- and co-regulation will be possible for the first time. (3) Member states will have to set up A/V regulators independent of govt.
Reding was asked whether she thinks the changes are radical enough to deal with changes in technology, and whether the distinction between linear and non-linear services, such as the Internet and video on demand (VOD), is relevant given convergence. For now, the linear/non- linear division is “rather clear,” she said, though definitions of both can be discussed during consultation on the directive. Reding said she opted for a light-touch approach to give A/V services the chance to develop. She pointed to VoD as an example of an A/V service being held back by the existence of 25 different regulations.
A “lively and long-winded debate” preceded the TVWF draft’s emergence, Reding said. The EC began consulting on an update years ago, culminating in Sept. in an audiovisual conference in Liverpool. The EC, which adopted the draft Tues., made minor changes to the version Reding submitted.
The directive won’t regulate the Internet, a made often and as often denied by Reding. However, the EC said, some rules will apply to A/V services no matter what platform. It excludes any form of private correspondence such as e-mails sent to a limited number of recipients or weblogs. It also excludes e-versions of newspapers or magazines.
A/V sector reaction to the draft was limited, perhaps because Reding spoke late in the afternoon. The U.K. high-tech group Intellect joined the Broadband Stakeholder Group in panning it, saying the EC failed to apply its own better regulatory principles to legislation that will up regulatory burdens on content and new media consumers. Many telcos, ISPs and media firms oppose the proposal.
The linear/non-linear split “may be a useful conceptual framework for policy makers but it doesn’t reflect the nature” of Internet Protocol-based services such as IPTV, VoD and mobile TV under development, said Intellect Dir. Antony Walker. Figuring out which rules apply to the 2 types of services is going to be a “real headache” for the industry going forward, he said.