Brussels, 20/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - Commission plans for reforming audiovisual media services (AMS) rules are taking shape. On Wednesday 25 May, the Commission is expected to propose relaxing the rules on advertising time and requiring video-on-demand services to promote European works (see EUROPE 11552).
Commission Vice-President with responsibility for the Digital Single Market Andrus Ansip said as much in his speech in Cannes last weekend: the goal of the review of the AMS directive (2010/13) is to bring “more flexibility to advertising rules”, create “a level playing field” and “promote European creative work”.
More advertising. Ansip could not have been clearer. According to a draft directive that EUROPE has seen, the Commission intends to give channels greater freedom on broadcasting advertisements. It proposes that programmes may be interrupted by adverts every 20 minutes rather than every half hour as at present. The reform would also allow channels to extend the time given to advertising, which is currently set at 12 minutes per hour. The change comes from an amendment to the basis for calculation. While, at the moment, advertising is only allowed to take up 20% of the time per hour (that is, 12 minutes per hour), the draft directive - which still has to be adopted by the College of Commissioners - would extend the basis for calculation to 16 hours (that is, the day from 7.00 am to 11.00 pm). Consequently, a channel could very well choose to devote 30% of broadcasting time to adverts during the peak viewing period and reduce advertising to 10% of broadcasting at less popular times. In another change, the draft text permits “pop-up” advertising spots, hitherto only permitted in broadcasts of sports events. Lastly, the Commission intends to facilitate product placement: while the 2010 directive bans this practice, with only a few exceptions, the reform proposes reversing the rationale. That is, product placement will always be allowed, except in certain cases, such as children's programmes, religious programmes or news broadcasts.
New requirements for VOD. In a further innovation, the text brings closer alignment of the rules that apply to video-on-demand (VOD) services and to traditional operators. It requires operators like Netflix and Amazon Prime to ensure that at least 20% of the works available are European. This measure has already been challenged by the ECR Group in the European Parliament. At the present time, although the “country of origin” (the country in which the company is established) principle applies - and will continue to apply after the reform - the rules vary widely from one country to another. France, for example, imposes a 60% quota on VOD services, Lithuania 50% and Spain 30%, while the Netherlands, where Netflix is established, imposes none. The European average is 27% (average across 75 catalogues). The text also allows member states in which VOD services are established or in which these services are broadcast, to require these companies to make a financial contribution to local cinema (either by means of direct investment or through a tax allocated to a national cinema fund). It also makes provision for aligning standards of protection of minors that apply to traditional broadcasters and to VOD services.
Broader package. Apart from the text revising the AMS directive, the Commission will bring forward a communication on the economic and social role of online platforms, a legislative proposal on unjustified geo-blocking, an update of the directive on cooperation between consumers' authorities and a communication on parcel delivery.
In general terms, the Commission intends to require traders to apply the principle of selling as if in their home country, plus the delivery conditions they set. It will only go as far as to set up an internet delivery price comparison site and to improve the application of the principles of accessibility and cost orientation on tariffs for delivery prices listed publicly (contained in Directive 2008/06/EC on postal services). The directive will cover services provided on a specific site (such as car hire companies) tangible goods (such as the online sale of clothing) and electronic services (like the cloud). Audiovisual content will not, however, be included. At present, the Commission is still to decide whether music and books should be covered by this text.
With regard to platforms, the Commission has turned away from the idea of cross-cutting regulation and revisiting the e-commerce directive, and gone for clarifying the rules on the basis of problems identified (including through self-regulation) (see EUROPE 11541). (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)