Brussels, 20/09/2005 (Agence Europe) - European officials and professional organisations of the audiovisual sector met in Liverpool from 20 to 22 September to discuss the Television without Frontiers (TVWF) directive, which the Commission is preparing to revise this autumn. The conference, organised by the British Ministry of Culture, Media and Sport, and the Directorate on Information and the Media at the European Commission, will mark the end of the consultation period on revision of the directive. Those participating at the conference above all wish to discuss public access to events of general interest, rules governing advertising, the protection of minors, and the application of Articles 4 and 5 of the directive on diffusion of European works.
During the conference, nine audiovisual organisations (CEPI, CICCE, CPE, Euro-MEI, Eurocinema, EuroFIA, FERA, FIAD and FSE) urged the European Commission in a common declaration that it propose, when revising the directive, “measures tailored to promote cultural diversity and implement European content on-line”. The main innovation in revision is expected to be extension of the directive's scope of application to non-linear services (programmes to order), so that the directive covers all the services of audiovisual content, regardless of the technology or distribution platforms used, state the signatories of the declaration. On-line services will provide a major new opportunity for the European production of cinematographic and audiovisual works to reach audiences, and film on-line will constitute a new determining outlet for the economy of the film industry. Without a robust regulatory environment that will guarantee and stimulate a strong presence of European audiovisual content on-line, European companies will be unable to compete with the big Major Companies' catalogues, the declaration states. Audiovisual companies suggest, with this in mind, that specific measures be taken for on-line services, measures that should be based on three ideas; - contribution to the production of European content (gradual extension of this provision of the directive is recommended, in order to avoid stifling the development of this emergent market); - emphasis on European content (catalogues of films available for non-linear content should contain a minimum European content); - and access to audiovisual content (access to European contents via on-line services should be regulated in order to facilitate research).