Brussels, 22/09/2005 (Agence Europe) - In the context of the meeting in Liverpool on 20-22 September on revision of the Television without Frontiers Directive, the European Telecommunications Network Operators' Association, ETNO, calls on decision-makers for a light regulatory touch of content-based digital services. “Content is key to the growth of the ICT sector in Europe. New multi-media services are also an essential vector for the promotion of diversified quality content”, ETNO Director Michael Bartholomew said, pointing out: “The forthcoming revision of the Television without Frontiers Directive should generally move towards a deregulation instead of extending obligations for the traditional markets to new ones”. According to ETNO, the revised directive should make a distinction between non-linear services (television à-la-carte) and linear services (traditional programmes, diffused continuously), and provisions on traditional broadcasting services should not be transposed as such to services such as video on demand, for which the market is only at an embryonic stage of development. According to ETNO, European programmes like Media 2007 and eContent Plus are more adapted for promoting cultural identity than heavier regulation on non-linear services. On the articles of the directive on the protection of minors and human dignity and other principles of general interest, ETNO considers their application necessary to all audiovisual content, while noting that it already exists on these issues of strict European and national rules applicable to new audiovisual and online services.