Strasbourg, 13/12/2005 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday, the European Commission adopted, and presented to the European Parliament, its proposed revision of the "Television without Borders" directive, aiming to modernise the existing rules (the directive entered into force in 1989 and was revised for the first time in 1997). This proposal takes account of rapid technical and commercial developments in the European audiovisual sector, and will reduce the burden imposed by the existing rules, in line with the principle of "better regulation", which is so close to the heart of the Barroso Commission. It also aims to facilitate the funding of audiovisual content by new forms of advertising. Furthermore, existing rules on advertising will be made more flexible (EUROPE will return to the contrast in reactions on the subject). The proposal will also make the conditions the same for all companies offering televisual services, whatever the technology used (broadcasting, high-speed broadband, third-generation mobile telephony, etc). Given the development of the televisual landscape, a clear distinction will be drawn between so-called "linear" services (traditional television/Internet/mobile telephony- television viewers passively receive programmes/determined content) and " non-linear" (television on demand- the viewer chooses what programme he or she wishes to watch, and at what time). Lastly, the Commission remains faithful to the principle of "country of origin" in order to promote a strong and creative European content sector. According to Commissioner Viviane Reding, who is responsible for the information Society and the media, "the new rules will create opportunities in the field of multimedia, and will promote competition and choice for the consumers, whilst promoting the achievement of public interest objectives, such as the protection of minors and cultural diversity". Here, in greater detail, are the essential point of the proposed reform:
"Linear" and "non-linear" services: the current rules governing broadcasting will apply to linear services in a more modern and flexible way, whilst non-linear services will be subject only to a basic set of minimum principles, such as the protection of minors and the prevention of racial hatred. These services will benefit from the principle of country of origin, and will also subscribe only to the legal obligations in force in the country of their establishment, and not have to observe separate rules in each of the Member States in which their services can be received, the Commission notes.
Advertising and product placement: the Commission proposes to remove certain amount of red tape, to make the rules in force more flexible to allow new forms of advertising, to encourage self-regulation and co-regulation and to secure additional funding for European productions. In this way, the directive will not lay down a detailed framework for the frequency of and conditions for advertising to interrupt programmes, but it will simplify the existing rules. Broadcasters will be able to choose the best time to show advertising within their programmes, rather than be forced, as they are now, to operate intervals of at least 20 minutes between advertising breaks. The quantity of advertising, however, will not be allowed to increase, as the Commission is proposing to keep the current limit of 12 minutes per hour. The new directive will also support new forms of advertising (such as "virtual" or interactive advertising) and will, for the first time, explicitly define a clear legal framework for "product placement" (deliberate use, by the hero or heroine in a film, of a particular brand of product), which will be allowed, except in news bulletins and children's programmes. Consumers must, however, be clearly informed that this is product placement.
Pluralism of the media: although the Charter of fundamental rights obliges the European Union to promote pluralism of the media, Community competencies in this field remain extremely limited. However, "the rules for the next decade will not be able to ignore them totally", the Commission underlines. For this reason, the new directive envisages three types of measure: 1) the obligation for each Member State to ensure the independence of the national regulation authority tasked with implementing the provisions of the directive; 2) the right for televisual broadcasters to use "short extracts" (each supplier will thus be able to have access to film footage of major events for use in news programmes); 3) the promotion of content produced by independent audiovisual production companies in Europe (this provision already features in the previous version).
Quotas (articles 5 and 6 of the Directive): here, no changes are made from the current directive, which allows the Member States to impose content quotas for European productions broadcast by conventional television channels, as far as possible, and grant them greater leeway. An impact study suggests that there is no need to remove quotas, as they help towards the cultural objectives set in place by the directive, the Commission notes.