The EC has unveiled a consolidated text of the modernised “Television without Frontiers" Directive. After a first reading in the European Parliament and the Council, there is now broad agreement with the Commission about the future legal framework for Europe’s audiovisual sector.
The new rules, which have been called for especially by the European Parliament, are a response to technological developments and create a new level-playing field in Europe for emerging audiovisual media services (video on demand, mobile TV, audiovisual services on digital TV). European TV producers and filmmakers will be given more flexibility to produce digital content which they can then make freely available to consumers thanks to advertising.
The new Directive reaffirms the pillars of Europe’s audiovisual model, which are cultural diversity, protection of minors, consumer protection, media pluralism, and the fight against racial and religious hatred. The Commission also proposes to ensure the independence of national media regulators. The consolidated text of the new Directive will now go into a second reading by the European Parliament and Council.
“Thanks to the ambitious work of the European Parliament and the intense efforts of the German Presidency over the past months, Europe’s new legal framework for a more competitive, more diverse and more pluralistic audiovisual media sector is now within reach,” said Information Society and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding. “I am confident that we will now achieve political agreement on the new Directive by the end of May. Europe’s internal market would then be truly open for providers and consumers of audiovisual services by the end of 2008 at the latest.”
