On-Demand Services and the Material Scope of the AVMSD: IRIS Plus report

Against the background of the proposal for an updated Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) presented on the 25 May 2016 by the European Commission, a new free to download report on “On-demand services and the material scope of the AVMSD” has been published by the European Audiovisual Observatory. The report, which is the product of a collaboration of the Markets and Legal departments of the EAO, analyses the most recent market developments of the VOD services sector and their legal implications.

The publication aims to provide an orientation tool to the latest developments in the debate on the material scope of the AVMSD for on-demand audiovisual services by adopting the following approach:

• Chapter 1 sets the scene by providing a description of the most recent market developments concerning the offer and the consumption of services available on-demand and briefly outlines the main underlying regulatory issues;

• Chapter 2 recalls the history behind the adoption of the AVMSD, and sets out the criteria set by the directive for the qualification of the regulated services;

• Chapter 3 touches upon national implementation of the AVMSD and provides examples of guidelines adopted in selected countries which were aimed at helping operators in the qualification process;

• Chapter 4 sets out a selection of self- and co-regulatory systems put in place in a certain number of member states for the regulation/registration of on-demand services;

• Chapter 5 explores the approaches taken in European and national case-law to the concrete assessment of the criteria set by the AVMSD for the qualification of on-demand services falling within its scope;

• Chapter 6 concludes with a reflection on the state of play of the on-going revision process of the Directive and looks into future regulation.

On-demand services and the material scope of the AVMSD

Source: European Audiovisual Observatory