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Regulation News

Digital Single Market Strategy: consultations on geo-blocking and the role of platforms
posted on 25 September, 2015   (public)
Digital Single Market Strategy: consultations on geo-blocking and the role of platforms On 24 September 2015, the European Commission has launched two further consultations as part of the Digital Single Market Strategy issued on 6 May 2015: one on geo-blocking and one...
Media & Elections : French CSA publishes 15 proposals
posted on 21 September, 2015   (public)
Media & Elections : French CSA publishes 15 proposals With a view to better reconciling freedom of communication with rules on political pluralism in the audiovisual media, the French regulatory authority (Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel - CSA) has...
Digitisation in Germany - 2015 DLM Report
posted on 15 September, 2015   (public)
Digitisation  in Germany - 2015 DLM Report The Directors Conference of the Media Authorities (DLM) has recently published its 2015 report on Digitisation, measuring the digitisation of the German broadcasting market and comparing it also to the international one. The...
French data protection authority highlights insufficient protection of children's privacy on the Internet
posted on 08 September, 2015   (public)
French data protection authority highlights insufficient protection of children's privacy on the Internet In May 2015, 29 data protection authorities in the world (of which the French CNIL - Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertés), gathered in...
Digital Single Market Strategy: two follow-up consultations launched this summer
posted on 07 September, 2015   (public)
Digital Single Market Strategy: two follow-up consultations launched this summer On 24 August, the European Commission has launched a public consultation on the "Cable and Satellite" Directive, which is part of the reform policy of European copyright law. All...
BAI fosters Irish skills in quality TV drama
posted on 07 September, 2015   (public)
BAI fosters Irish skills in quality TV drama Big Stories on the Small Screen is a new initiative, funded by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland and Screen Training Ireland, focused on developing Irish skills in quality long-form screen drama. Big Stories will support...
New Media Online case - Opinion of Advocate General
posted on 01 September, 2015   (public)
New Media Online case - Opinion of Advocate General On 1 July 2015, Advocate General Maciej Szpunar delivered his non-binding opinion in the case New Media Online. In June 2014, the Austrian Supreme Court of Administration had requested a preliminary ruling from the...
ERC reports on news consumption in Portugal
posted on 01 September, 2015   (public)
ERC reports on news consumption in Portugal On 19 May 2015, the Portuguese regulator ERC published an extensive report on news consumption in Portugal. This document represents the first report of the ERC project on audiences and media consumption which was launched in late...
Ofcom’s communications market report: smartphones are the most popular online devices
posted on 25 August, 2015   (public)
Ofcom’s communications market report: smartphones are the most popular online devices Smartphones have overtaken laptops as the most popular device for surfing online, Ofcom research has revealed, with record ownership and use transforming the way we communicate....
CNMC and Autocontrol agree on joint regulation of TV advertising
posted on 24 August, 2015   (public)
CNMC and Autocontrol agree on joint regulation of TV advertising The Spanish regulator CNMC announced on July 6 2015 an agreement with the industry group Autocontrol (Association for Self-Regulation of Commercial Communications) on joint regulation of advertising on TV. CNMC...
Protection of minors: new age classification criteria adopted by the Spanish CNMC
posted on 24 August, 2015   (public)
CNMC adopted new age classification criteria for protection of minors On July 9 2015, the Spanish regulator CNMC adopted new criteria for rating audiovisual content. These new criteria were agreed by the CNMC, TV broadcasters and for the first time, social organizations were...
CoE Parliamentary Assembly calls for Increasing transparency of media ownership
posted on 23 July, 2015   (public)
CoE Parliamentary Assembly calls for increasing transparency of media ownership The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has recently asked the CoE member States to review their legislation to ensure transparency of media ownership, so that the public has...
Public Service Broadcasting in the Internet Age - Ofcom's 3rd PSB Review
posted on 17 July, 2015   (public)
Public Service Broadcasting in the Internet Age - Ofcom's 3rd PSB Review On 2 July 2015, British Regulator Ofcom published the conclusions of its third review of public service broadcasting. The review examines how the BBC - but also ITV, STV, UTV, Channel 4, Channel 5...
Independence of NRAs: Chair of Latvian Broadcasting regulator dismissed
posted on 09 July, 2015   (public)
Independence of NRAs: Chair of Latvian Broadcasting regulator dismissed The Saeima, the Parliament of Latvia, in an extraordinary session held on 8 July 2015 voted to dismiss Mr Ainārs Dimants, Chairperson of the National Electronic Mass Media Council (NEPLP), the...
Local TV not keeping pace with nationwide broadcasting in Germany
posted on 24 June, 2015   (public)
Local TV not keeping pace with nationwide broadcasting in Germany   Nationwide TV broadcasting remains the key medium in Germany and consolidates its supremacy in the advertising market even further. This is one of the main findings of the new edition of the Yearbook...
Changing patterns in the consumption of news in Ireland
posted on 23 June, 2015   (public)
Changing patterns in the consumption of news in Ireland New research commissioned by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI), which was published on 23 June, highlighted significant changes in the way in which Irish people access news. This new report is based on data...
Swiss voters approve change in licence fee model
posted on 17 June, 2015   (public)
Swiss voters approve change in licence fee model On 14 June, Swiss citizens voted by referendum on the partial review of the Federal Radio and TV Act (RVTA), which was approved by a very narrow margin (Yes: 50.1%, No: 49.9 %). The main objective of the RVTA review is to ...
Sweden: Press Subsidies Council becomes part of the Broadcasting Authority
posted on 15 June, 2015   (public)
Sweden: Press Subsidies Council becomes part of the Broadcasting Authority As of 1 July, the Press Subsidies Council (Presstödsnämnden) will cease to exist as a separate agency and its functions transferred to the Swedish Broadcasting Authority (Myndigheten...
A modified structure for the French CSA
posted on 08 June, 2015   (public)
A modified structure for the French CSA Echoing the far-reaching changes of the media environment and as a consequence of its new duties on public service broadcasting and economic regulation introduced by the Law of 15 November 2013, the French regulator CSA announced a...
Ofcom looks back at 10 years Adults’ media use
posted on 26 May, 2015   (public)
Ofcom looks back at 10 years Adults’ media use Ofcom published, in May 2015, its Adults’ media use and attitudes Report 2015. The Report provides data on adults' (aged 16 and over) media use and attitudes across TV, radio, games, mobile and the internet, with...
EPRA Berne: Presentation of the Swiss Media Landscape
posted on 21 May, 2015   (public)
EPRA Berne: Presentation of the Swiss Media Landscape On the occasion of the 41st EPRA meeting in Berne held on 13-15 May 2015, Mr. Roger Blum, Chairperson of the Independent Complaints Authority (ICA) and Mr. Philipp Metzger, Director General of the Federal Office for...
Ofcom revises signing arrangements for low audience channels
posted on 19 May, 2015   (public)
Ofcom revises signing arrangements for low audience channels Ofcom has revised the arrangements for signing on domestic TV channels in the UK with an audience share between 0.05% and 1%. Ofcom’s decisions take account of responses to the consultation published in July...

Archived Regulation News

Baltic regulators met in Riga
posted on 05 November, 2012   (public)
On 11 October 2012, the representatives of Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian and Swedish regulatory authorities met in Riga to share their experience and to discuss practical questions related to media regulation. The Baltic regulators' meeting takes place every year...
Towards a convergent NRA in France? CSA's contribution
posted on 31 October, 2012   (public)
In the context of a consultation launched by the Prime Minister during summer, the Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel, (CSA), published its contribution on the envisaged merger between CSA and ARCEP, the two French regulatory authorities in charge of broadcasting...
FICORA publishes market review on audiovisual content services in Finland
posted on 29 October, 2012   (public)
On 26 October 2012, The Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority (FICORA) published a market review on the audiovisual content services. The review looks at the different ways how Finns watch audiovisual content, and is based on the data reported by operators and on the...
SEE Digi.TV: outcome of second international conference
posted on 24 October, 2012   (public)
On 18-19 October 2012, the Post and Electronic Communications Agency of the Republic of Slovenia (APEK) held the 2nd international conference of the SEE Digi.TV project in Ljubljana. The event gathered more than 90 participants from regulatory authorities, TV and electronic...
Digital TV switchover completed in Ireland and UK
posted on 24 October, 2012   (public)
On 24 October 2012, Ireland and the United Kingdom turned off the analogue television signal. Now the television services in both countries are fully digital. In Ireland, the old TV network was replaced by a free-to-air digital terrestrial television service Saorview,...
CMFE publishes first mapping of Community Media in Europe
posted on 24 October, 2012   (public)
On 22 October 2012, the Community Media Forum Europe (CMFE), an international non-profit organisation which provides a common platform for networks, national federations and projects active in the "third media" sector, unveiled the outcome of its mapping exercise of...
On-demand services: Ofcom publishes consumer research results
posted on 23 October, 2012   (public)
Ofcom published results of the consumer research commissioned from the Essential Research Ltd on 23 October. The aim of the research was to explore consumer attitudes and behaviour in relation to on-demand audiovisual services and to help Ofcom understand which services are...
Digital Radio - Outcome of French consultation on standards for digital terrrestrial radio
posted on 22 October, 2012   (public)
Following a public consultation on standards for digital radio launched in April 2012 to seek the views of stakeholders, the French Minister of Culture and Communication published a summary of the responses to the consultation on 11 October 2012. The consultation...
ATVOD’s submissions concerning protection of minors on VOD and media convergence
posted on 19 October, 2012   (public)
On 17 October 2012, the Authority for Television On Demand (ATVOD), which is the independent co-regulator for the editorial content of VOD services in UK, published its submissions to the consultation by the UK Council for Child Internet Safety on parental controls and to the...
Ofcom’s Digital Radio Report 2012
posted on 18 October, 2012   (public)
On 17 October 2012, Ofcom published its Digital Radio Report 2012. Following the Government’s Digital Radio Action Plan launched in July 2010, Ofcom was requested to report annually on the availability and take-up of digital radio services. The Action Plan set the...
Gender Equality: REFRAM launches an internal call for project and publishes a handbook
posted on 18 October, 2012   (public)
The Francophone Network Media Regulators (REFRAM) has launched a call for tender among its members for a pilot project in favour of gender equality. This call seeks to identify and fund projects that encourage and support the promotion of gender equality in the broadcast...
Loudness on TV: Catalan Regulator takes steps
posted on 17 October, 2012   (public)
In line with the recent trend towards loudness normalization in several European countries, the Catalan Audiovisual Council (CAC) has recently been tackling the issue of sudden changes in volume on television during advertising breaks further to complaints from the public. A...
Irish BAI signals new rules for advertising of food and drink in children’s programmes
posted on 16 October, 2012   (public)
The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) announced on October 12 the outcomes of a public consultation launched in March 2012 on a Draft Children’s Commercial Communications Code and a Draft General Commercial Communications Code. The Draft Codes concern regulatory...
Creation of a new regulatory authority in Luxembourg: Draft Law
posted on 16 October, 2012   (public)
On 15 October 2012, Luxembourg's Minister for Communication and Media, Mr. François Biltgen, announced a - long awaited - reform of media law and the creation of the Independent Audiovisual Authority of Luxembourg (l’Autorité luxembourgeoise...
Towards a convergent NRA in France? ARCEP's point of view
posted on 16 October, 2012   (public)
In the context of a consultation launched by the Prime Minister during summer, ARCEP, the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications and Post, published its position on the merger between the CSA and ARCEP, the two French regulatory authorities in charge of...
Update on SEE Digi.TV activities
posted on 11 October, 2012   (public)
The Second SEE Digi.TV International Conference which is organized by the lead partner of the project, the Post and Electronic Communications Agency of the Republic of Slovenia (APEK), will be held in Ljubljana on 18-19 October 2012. During this event (upon invitation...
Ofcom’s supplementary advice on media plurality
posted on 05 October, 2012   (public)
On 5 October 2012, Ofcom published supplementary advice to the Secretary of State on media plurality. This follows the report on the feasibility of measuring media plurality across platforms, presented to the Secretary of State for Culture in June 2012. Ofcom recommended to...
Access services: Ofcom's statement on new requirements for non-domestic channels
posted on 01 October, 2012   (public)
On 1 October 2012, Ofcom, the communications regulator in the UK, published a statement on new requirements for TV channels licensed by Ofcom and made available in other Member States of the European Union to provide access services such as subtitling, signing and audio...
Short extracts: Draft Decision by French CSA
posted on 01 October, 2012   (public)
The Conseil supérieur de l’audiovisuel (CSA), the French regulatory authority, notified the European Commission of its draft Decision setting up the conditions for the transmission of short extracts of sport events and other events of high interest to the...
European Commission report on the promotion of European works
posted on 26 September, 2012   (public)
The European Commission published its report on the promotion of European works in television and on-demand audiovisual media services on 26 September 2012. The report examines how the Members States complied with the requirements of Articles 13, 16 and 17 of the Audiovisual...
4th CERF meeting convenes in Bratislava
posted on 25 September, 2012   (public)
From 20 to 21 September 2012, the Central European Regulatory Forum (CERF) held its 4th meeting in Bratislava, hosted by the Council for Broadcasting and Retransmission of the Slovak Republic. More than 30 representatives from regulatory authorities in the Czech Republic,...
MEDIADEM publishes comparative findings on media policy
posted on 20 September, 2012   (public)
MEDIADEM, an EU funded research project on media policy-making processes in EU member states and candidate countries, recently published its comparative findings. The purpose of the research project is to identify which policy processes, tools and instruments can best support...
Report of the EU Media Futures Forum
posted on 20 September, 2012   (public)
On 20 September 2012, the EU Media Futures Forum, commissioned by Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for the Digital Agenda, released its final report on trends, opportunities and challenges in the media sector. This report complements the...
Community Media: Czech Regulator opens a public debate
posted on 19 September, 2012   (public)
The Council for Radio and Television Broadcasting, the Czech regulatory authority, recently opened a public debate on Community Media by commissioning a report mapping out the possibilities for introducing "Third Sector" (non-profit) media in the Czech Republic. ...
Ofcom awards first local TV licences
posted on 13 September, 2012   (public)
On 12 September 2012, Ofcom (UK) awarded the first licences to run local TV services on DTT in Brighton and Grimsby. This was done following new legislation which enabled Ofcom to issue local TV licences. Local TV has been previously licensed on a limited basis by the...
Loudness on TV: French CSA report
posted on 06 September, 2012   (public)
On 5 September 2012, the French regulator CSA published its first report to Parliament on loudness levels on television. This report derives from Article 177 of Law No. 2010-788 of 12 July 2010, which requires that channels ensure an equal loudness level during...
Ofcom's Communications Market Report 2012
posted on 26 July, 2012   (public)
On 18 July 2012, Ofcom published its 9th Communications Market Report on the UK’s TV, radio, broadband, telecoms and mobile industries. This year’s report shows that viewers watched television an average of four hours per day in 2011 – up from 3.7 hours in...
New President and new Board for the Italian AGCOM
posted on 26 July, 2012   (public)
The constitutive meeting of the new Board of the AGCOM, the Italian regulator in charge of broadcasting and telecommunications, took place on 26 July 2012 at the authority's headquarters in Naples. The new President is Angelo Marcello Cardani who replaces Corrado...
New President and new Board for the Catalan Authority
posted on 26 July, 2012   (public)
The Catalan Authority, Consell de l'Audiovisual de Catalunya (CAC), has a new President and a partly renewed Board. Roger Loppacher i Crehuet began his term of office as President on July 9, 2012. He replaces Mr Ramon Font, who resigned from his position to facilitate...
Looking beyond the AVMS Directive: the challenge of Connected TV, Limassol, 25-26 October
posted on 25 July, 2012   (public)
The European Commission and the Cyprus Radiotelevision Authority are organizing a conference entitled Looking beyond the AVMS Directive: the challenge of Connected TV in Limassol, Cyprus, on 25-26 October 2012.  The aim of the meeting is to stimulate thought and action...