Global Media and Communication Policy by Petros Iosifidis

Author:Petros Iosifidis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Published: 2010-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

Member states must ensure that not only television broadcasters but also on-demand audiovisual media services promote European productions. The reasons for this provision are to promote the European audiovisual industry, preserve European culture and identity, and prevent excessive flows of audiovisual materials to the continent, especially from the USA, which has by far the biggest share of the world trade in television and feature films.

This policy of protectionism has provoked the fury of US multinationals, who wish to enter any market without facing regulatory obstacles. Following various challenges from the USA over the legality of quotas, the Community claimed that the quota rules were compatible with international trading rules such as the GATT (General Agreement of Trade and Tariffs) arguing, inter alia, that

• TV programming is a service, and thus is not governed by the GATT but by the GATS (General Agreement on Trade in Services).

• The local content requirement is not legally binding.

• TV programming falls within the existing ‘Cinema Exception’ in Article IV GATT.

• The local content requirement is justified under a general ‘cultural exception’ implicit in the GATT (see Castendyk, Dommering and Scheuer, 2008: 445).

Hence the AVMS Directive takes into consideration not merely the market dimension of the audiovisual services but also their cultural significance. This can be seen through the introduction of specific content-oriented measures aiming at promoting wider values such as the protection of minors and respect for human dignity. Indeed, one of the principles the AVMS Directive upholds throughout is the protection of minors. This is particularly relevant now that on-demand services have become available, as the content of programmes seen by children is less easily monitored when any programme can be viewed at any time. Article 3h introduced a provision requiring member states to take measures to ensure that on-demand services that might seriously impair the physical, mental or moral development of minors are made available in such a way that minors cannot normally have access to them. This complements the former Article 22 of the TWF Directive, which required that programmes that minors might be exposed to in the normal broadcasting schedule must not contain content that might seriously impair their physical, mental or moral development. If such content appeared in a programme (AVMS), the audience should be warned by an acoustic message (see http://www.twobirds.com/English/News/Articles/Pages/Audiovisual_Media_Services_Directive.Aspx, accessed 8 December 2010).

Furthermore, the new Directive embodied provisions to ensure that events that are regarded by member states as ‘being of major importance for society’ should be broadcast in such a way that a substantial part of the national population could access them. In effect, major events such as the Olympic Games and the European and the World Football Cups would be broadcast on free-to-air channels like public service broadcasts. Each member state is responsible for operating a free-to-air listed events regime.

Table 7.2 Free-to-air listed events regime operating in the UK

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