euro news2708_news 29/08/2015 09:09 Page 1
EU to review Satellite and Cable Directive
he European Commission has
launched a public consultation
asking whether EU rules which
define where and how satellite
broadcasters and cable companies should
clear copyright are up-to-date.
It is also seeking views on the impact of
extending these rules to cover broadcasters’
services (including TV and radio) provided over
the Internet. This consultation is part of a
broader review of the 1993 EU Satellite and
Cable Directive, one of the 16 initiatives
announced in the Commission’s plan for the
Digital Single Market. In particular, the
Commission aims to enhance cross border
access to broadcasting and related online
services across the EU. Removing barriers in the
Digital Single Market will reward creation, and
strengthen Europe’s creative and broadcasting
sector, while giving consumers access to a wider
variety of works, especially across borders,
claims the Commission.
The Satellite and Cable Directive facilitates
the clearing of copyright and related rights for
satellite broadcasting and cable retransmission
in order to improve the cross-border
transmission and reception of broadcasting
services.
Specifically, the Directive outlines how and
where copyright and related rights should be
acquired:
T
l For satellite, rights are acquired for the EU
country where, under the control and
responsibility of the broadcasting
organisation, the uplink (which sends the
programme signal to the satellite for its
communication to the public) takes place.
Under this ‘country of origin’ principle, rights
cleared in one country allow the broadcasting
organisations to broadcast to the whole of
the EU. In determining the licence fees,
parties should take into account the actual
Mediaset encrypts all
satellite channels
Italian commercial
broadcaster Mediaset is
now fully encrypting its
former free-to-air satellite
channels.
Mediaset’s flagship
channels Canale 5, Italia and
Rete 4 were previously
available in the clear for
6 EUROMEDIA
and potential audience including, if relevant,
the audience located outside of the uplink
country
l For cable retransmission, operators who
want to include broadcasts from other
broadcasting landscape has changed
dramatically. Digital technologies and the
Internet mean that we have access to more
content and channels, including on-demand,
from more providers, and not just from the TV
or radio sets, but also from
our phones, tablets and other
smart devices. Today, many
broadcasters make
programmes available online, for example through
catch-up TV, and new forms
of transmission (e.g.
webcasting) or
retransmission (e.g.
simulcasting).
The Commission wants to
assess, first, to what extent
the Satellite and Cable
Directive has improved
consumers’ cross-border
access to broadcasting services in the
Internal Market, and, also, what would
be the impact of extending the Directive
to TV and radio programmes provided
over the Internet, notably broadcasters’
online services.
The last specific review of the Satellite
and Cable Directive took place in 2002. It
pointed to the difficulties encountered by people
when trying to access satellite TV on a crossborder basis, but concluded that it was too early
to determine whether to extend the scope of the
Directive.
The Commission is interested in hearing
from consumers, public authorities,
broadcasters, authors, audio-visual and record
producers, performers, collective management
organisations, satellite and cable operators,
Internet and online service providers and any
other interested stakeholder in the consultation
which is open until 16th November.
“The Commission aims to
enhance cross border access to
broadcasting and related
online services across the EU.”
countries in the packages which they offer to
customers, have to obtain the rights through
collective management organisations or
broadcasters. To facilitate the acquisition of
these rights by cable operators, the Directive
obliges authors, producers and performers to
exercise their exclusive rights through a
collective management organisation.
However, broadcasters can license directly to
cable operators their own rights or the rights
that have been transferred to them.
In launching a review, the EC notes that
more than two decades since the Satellite and
Cable Directive came into force, Europe’s
viewers in Italy and Europe,
via the Eutelsat 13 degrees
East orbital position. The only
exception were live sports
events and some copyright )