EU: Council Seeks Compromise On Events

As the formal concilation began on the nrevised EU broadcasting directive, the Dutch Presidency has proposed a compromise on the sensitive issue of pay-TV broadcasting of major events that are deemed to be so important as to require “free-to-air” broadcasting, ie via conventional, non-subscription channels. The compromise would permit individual MS to decide whether events they designate as having major significance for the general public must be made publicly accessible through non-encrypted television broadcasting, or whether it will be enough simply to show selected highlights. MS would be required to notify the Commission of the national rules they set, and the Commission would then have to check the compatibility of those rules with EU legislation and inform the other EU countries within three months.

This compromise is close to the EC position comprising the “mutual recognition” principle, which suggests that MS compile lists of key national events and agree to recognise each other’s preferences. But it significantly adds the provision that MS would be allowed to include events taking place in other countries on their “key” list.

The proposed compromise also prohibits a television company registered in one MS, which acquires the exclusive broadcasting rights to an event of major importance taking place in another MS, to exercise these rights in such a way that a substantial portion of the public in that second MS is prevented from following this event on free-to-air TV.

To some observers it appears that the issue of what can and cannot be restricted to pay-TV subscription-only broadcasting has started to overshadow and – probably – ultimately to displace from the concern of the EC the issue of whether or not to introduce regulatory measures to force the installation of the V-chip, the sex-and-violence filtering device. Comments reportedly made by Carole Tongue, the Socialist MEP, would seem to indicate that the EP delegation has been persuaded that the V-Chip amendment is unsustainable.