Audiovisual Media


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Audiovisual Media

The audiovisual sector directly employs over one million people in the European Union. In addition to its economic importance, it also plays a key social and cultural role: television is the most important source of information and entertainment in European Societies, with 98% of homes having a television, and the average European watching more than 200 minutes television per day.

The development and application of digital technologies and the Internet, combined with other developments in the broadcasting markets are changing the reality of European broadcasting.

Audiovisual media services are as much cultural services as they are economic services. Their growing importance for societies, democracy - in particular by ensuring freedom of information, diversity of opinion and media pluralism - education and culture justifies the application of specific rules to these services.

The laws, regulations and administrative measures in Member States regarding television broadcasting are co-ordinated firstly under the TV without Frontiers Directive. However, with growing use of on demand services via the Internet, the European Commission has the Directive by introducing the Audiovisual Media Services Directive.

Protection of Minors and Human Dignity

Europe has given series consideration to protecting minors from programmes which might seriously impair their development, such as gratuitous violence and pornography. Those which might simply be “harmful” to minors must – where they are not encrypted – be preceded by an acoustic warning or made clearly identifiable throughout their duration by means of a visual symbol.

Broadcasts must not contain any incitement to hatred on grounds of race, sex, religion or nationality.

Audiovisual and Media Policies

		Table of Statute Laws and Regulations
Key

Measures		Legal Summary	Regulatory Guidance	Member States Implementation	Additional Information
1st Level	2nd Level
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	I. TV Without Frontiers

			Council of Europe - ETS No. 132 - Convention on Transfrontier Television

			TV Without frontiers Directive - 89/552/EEC amended

			Directive 97/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 June 1997 amending Council Directive 89/552/EEC on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States concerning the pursuit of television broadcasting activities

	II. Audiovisual Media Services

			Audiovisual Media Services Directive - 2007/65/EC ('AVMS Directive')

			Regulations timetabled for Autumn 2008

	III. Protection of Rights and Human Dignity

			Council Recommendation 98/560/EC of 24 September 1998 on the development of the competitiveness of the European audiovisual and information services industry by promoting national frameworks aimed at achieving a comparable and effective level of protection of minors and human dignity

			Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on the protection of minors and human dignity and on the right of reply in relation to the competitiveness of the European audiovisual and on-line information services industry

			Communication COM/2008/207 final on protection of consumers and minors with regard to video games

			See: Byron Review on video games and the Internet

	IV. State Aid to Cinemas

			Commission Communication 20007/C 134/03 concerning prolongation of the applications of the Communication on the follow-up to the Commission communication on certain legal aspects relating to cinemato-graphic and other audiovisual works (cinema communication of 26 September 2001)

	V. Creative Content

			Communication COM 2007 836 final from the Commission to the European Parliament. the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on Creative Content Online in the Single Market

	VI. Digital Interactive Television

			Communication COM 2004/541 final: Interoperability of Digital Interactive Television Services

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