Brussels under fire

Proposals to change European broadcasting regulations have been met by firm opposition from a UK media alliance that includes BT, Vodafone, NTL and Channel 4.
The campaigning coalition of companies across the broadcasting, telecoms, new-media and advertising sectors fears the draft Audiovisual Media Services Directive currently under discussion in Brussels will not only deter new entrants but also existing new-media players from the market and divert investment and innovation away from the EU.

Moreover, the group is worried about the proposal to extend regulation that was originally designed for traditional scheduled broadcast television to the embryonic ‘on-demand’ market, ‘despite the fact that there is already adequate EU-level regulation and self-regulation’.

‘As currently drafted, this directive is likely to confuse businesses, overwhelm regulators and let down consumers,’ argues Antony Walker, CEO of the Broadband Stakeholder Group. ‘The result could be an all-encompassing regulatory framework that takes five years to implement, undermines existing safeguards and proves largely unenforceable.’