Audiovisual Media Services Directive

Introduction date

Likely introduction date: 19 Dec 2009

Summary

The Audiovisual Media Services Directive (2007/65/EC) revises and updates the existing Television Without Frontiers (TVWF) Directive, which was adopted in 1989.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) consulted (to Oct 2008) on proposals for implementing the Directive in the UK, in relation to four specific issues: extension of the scope of regulation to video-on-demand services; introduction of a system for regulating the programme and advertising content of video-on-demand services; formal prohibition of product placement in television and video-on-demand programming, subject to certain possible exemptions; and controls over the content of satellite television broadcasts from outside the EU.

The government and Ofcom consulted (to Oct 2009) on proposals for the regulation of video-on-demand services.

The Audiovisual Media Services Regulations 2009 have been made to implement into UK law those aspects of the Directive (other than television product placement) that require legislation, namely:

regulation of video-on-demand services;

television broadcasting services provided over the internet;

country of origin ‘co-operation procedure’; and

regulation of non-EU satellite services which are uplinked from the UK.

The Regulations come into force on 19 Dec 2009, which is the date by which the Directive must be implemented in member states.