Romania

[RO] Compulsory Recording of Programmes

IRIS 2007-7:1/29

Mariana Stoican

Journalist, Bucharest

According to a new decision, adopted at the beginning of May by the Romanian Consiliul Naţional al Audiovizualului (National Audiovisual Council - CNA), all broadcasters in Romania are obliged to guarantee that the programmes they broadcast are recorded in full and in real time at the same time as they are broadcast. The recordings must be preserved for thirty days from the date of the broadcast. A compulsory period of at least 45 days applies to the preservation of programmes in respect of which broadcasters have received requests for the right to reply to, or requests that correction statements be made.

At the CNA’s request, broadcasters are obliged to make the recordings of certain programmes available in the following formats: analogue recordings on VHS cassettes at normal or long play speed or digital recordings on CD/DVD in a standard format, such as AVI, MPEG-2 or MPEG-4. An analogue recording on a standard audiocassette or a digital recording on CD is prescribed for radio programmes.

Under the provisions of section 91 of Audiovisual Act no. 504/2002, if the Romanian broadcasters concerned do not comply with this Decision they will be sent reminders calling on them to implement the provisions by specified deadlines, failing which they face fines of between RON 2,500 and RON 25,000 (approximately EUR 777 to EUR 7,772).

When this Decision enters into force, it will replace the provisions of Decision no. 234/2003 on the obligation of broadcasting licence holders to record programmes.