Romania

[RO] CNA Creates Order in the Cable Network Operator Market

IRIS 2008-4:1/31

Mariana Stoican

Journalist, Bucharest

The territorial inspection teams of the Consiliul Naţional al Audiovizualului (National Audiovisual Council – CNA) have established in the last few months that a relatively large number of cable network operators, especially in rural areas, are distributing television channels without reaching a prior agreement with the programme providers. According to a recent CNA press release, a company in Voluntari, a locality close to Bucharest, is said to have set a rather dubious record with the illegal transmission of 54 television channels (piracy). Cable providers in the counties of Vrancea, Vâlcea and Buzău are said to have each fed 30 channels into their networks without the consent of the television companies concerned. For these breaches of the law, the CNA imposed in 2007 a total of 177 sanctions, consisting of 159 warnings and of 18 fines amounting to RON 125,000 (about EUR 33,532). Until the adoption of CNA Decision No. 36 of 22 January 2008 (see IRIS 2008-3: 17), cable network operators who had been found guilty of this type of piracy were obliged to ceased their transmissions after being penalised by the CNA until they had created a legal situation by concluding a contract with the relevant television provider. It was not necessary to inform the television viewers why the number of channels had been reduced. Based on the same obligations that have applied up to now to broadcasters, who have to inform the public about any penalties imposed by the CNA if they have breached the rules of Legea audiovizualului (Audiovisual Act) No. 504/2002 and the Codul de reglementare a conţinutului în audiovizual (the CNA’s Regulatory Code for Audiovisual Content), CNA Decision No. 36 now compels cable network and digital platform operators to inform the public or their own subscribers about the breach committed. The wording of the penalty received must be shown without interruption for one week on the channel on which the illegal broadcast was previously transmitted. The CNA hopes that it will in this way be able to counter such practices and provide the subscribers of the individual cable network operators with sufficient information about developments.