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In connection with the privatisation of the Dutch Broadcasting Corporation ( Nederlands Omroepproduktie Bedrijf NV - NOB ), the Bill amending the Dutch media law (Mediawet ) was published in the Official Gazette and entered into force on 1 May 1999. The term "privatisation" may be slightly misleading, since shares in the company, previously owned by a special foundation, are being taken over by the State. Under the new law, the foundation is to be dissolved and its property automatically transferred to the State in accordance with regulations in this field. The proceeds from the planned sale of...

In a decision of 28 January 1999, the president of the Amsterdam district court held that the refusal of a cable network company to include a clause in a contract with a pay TV channel providing for the possibility of changing the transmission agreement where required by the authorities, was neither fair nor reasonable. A2000 owns and exploits the cable network in the Amsterdam region. Canal+ offers pay-TV programmes. Only subscribers to Canal+ can receive its programmes by use of a decoder. In the early 1990s, A2000 and Canal+ had an agreement allowing Canal+ to transmit its pay-TV programmes...

Are broadcasters required to hand over video material containing pictures of riots to the judicial authorities? This question arose after the riots of Moroccan youths on 14 and 20 December 1998. Television stations had recorded images of the riots and broadcast some of them. When the judicial authorities tried to detect the identity of the rioters and asked for the tapes that were not broadcast, the television stations refused to hand them over. One examining magistrate ordered broadcaster SBS to hand over the tapes, but a few days later another magistrate refused to issue a similar order for the...

On 10 September 1998 the Dutch Competition Authority ( Nederlandse mededigingsautoriteit, NMa), following its provisional opinion of 13 March 1998 (see IRIS 1998-4: 12), decided that the Dutch Broadcasting Foundation ( NOS) and the Dutch Media Group (HMG) abuse their dominant position by refusing to make their television listings available to third parties, such as the plaintiff De Telegraaf (publisher of a vast number of newspapers and magazines). The broadcasters' refusal prevents third parties from publishing their own weekly TV guides and therefore constitutes a breach of the Dutch Competition...

The Dutch government has created a temporary Advisory Committee on Cross Ownership Rules in the Mediasector. This nine member committee, chaired by the President of the national Cultural Council ( Raad voor Cultuur) Mr Jan Jesserun, has three tasks. First of all, it has to present a broad overview of the present situation concerning concentrations in the Dutch mediasector and possible developments in the near future in this respect. Secondly, the Government expects an advice on the effects of (future) concentrations on pluralism and the independence of information available. Thirdly, the Committee...