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During the programme Café Corsari on één, a channel of the Flemish public broadcaster VRT, Seppe Smits, a snowboarder, was interviewed about the Snowboard World Cup in Antwerp. Seppe Smits was wearing a cap with the logo of his sponsor, Red Bull, and a t-shirt bearing the brand of another sponsor, Burton. During the interview with Seppe Smits and during two interviews with other guests, the Red Bull logo and the Burton brand were displayed several times. According to Vlaamse Regulator voor de Media (Flemish Media Regulator - VRM), this practice infringes Article 100, § 1, 3° Mediadecreet (Flemish...

On 12 December 2012, Advocate General Jääskinen delivered his opinion to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in the appeals procedure between UEFA and FIFA and the European Commission and thereby upheld the previous decisions of the European General Court (cases T-385/07, T-55/08 and T-68/08). The General Court had dismissed the football authorities’ complaints about the British and Belgian lists of events of major importance that must be broadcast on free-to-air television. The member states concerned had prepared their lists in accordance with Article 3a of the Television Without...

On 24 October 2012 the European Commission announced that it had applied to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for an order against Belgium on the grounds of the lack of transparency in its scheme of must-carry obligations for TV and radio content, as provided for in Article 31 of the Universal Service Directive (2002/22/EC). Article 31 authorises member states to impose must-carry obligations on cable operators and telecom companies for the public broadcasting of radio and television programmes. These obligations must be necessary for the pursuit of a general interest and be clearly...

Call-in prize shows are programmes in which the broadcaster invites viewers to participate in a prize game by directly dialling premium-rate telephone numbers. In the past, such programmes have been regarded as a type of teleshopping by Vlaamse Regulator voor de Media (Flemish Media Regulator - VRM). The Flemish Broadcasting Act defines teleshopping as “direct offers broadcast to the public with a view to the supply of goods or services, including immovable property, rights and obligations, in return for payment”. According to VRM, these shows should be labelled as teleshopping programmes, because...

The programme ‘De Vlaanders’ is broadcast on Stories TV, a Flemish commercial broadcaster.This programme provides local news from two Belgian provinces, Oost- and West Vlaanderen. This programme is followed by a weather forecast. On 10 January 2012, after the weather forecast, the following sponsorship billboard was broadcast: ‘De Client (kapsalon)/Close-Up (kledingzaak)/Loewe (audio/video/TV)’ (De Client (hair dresser)/Close-Up (fashion shop)/Loewe (audio/video/TV). According to Vlaamse Regulator voor de Media (Flemish Media Regulator - VRM), this practice infringes Article 91 (1) Mediadecreet...