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The European Commission recently approved under EC Treaty state aid rules four aid schemes meant to support film making in Poland and Ireland, music recordings by new talent in France and newspaper distribution in Denmark. All four schemes were found to entail no undue distortion of competition within the Single Market. The Danish plans sought to give publishers of certain newspaper-like publications direct grants totalling EUR 1.3 million. The aid will enable publishers to freely choose their distributors in their efforts to distribute these publications. In deciding to favour this scheme, the...

On 4 April, the Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel (French audiovisual regulatory authority - CSA) announced its decision on 141 applications from radio stations wishing to change holder and category without going through the procedure for calling for applications. In 1989 the CSA decided on five categories of radio station (A: services provided by associations; B: independent local, regional and themed services; C: local services broadcasting the programme of a nationwide themed network in addition to a local interest programme; D: nationwide themed services; E: nationwide general-interest services)...

Following the breakdown of negotiations between the Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel (French audiovisual regulatory authority - CSA) and cable operators offering digital transmission on the reasonably-priced delivery of free terrestrially broadcast digital television channels (the “aerial service”) in buildings with cable, the CSA has now issued a recommendation on the subject. The purpose of Article 34-1 of the Act of 30 September 1986 (as amended) is to ensure that homes in blocks of flats that are no longer connected to an aerial but to a cable distribution network are able to receive the...

In a decision adopted on 13 March, the Conseil d’État rejected the appeal brought by the television channel Télé Monte-Carlo and its advertising agency claiming, on the grounds of the principle of equality, cancellation of paragraph I of Article 1 of the decree of 7 October 2003 amending Article 8 of the decree of 27 March 1992. These provisions prohibit advertising for books except on television services that are exclusively distributed by cable or broadcast by satellite. In the present case, the television channel broadcasts its programmes partly unencrypted in analog mode in south-west France...

The European Commission has approved, on the basis of the EC State aid rules, the core aspects of the support mechanisms for cinematographic and audiovisual works notified by France. These mechanisms pertain to all stages in the lifecycle of a work and can be grouped in the following categories: support for the production of theatrical short- and feature films (including by way of tax credits); support for the distribution of films; support for cinema theatres; support for the production of television films; support for the video industry and specific financing mechanisms. In particular, the Commission...