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An order is now in effect in the UK to reduce the payment made by the UK Channel 4 to the Independent Television Commission from its excess revenues from 50% to 33%. The payment is a remnant of the 'safety net' introduced to protect Channel 4 because of its special obligations to meet minority tastes by providing financial support if its advertising revenues fell below a specified figure. However, the Channel's commercial success has resulted in the reverse occurring with the Channel having to make payments rather than receiving support. The order is a partial step in remedying this.

Despite the criticisms made by consumer groups and some newspapers which tried to prove that Law No 25/1994 on the implementation of the "Television without Frontiers" Directive was systematically being violated, between 1994 and 1997, there has been only one reported case in which a sanction was imposed for violating of the Spanish Law: in February 1995 the competent authority, the Ministerio de Fomento (Ministry of Development) gave a fine of 10 million pesetas (approx. 65.000 ECU) to Antena 3 and Tele 5 for exceeding the advertising time limits. In 1997, the Government acknowledged these alleged...

The Dutch Media Authority (Commissariaat voor de Media) issued guidelines on side-line activities of broadcasters operating in the public broadcasting system (i.e. on activities other than the provision of their programme). These guidelines introduce criteria for the monitoring of the activities of broadcasters broadcasting in the public broadcasting system and increase the possibility for those broadcasters to develop their side-line activities. The guidelines apply to new activities of broadcasting organisations such as pay-TV, Internet and other new services. For activities concerning the Internet...

The Spanish Government has recently presented a Bill in order to implement the revised "Television without Frontiers" Directive. The Bill proposes to amend the Spanish Law 25/1994, which implemented the original "Television without Frontiers" Directive. The Bill introduces some important amendments concerning inter alia: the scope of application of the provisions of the law (it would apply to terrestrial, satellite and cable TV, and to all public and private broadcasters); the criteria used to determine in which country a broadcaster is established; the new rules on advertising (especially during...

After a debate between the Parliament and the President over some provisions of the Public Broadcasting Act (see IRIS 1997-10: 12), Ukraine has finally adopted a law providing the legal basis for the creation of a public broadcasting system in this country. The Ukrainian Parliament adopted and the President of Ukraine signed into law, the Act "on the System of Public Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine", which consequently entered into force on 5 November 1997. The system has been created in the name of an all-round satisfaction of the information needs of society and to provide for a...