European Commission: Public consultation on the review of the Satellite and Cable Directive

IRIS 2015-8:1/4

Francisco Javier Cabrera Blázquez

European Audiovisual Observatory

In its Communication on a Digital Single Market Strategy for Europe (see IRIS 2015-6/3), the Commission stated its intention to review the Satellite and Cable Directive (93/83/EEC) in order to assess the need to enlarge its scope to broadcasters' online transmissions and the need to tackle further measures to ensure enhanced cross-border access to broadcasters' services in Europe. Following up on this, on 24 August 2015 the European Commission launched a public consultation with the aim of, on the one hand, gathering input for the evaluation process in order to assess the current rules, and on the other, seeking views on a possible extension of the Directive in light of market and technological developments. The Commission wants to assess, first, to what extent the Satellite and Cable Directive has improved consumers' cross-border access to broadcasting services in the Internal Market, and also what would be the impact of extending the Directive to TV and radio programmes provided over the Internet, notably broadcasters' online services.

The questionnaire enquires about the following topics:

- The principle of country of origin for the communication to the public by satellite

- The management of cable retransmission rights

- The extension of the principle of country of origin

- The extension of the system of management of cable retransmission rights

- The extension of the mediation system and the obligation to negotiate

This consultation complements the Commission’s Green Paper on the online distribution of audiovisual works of July 2011 (see IRIS 2011-8/8) and the consultation on the review of the EU copyright rules of December 2013 (see IRIS 2014-1/8). In parallel, the Commission is conducting a study to assess the functioning and relevance of the Directive as well as the legal and economic aspects of the evolving broadcasting landscape. The results of the study will be made public in spring 2016 and will feed into the review.

The consultation is open until 16 November 2015.