In view of the fast technological and market evolution of the European audiovisual sector, the European Commission presented, on 13 December, a proposal to change the “Television without Frontiers” Directive - Directive 89/552/EEC of the Council, of 3 October 1989, on the coordination of certain legal, regulatory and administrative provisions of Member States on television broadcasting activities, which was changed by Directive 97/36/EC of the Parliament and of the Council, of 30 June 1997.
This proposal aims at reducing the weight of regulations under which suppliers of television and similar services operate, in the framework of the European Union (EU), and to turn the financing of audiovisual contents more flexible, with new forms of advertising. The proposal takes into account the contributions to a consultation launched in July this year at EU level, in which representatives from the audiovisual sector, telecommunications operators, Internet service providers, consumer organizations and other interested parties participated.
Establishing equitable conditions for all companies that offer services similar to television, regardless of the technology used to broadcast them (radio broadcasting, broadband, third generation mobile phones, among others) was one of the purposes in modernizing the current community legal framework.
Part of the community strategy ''i2010 - A European information society for growth and employment'', the harmonization of these rules at the scale of the EU will mean that providers of audiovisual communications services only have to comply with the rules in force in the Member State where they are established and not with the different rules of all Member States that receive their services.
Consult:
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Council Directive 89/552/EEC, of 3.10.89
(PDF 250 KB)
Further information:
- Proposta de alteração da Directiva ''Televisão sem Fronteiras'' http://europa.eu.int/comm/avpolicy/regul/newtwf_en.pdf
- TV without Frontiers: Commission proposes modernised rules for digital era TV and TV-like services http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/05/1573&format=PDF&aged=0&language=en&guiLanguage=en
- Televisão sem fronteiras - perguntas frequentes (em inglês) http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/05/475&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN
- Audiovisual Policy website (em inglês) http://europa.eu.int/comm/avpolicy/regul/twf/newint_en.htm
Related information on ANACOM's website:
- Digital television https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?categoryId=2963
- EU - European Union https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?categoryId=66653