UK
video-on-demand providers must pay a combined £375,000 to two bodies that will
regulate their industry.
The Association for Television On Demand (ATVOD) was last week
confirmed by Ofcom to co-regulate, along with it, the VOD sector.
Ofcom says 150 VOD services must pay the fees - but, despite
reviewing the sector last year, it has not published a list identifying
the companies affected.
Indeed, singling out those services which fall under the joint Ofcom-ATVOD
auspice is tricky. The EC directive applies to TV-like services,
which it says must not contain any incitement to hatred based on
race, sex, religion or nationality; must provide appropriate
protection for minors against harmful material and sponsored
programmes and services must comply with applicable sponsorship
requirements.
But what TV-like means is open to interpretation, as media
continue to converge and innovate. After commissioning research in to
the topic, Ofcom says the scope should extent to services that
provide access to programmes that compete for the same audience as
television broadcasts, and therefore, are comparable to the form and
content of programmes included in broadcast television services.
Only services that have editorial responsibility over their content are
covered.
Specifically, Ofcom says catch-up TV websites and set-top box
services, TV archives and movie VOD services
[doesn't sound very TV-Like to me!] fall under regulatory scope.
Ofcom has opened a consultation with three options for raising the
money:
- Option A: Charging based on services' revenue, so as not to
disadvantage smaller providers.
- Option B: A mixture of revenue-based fee and a flat £1,000 fee.
- Option C: A flat £2,500 fee. [Ofcom preferred option]
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