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Should all Europeans be able to watch Estonian football? Consultation launched

Vote Brexit and keep your telly free of Bulgarian Top 40

Europe’s Digital Commissioner wants to know what you think about copyright rules for satellite broadcasters and cable companies.

On Monday, digi veep Andrus Ansip launched a public consultation on his favourite topic – geoblocking.

The consultation asks whether 22-year-old EU rules that define where and how satellite broadcasters and cable companies should clear copyright are up-to-date. It also wants opinions on how to cover online broadcasting services.

As part of his Digital Single Market package, Ansip promised to improve cross-border access to broadcasting and related online services across the EU. It seems this is partly so he can watch his beloved Estonian football, but also, he says, to give consumers access to a wider variety of works.

The last time the directive was reviewed in 2002, the Commission found that people were experiencing significant difficulties in accessing satellite TV across EU borders, but concluded it was “too early to determine whether to extend the scope of the Directive”.

The 1993 Satellite and Cable Directive sets out the requirements for broadcasters in getting copyright permission. For satellite services, once the rights are acquired for the country where the uplink (the signal to the satellite) takes place, the programme can then be broadcast to the whole of the EU. “In determining the licence fees, parties should take into account the actual and potential audience including, if relevant, the audience located outside of the uplink country,” advised the Commission.

For cable re-transmission, operators who want to include broadcasts from other countries have to obtain the rights through collective management organisations or broadcasters.

The Brussels watchdog takes these rights very seriously. Last month, Competition Chief Margrethe Vestager decided to decided to file anti-trust charges against Sky TV and US movie studios 20th Century Fox, Warner Brothers, Sony Pictures, Paramount, NBCUniversal for licensing agreements that restrict access, limit cross-border competition and are allegedly a form of anti-competitive price fixing. As part of that inquiry, the Commish sent out questionnaires to content rights holders and broadcasters.

Now the Brussels bureaucrats want to hear from world + dog consumers, public authorities, broadcasters, authors, audio-visual and record producers, performers, collective management organisations, satellite and cable operators, internet and online service providers and any other interested stakeholder before November 16.

An overhaul of copyright law, which could also tackle territorial licensing, is due before the end of the year. But despite Ansip’s desire to ditch geoblocking, he and digital commissioner Gunther H-dot Oettinger – who will actually draw up the new copyright rules – are not on the same page. Expect both Commissioners to try to use the consultation results to push their preferred agenda. ®

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