AVMSD - Events of major importance/short extracts

Major Events/Short Extracts

Events of major importance for society - Article 14

A Football World Cup final or the Olympic Games only on pay-TV, these are the scenarios which the EU wanted to prevent from happening.

Therefore, the AVMSD lays down framework conditions to enable Member States to ensure that broadcasters under its jurisdiction do not broadcast on an exclusive basis events of major importance for society in such a way as to deprive a substantial proportion of the public of the possibility of following such events. Each Member State is entitled to draw up a list of events which are seen as being of major importance for society. Besides that, on the basis of the principle of mutual recognition, Member States must ensure that broadcasters under their jurisdiction respect the lists of other Member States which notified them to the Commission.

The events concerned may be national or other, such as the Olympic Games, the Football World Cup or the European Football Championship, an inauguration, marriage or burial of a king, queen or head of state, or an important cultural event. According to Article 14 of the AVMSD, Member States notify the Commission of the measures they take, or intend to take, concerning the exercise of exclusive broadcasting rights to events of major importance for society. The Commission must seek the opinion of the Committee pursuant to Article 29 of the Directive (the so-called "Contact Committee" composed of representatives of all Member States), and it must assess the compatibility of the national measures with European Union Law. In case of positive outcome of this evaluation process, the measures are published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Find out more about the measures taken by the different Member States in this area.

Read the Judgment of the Court of First Instance of 15 December 2005
(Infront WM AG v Commission of the European Communities).

Short extracts - Article 15

In view of granting the public access to information on events of high interest, pursuant to Article 15 of the AVMSD, Member States must ensure that any broadcaster established in the Union has access to short extracts of events of high interest to the public which are transmitted on an exclusive basis. These short extracts may solely be used for the purposes of general news programmes and must be provided on a fair, reasonable and non discriminatory basis. This right to access should apply on a cross border basis only when it is necessary i.e. when no broadcaster established in the same Member State as the broadcaster seeking access to the extracts has acquired the rights
Member States define the modalities and conditions regarding the provision of short extracts. However, where compensation is provided for, it may not exceed the additional costs directly incurred in providing access.

Article 14
1. Each Member State may take measures in accordance with Union law to ensure that broadcasters under its jurisdiction do not broadcast on an exclusive basis events which are regarded by that Member State as being of major importance for society in such a way as to deprive a substantial proportion of the public in that Member State of the possibility of following such events by live coverage or deferred coverage on free television. If it does so, the Member State concerned shall draw up a list of designated events, national or non-national, which it considers to be of major importance for society. It shall do so in a clear and transparent manner in due time. In so doing the Member State concerned shall also determine whether these events should be available by whole or partial live coverage or, where necessary or appropriate for objective reasons in the public interest, whole or partial deferred coverage.

2. Member States shall immediately notify to the Commission any measures taken or to be taken pursuant to paragraph 1. Within a period of three months from the notification, the Commission shall verify that such measures are compatible with Union law and communicate them to the other Member States. It shall seek the opinion of the contact committee established pursuant to Article 29. It shall forthwith publish the measures taken in the Official Journal of the European Union and at least once a year the consolidated list of the measures taken by Member States.

3. Member States shall ensure, by appropriate means within the framework of their legislation, that broadcasters under their jurisdiction do not exercise the exclusive rights purchased by those broadcasters after 18 December 2007 in such a way that a substantial proportion of the public in another Member State is deprived of the possibility of following events which are designated by that other Member State in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2 by whole or partial live coverage or, where necessary or appropriate for objective reasons in the public interest, whole or partial deferred coverage on free television as determined by that other Member State in accordance with paragraph 1.

Article 15
1. Member States shall ensure that for the purpose of short news reports, any broadcaster established in the Union has access on a fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory basis to events of high interest to the public which are transmitted on an exclusive basis by a broadcaster under their jurisdiction.

2. If another broadcaster established in the same Member State as the broadcaster seeking access has acquired exclusive rights to the event of high interest to the public, access shall be sought from that broadcaster.

3. Member States shall ensure that such access is guaranteed by allowing broadcasters to freely choose short extracts from the transmitting broadcaster's signal with, unless impossible for reasons of practicality, at least the identification of their source.

4. As an alternative to paragraph 3, Member States may establish an equivalent system which achieves access on a fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory basis through other means.

5. Short extracts shall be used solely for general news programmes and may be used in on-demand audiovisual media services only if the same programme is offered on a deferred basis by the same media service provider.

6. Without prejudice to paragraphs 1 to 5, Member States shall ensure, in accordance with their legal systems and practices, that the modalities and conditions regarding the provision of such short extracts are defined, in particular, with respect to any compensation arrangements, the maximum length of short extracts and time-limits regarding their transmission. Where compensation is provided for, it shall not exceed the additional costs directly incurred in providing access.