Capítulo 42. Audiovisual media services directive provisions for the promotion of european works: assessing the scope of article 13

• Date: 01 January 2024
• Author: Adriana Mutu

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CAPÍTULO 42

AUDIOVISUAL MEDIA SERVICES DIRECTIVE

PROVISIONS FOR THE PROMOTION OF EUROPEAN

WORKS: ASSESSING THE SCOPE OF ARTICLE 13

ADRIANA MUTU

ESIC Business & Marketing School

1. INTRODUCTION

On 28 November 2018, Directive (EU) 2018/1808 of the European Par-

liament and of the Council of 14 November 2018 amending Directive

2010/13/EU on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law,

regulation or administrative action in Member States concerning the

provision of audiovisual media services (Audiovisual Media Services

Directive, hereinafter AVMSD) was adopted and published in the Of-

ficial Journal of the European Union. The consolidated text came into

force on December 19, and National Member States have had 21

months to transpose the new provisions into national law (as foreseen

in Article 2(1) of the Directive). After the entering into force of the

media law, Member States have formally started the transposition pro-

cedures of the Directive into national legislation in accordance with the

revised EU audiovisual regulatory framework. The inclusion of the

AVMSD in the national legal systems entails the repeal of the Audio-

visual Media Laws. The exact transposition deadline was September

19, 2020. As of 2020, various Member States had no record of any na-

tional transposition measures applicable to the AVMSD into national

legislation, despite the expiration of the transposition deadline. The im-

plementation process can be considered complete only once it has been

formally notified to the European Commission (EC) by the Member

State in question. Consequently, on November 23, 2020, the EC

launched formal infringement procedures against 23 EU Member States

and the United Kingdom for failing to transpose the revised

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Audiovisual Media Services Directive 2018 into national law. All

Member States have been sent the letter of formal notice from the EC,

which requires a formal reply within two months.

The revised AVMS Directive applies to broadcasters and video-on-de-

mand and video-sharing platforms. The new rules ensure enhanced pro-

tection of minors from harmful content, redefine the limits of commer-

cial communications, and the promotion of European works on video-

on-demand platforms’ catalogs. The new legislation also includes pro-

visions regarding accessibility for persons with disabilities, self-regu-

latory initiatives and practices, strengthening the independence of reg-

ulatory authorities (Mutu, 2021a), consolidating cooperation amongst

national regulatory authorities, and formalizing the role played by the

European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services (ERGA).

The current Directive includes the following changes: a new 30% min-

imum quota for European works on video-on-demand (VOD services);

the possibility for Member States to oblige both linear and non-linear

services to make a financial contribution to the production of European

works; circumvention of the country-of-origin principle; and rules con-

cerning advertising.

The promotion of European works is considered to play an ‘increas-

ingly crucial [role] for the sustainable development of the European

media sector and intrinsically linked to the promotion of cultural and

linguistical diversity as a main asset of its competitiveness’ (Council of

Europe, 2021). In the Conclusions Document (2021) published in the

Official Journal of the European Union, the Council of Europe high-

lighted that only by ensuring the adequate prominence of European au-

diovisual works a competitive media market will stimulate the advent

of novel sources of media funding, more sustainable business models,

strengthening competition and promoting independent media produc-

tions (see Cabrera Blázquez et al., 2019, for an extensive of issues con-

cerning the independent production of films and audiovisual works in

Europe). Therefore, the promotion and prominence of European works

can only be ensured by an effective implementation of the AVMSD.