Cablemedia June 2016

cablemedia2006v6.qxp_1 20/06/2016 15:05 Page 1 Cable Media EUROMEDIA Volume 8 No. 1 2016 Cable Europe welcomes AVMS proposals urope’s broadband cable industry trade body Cable Europe has welcomed a proposal published by the European Commission to amend the Audiovisual Media Services Directive. The proposal, which forms a part of the Digital Single Market Strategy, reflects the changing nature of audiovisual services, of market players, technology and consumer behaviour. Having urged the EC to consider an increasingly co-regulatory and self-regulatory approach in its position paper of February 2016, Cable Europe particularly supports the Commission’s proposals in the areas of: The safeguarding of the Country of Origin principle; Encouragement for platforms to invest in viewer protection technologies, through co- and self-regulatory regimes; and Increased flexibility in the rules governing advertisements, product placement and sponsorship. “Cable Europe’s members are at the forefront of developing and delivering converged audiovisual services. If industry is to continue to realise the ever-growing possibilities of technological advancement, regulation and policy must allow a competitive, market-driven approach to prevail,” stated Caroline van Weede, MD of Cable Europe (below). “We support the European Commission in the broadly deregulatory, de minimis approach taken for a large part of the provisions which will ensure that old and new players can be subject to a similar regulatory environment. It’s imperative in such a fast-changing and frequently disrupted environment that innovation and investment are encouraged.” She called upon the Institutions to move away from prescriptive, quota-driven approaches and focus instead on incentivising the audiovisual industry. E