The Regulatory Framework for Audiovisual Media Services in Russia
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The Regulatory Framework for Audiovisual Media Services in Russia Russia is by far the largest European television market outside Contents overview: the area where EU law applies. The country’s approximately 17% share of the entire European population means that the Russian ■ The national media policy television market has remarkable economic potential. Against ■ Key regulatory concepts and their interpretation this background, it is also all the more considerable how little ■ Licence requirements information has been published outside Russia on the legal bases of, and conditions applying to, this market. ■ The role of state broadcasting in contrast to public service broadcasting This publication entitled “The Regulatory Framework for Audiovisual ■ Media Services in Russia” in the IRIS Special series closes this gap. Media ownership and concentration It provides a detailed analysis of the bases and regulatory frame- ■ Self- and co-regulation work for broadcasting in Russia and discusses in this context the ■ Advertising: regulation and control adaptation of the legal framework to new audiovisual media services, ■ drawing attention to the big differences between the EU and Russia Product placement and pointing out that these difference are due to the fact that the ■ Right of reply pace of development of digital media services in Russia is still slow. ■ Short reporting rights The publication, which has been written by Andrei Richter, ■ Protection of morals and minors Director of the Moscow based Institute for Media Law and Media ■ Rights of national minorities Policy and one of Russia’s outstanding media specialists, provides a comprehensive and precise picture of the regulation of broad- ■ Restrictions to combat extremism casting in Russia. ■ Means of regulatory intervention The Regulatory Subject-related publications in the IRIS family Framework 2010-1: Ready, Set … Go? The Audiovisual Media Digital television Services Directive for Audiovisual Contents: Content: ■ Development of digital terrestrial television in Russia ■ The challenges of transposing the Directive into na- Media Services and Ukraine tional law: - National policy towards digital TV - Intelligibility, acceptance, manageability of the - Legal concepts, decrees and other acts solutions chosen - Aspects of the process - Incorporation into existing media law of the concepts The Regulatory Framework for Audiovisual Media Services in Russia in Russia - Licensing and competitions set out - Ownership issues - Drawing a distinction between linear and non-linear - Practice of the digital switch-over services - Defi nition of editorial responsibility ■ Digital television on its way? - Co-regulation - for what areas and how is it organised? - Observatory Member States and other countries - Rights of citizens and the industry to be heard or have - Latest news a say in matters ■ Advancing in Europe - Monitoring of compliance with the law - Reception of digital television - The roles of the regulatory authorities - Implementation of DTT - Responsibility for ensuring the implementation of, and compliance with, the rules in individual cases 45 pages, February 2010 Print edition ISBN 978-92-871-6792-7 24,50 € / 131 pages, Edition 2009 PDF edition ISBN 978-92-871-6800-9 33 € Print edition ISBN 978-92-871-6665-4, 89 € Given the crucial importance of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive, two more titles have been published in the IRIS Special series: “Audiovisual Media Services without Frontiers” (ISBN 978-92-871-6115-4, 76 pages, Edition 2006, 58,50 €), “Editorial Responsibility” (ISBN 978-92- 871-6476-6, 50 pages, Edition 2008, 75 €). EUR 70 – ISBN 978-92-871-6789-7 IRIS Special: The Regulatory Framework for Audiovisual Media Services in Russia European Audiovisual Observatory, Strasbourg 2010 ISBN: 978-92-871-6789-7 EUR 70 Director of the Publication: Wolfgang Closs, Executive Director of the European Audiovisual Observatory E-mail: [email protected] Editor and Coordinator: Dr. Susanne Nikoltchev, LL.M. (Florence/Italy, Ann Arbor/MI) Head of the Department for Legal Information E-mail: [email protected] Contributing Partner Institution: Moscow Media Law and Policy Center Moscow State University ul. Mokhovaya, 9 - Room 338 125009 Moscow Russian Federation Tel: +7 495 629 3804 Fax: +7 495 629 3804 www.medialaw.ru Editorial Assistant: Michelle Ganter E-mail: [email protected] Marketing: Markus Booms E-mail: [email protected] Translation/Proof-reading: Sabina Gorini, Julie Mamou, Nadja Ohlig, Erwin Rohwer, Anne-Lise Weidmann Typesetting/Print: Pointillés, Hoenheim (France) Publisher: European Audiovisual Observatory 76 Allée de la Robertsau F-67000 Strasbourg Tel.: +33 (0)3 90 21 60 00 Fax: +33 (0)3 90 21 60 19 E-mail: [email protected] www.obs.coe.int Please quote this publication as: Susanne Nikoltchev, Ed., IRIS Special: The Regulatory Framework for Audiovisual Media Services in Russia (Strasbourg, European Audiovisual Observatory, 2010) © European Audiovisual Observatory, 2010. Opinions expressed in this publication are personal and do not necessarily represent the views of the Observatory, its members or the Council of Europe. The Regulatory Framework forAudiovisualMedia Services in Russia THE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR AUDIOVISUAL MEDIA SERVICES IN RUSSIA 1 The Regulatory Framework forAudiovisual Media Services in Russia Published by theEuropean Audiovisual Observatory 2009saw asteadyflowofinformationonthe EU’s Audiovisual MediaServices Directive andone does notneed acrystalball to predict thenextwave of information that will spill over our desks in 2010, be it to tell us about transposition andimplemen- tation or about EU enforcementmeasures.The European Audiovisual Observatory has alreadyanalysed someofthe corequestionsthat theDirectiveraises,concentrating especially on those that arelikely to continue to trouble legislators,regulators andthe industry.Asaresult, we published in June2009 theIRISSpecial entitled“Ready, Set… Go? –The Audiovisual MediaServices Directive”. What we didnot do so faristoinform about thelegal framework foraudiovisual media services outside thescope of EU legislation. ThewiderEurope as covered by theCouncil of Europe andthusthe Observatory goes farbeyond thegeographicreach of the Directive.Tohave its mediaindustry unfold,moreand differentinformation is needed. Onehugeterritory,hometoaround17percentofthe European citizens andthusa significantamountof(potential) recipients of audiovisual mediaservices,isRussia. Yet despite theeconomicpotential of this sizable market, it seemsthat at least outside of Russialittlehas been published on thelegal conditionsthat theaudiovisual industry must meet. Thankstoour long-standingpartnership with theMediaLaw andPolicy Institute in Moscow,wecan help fill this gap with this publication. AndreiRichter,the author of this IRISSpecial on “TheRegulatory Framework forAudiovisual MediaServices in Russia” gives us an overview of generalaspects such as national mediapolicy,key notionsof regulation andtheir interpretation,licensingrequirements,the role of state versus publicservice broadcasting, mediaownership andconcentration as well as foreign property rules.This IRISSpecial also explainsthe legal framework forspecificquestions such as theright to reply,productplacement,the righttoshort reporting, thesafeguard of publicmorals,the protection of minors,rightsofnational minorities andrestrictions to counter extremism. Last but notleast it explainsthe regulatory meansused within this legal framework, which includeschartersand codes as well as regulation by the national regulatory authority,especially in thefield of advertisement. ©2010, EuropeanAudiovisual Observatory, Strasbourg (France) 2 THE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR AUDIOVISUAL MEDIA SERVICES IN RUSSIA Thestructureofthis IRISSpecial follows closely anddeliberately thequestions treated in theIRISSpecial on theAudiovisual MediaServices Directive. This facilitates thecomparison of theunderlyinglegal systemsaswell as thelegal rules applied to the various areas.Ifthis publication focuses mostly on broadcastingitisbecause in Russia other audiovisual mediaservices,and correspondingtheir regulation, arestill in their infancy.This IRISSpecial is very telling in this regardasitdescribes in somedetail the difficulties to adapt theexistingframework to on-demandservice that arestill notas developed as in other European countries. We would have also liked to report in this context on theadoption of theProtocol for theCouncil of Europe Convention on Transfrontier Television that would have had the potential to cover thewhole of Europe andinclude even non-European countries.Russia has alreadysigned(though notyet ratified) thecurrentversion of theConvention and it was hoped that it would adheretothe Protocol. However,events took adifferentturn andwhether andindeed if ever theConvention will be aligned to theDirective or could apply in Russiawill truly requirethe aforementioned crystal ball. Strasbourg, 23 December 2009 WolfgangCloss Susanne Nikoltchev Executive Director Head of Department forLegal Information ©2010, European AudiovisualObservatory, Strasbourg (France) THE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR AUDIOVISUAL MEDIA SERVICES IN RUSSIA 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. General aspects ........................................................9 1. Nationalpolicy andgeneral problems in the regulation of audiovisualservices ...9 a. General approach ...........................................................9 b. Applicabilityoftraditional requirements to new audiovisual media services