Legal Information Services from the European Audiovisual Observatory Digital Order: • online at http://www.obs.coe.int/about/order Television • by email: [email protected] • by fax: +33 (0) 3 90 21 60 19 2010-1 IRIS plus Legal, technological or economic developments in the audiovisual sector generate immediate priority information needs for professionals. IRIS plus identifies these issues and provides the LEAD Article A legal hot topic examined relevant legal background. It features a combination of a lead article, related reporting and from different angles a Zoom section, comprising overview tables, market data or practical information. This brand Development of Digital Terrestrial Television new format provides you with the knowledge to follow and join in the latest and most relevant discussions concerning the audiovisual sector. in Russia and Ukraine For more information, please contact: [email protected] National Policy towards Digital TV Legal Concepts, Decrees, and Other Acts The IRIS Merlin database enables you to access nearly 5,000 articles reporting on legal events of IRIS Merlin Aspects of the Process relevance to the audiovisual industry. These articles describe relevant laws, decisions of various Database on legal information courts and administrative authorities, and policy documents from over 50 countries. They also Licensing and Competitions relevant to the audiovisual report on legal instruments, decisions and policy documents of major European and interna- Ownership Issues sector in Europe tional institutions. Free access at: http://merlin.obs.coe.int Practice of the Digital Switch-over IRIS Newsletter The IRIS Newsletter is an invaluable, highly topical and very reliable information service covering all legal developments in Europe relating to the audiovisual sector. Related REPortinG Legal Observations IRIS covers all areas of law of importance to the audiovisual sector. The main emphasis of the of the European Audiovisual IRIS articles is on legal developments in the fifty or so countries that make up greater Europe. Digital Television on Its Way? Observatory IRIS reports on media legislation in the broadest sense, as well as major developments in Observatory Member States case law, important administrative decisions, and policy decisions with potential effects on law. Other countries For more see: http://www.obs.coe.int/oea_publ/iris/index.html Latest News IRIS Special The themes chosen for our IRIS Special publications are all topical issues in media law, which we explore from a legal perspective. IRIS Special publications offer detailed surveys of ZOOM Comprehensive factual relevant national legislation facilitating the comparison of the legal frameworks in different information coupled countries, they identify and analyse highly relevant issues and outline the European or Advancing in Europe: with in-depth analysis international legal context that influences national legislation. IRIS Special publications explore their legal themes in an extremely accessible way. You don’t have to be a lawyer Reception of Digital Television to read them! Every edition combines a high level of practical relevance with academic rigour. Implementation of DTT For a list of all IRIS Specials, see: http://www.obs.coe.int/oea_publ/iris_special/index.html IRIS plus 2010-1 Digital Television 24,50 e - ISBN 978-92-871-6792-7 IRIS plus 2010-1 Digital Television European Audiovisual Observatory, Strasbourg 2010 ISBN: 978-92-871-6792-7 Price: EUR 24,50 Information services Director of the Publication: Wolfgang Closs, Executive Director of the European Audiovisual Observatory E-mail: [email protected] for the audiovisual sector Editor and Coordinator: Dr Susanne Nikoltchev, LL.M. (Florence/Italy, Ann Arbor/MI) It is the task of the European Audiovisual Observatory to improve transparency in the Head of the Department for Legal Information E-mail: [email protected] audiovisual sector in Europe. It does this by collecting, processing and publishing up-to-date information about the various industries concerned. Editorial Assistant: Michelle Ganter The Observatory has adopted a pragmatic definition of the audiovisual sector in which it E-mail: [email protected] works. Its principal areas of interest are film, television, video/DVD, new audiovisual media services and public policy on film and television. In these five areas, the Observatory provides Marketing: information in the legal field as well as information about the markets and financing. As Markus Booms E-mail: [email protected] far as its geographical scope is concerned, the Observatory monitors, records and analyses developments in its member states. In addition, data on non-European countries is also made Typesetting: available when judged appropriate. The various stages involved in providing information Pointillés, Hoenheim (France) include the systematic collection and processing of data as well as its final distribution to our users in the form of print publications, information on-line, databases and directories, and our Print: Pointillés, Hoenheim (France) contributions to conferences and workshops. The Observatory’s work draws extensively on Conseil de l’Europe, Strasbourg (France) international and national information sources and their contributions of relevant information. The Observatory Information Network was established for this purpose. It is composed of Cover Layout: partner organisations and institutions, professional information suppliers and selected Acom Europe, Paris (France) correspondents. The Observatory’s primary target groups are professionals working within the Publisher: audiovisual sector: producers, distributors, exhibitors, broadcasters and other media service European Audiovisual Observatory providers, international organisations in this field, decision-makers within the various public 76 Allée de la Robertsau bodies responsible for the media, national and European legislators, journalists, researchers, F-67000 Strasbourg lawyers, investors and consultants. Tel.: +33 (0)3 90 21 60 00 Fax: +33 (0)3 90 21 60 19 The European Audiovisual Observatory was established in December 1992 and is part of the E-mail: [email protected] www.obs.coe.int Council of Europe thanks to its status as a “partial and enlarged agreement”. Its offices are in Strasbourg, France. The Observatory’s membership currently comprises 36 European States and the European Community, which is represented by the European Commission. Each member appoints one representative to its board, the Executive Council. An Executive Director heads the international Observatory team. Contributing Partner Institutions : Institute of European Institute for Moscow Media Law Media Law (EMR) Information Law (IViR) and Policy Center The Observatory’s products and services are divided into Franz-Mai-Straße 6 Kloveniersburgwal 48 Moscow State University D-66121 Saarbrücken NL-1012 CX Amsterdam ul. Mokhovaya, 9 - Room 338 four groups: Tel.: +49 (0) 681 99 275 11 Tel.: +31 (0) 20 525 34 06 125009 Moscow L Print Publications Fax: +49 (0) 681 99 275 12 Fax: +31 (0) 20 525 30 33 Russian Federation E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Tel.: +7 495 629 3804 L Information on-line www.emr-sb.de www.ivir.nl Fax: +7 495 629 3804 www.medialaw.ru L Databases and Directories L Conferences and workshops European Audiovisual Observatory 76 Allée de la Robertsau – F-67000 Strasbourg – France Tel: +33 (0) 3 90 21 60 00 – Fax: +33 (0) 3 90 21 60 19 Please quote this publication as: www.obs.coe.int – E-mail: [email protected] IRIS plus 2010-1, Digital television (Susanne Nikoltchev (Ed.), European Audiovisual Observatory, Strasbourg 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. 2010-1 p.1 Digital Television © 2010, European Audiovisual Observatory, Strasbourg (France) 2010-1 p.3 Foreword Imagine turning on your television and not receiving any signal. For an increasing number of television viewers this could have been the case had they not re-equipped themselves for digital television. To mention only the early birds: Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Finland and Sweden completed the transition to digital terrestrial television between 2006 and 2007. Consumers living in these countries had no choice but to follow suit lest they feared to lose what is still one of – if not– the most used audiovisual media service. If everything goes according to the expectation of the EU Commission, almost all EU member states will meet the 2012 EU target for switch-off and, hence, more digital television equipment will find its homes. All this hype about the pre-imminent completion of an EU-driven digital television landscape may easily blind us to the fact that going digital is not a piece of cake. Sure enough some EU member states lag behind causing some kind of “European digital divide”. The divide, however, deepens, if one looks beyond the EU borders where for a significant part of European territory, namely Russia and Ukraine, the goal to switch-off analogue digital television still seems to be pie in the sky. The lead article of this IRIS plus focuses on these two countries and their national policies for catching up with their digitally more advanced European neighbours. It explores existing legal instruments that might accelerate the switch-over and alludes to others which would still need to be developed. As pressing as the need for a “digital-proof”