European Union negotiators have reached a deal to end what it claims is unjustified geoblocking practices in the EU, but the agreement is set to exclude streaming services.
The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission reached a political agreement to end geoblocking for consumers wishing to buy products or services online within the EU. European lawmakers have claimed the new rules will boost ecommerce for the benefit of consumers and businesses who take advantage of the growing European online market.
In a statement, the European Commission cited three specific examples where the practice of geoblocking was ruled to have no justification. These were for the sale of goods without physical delivery, the sale of electronically supplied services and the sale of services provided in a specific physical location.
However, the Broadband TV News website notes that legislators have bowed to pressure from broadcasters with regards geoblocking of streaming services. MEPs had been keen to include streaming services under the abolition of geoblocking, but the legal committee has voted to limit the “country of origin” principle to news and current affairs output.
This means viewers will be able to watch this type of programming across the European Union with the content counted for copyright purposes as being within their home country. The decision has been met with differing reaction in the industry.
The Association of Commercial Television in Europe (ACT) welcomed the result of the vote in the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs (JURI) Committee on its report about the proposed Broadcasters (“SatCab”) Regulation.
The ACT said commercial broadcasters and much of the audio-visual sector argue that wide application of the copyright rule risks reducing investment in sport, film and drama in the EU, resulting in less content being produced.
Agnieszka Horak, ACT’s director of policy and legal affairs, said: “Today’s vote in the Legal Affairs Committee is definitely a step in the right direction. It acknowledges the value of territorial exclusivity in ensuring EU citizens can watch a wide range of high quality TV programmes.
“Commercial broadcasters have long believed that the wrong legislation on this issue would reduce the amount, quality and diversity of TV content. We thank all the Members of the European Parliament who have helped us take a step towards better legislation.
“We urge the member states in the Council to follow the direction of travel set by the Committee on Legal Affairs.”
However, Cable Europe, the trade association that connects leading broadband cable television operators and their national trade associations throughout the EU, levelled criticism at the European Parliament.
The body said the vote effectively excludes some technological platforms such as mobile and the internet from the scope of the retransmission framework – a move which the organisation described as “out of step” with both technological developments and consumer behaviour.
Caroline van Weede, managing director of Cable Europe, said: “This is a deeply disappointing outcome. The Parliament has done consumers a disservice by failing to be more progressive. The current licensing structure for cable retransmission of linear TV programmes should also apply to mobile and the internet. The exclusion of time-shifted services from the EP text is another missed opportunity.
“Conversely, a technology neutral approach would have served consumers well, supporting investment in new services and the availability of content anytime, any place, anywhere. This decision is out of step both with today’s environment, and with our aspirations to serve the digital consumer of tomorrow.”