Hot Topic - European Commission

Commissioning Brussels - November 30, 2009
The analogue days at the European Commission are numbered. As European Commission President Jose Manuel Barosso made public the EC’s portfolio assignments a flood of speculation rose about impact on the media sector. One certainty is less happiness among big telecoms.

New Rules Welcomed By All, With Fingers Crossed Behind Them - July 6, 2009
The latest round of the pitched battle between private and public sector media rang to a close as the European Commission issued revised rules on State funding. It’s all in the spirit of reducing uncertainty. But uncertainty remains.

EC challenges internet snooping - March 30, 2009
Privacy rights are accepted and, generally, honored in Europe. The wealth – literally and figuratively – of personal information made available through the internet staggers the imagination. Staggering, too, is the prospect of privacy rights being trampled.

Stacked Deck - March 9, 2009
Competition between public and private sector broadcasters plays on the airwaves everyday. More and more it’s played on new media platforms. Out of listeners and viewers attention the high stakes game threatens the very reason it was created.

Commission smacks down music rights collectors - July 17, 2008
The European Commission has snapped music rights collecting societies confiscatory hold over cross border broadcasting. But the music people vow “havoc” on broadcasters

Telecom reform loses power and time - July 14, 2008
Members of the European Parliament effectively thwarted Commission plans to bring big telecoms to heel. With less than a year before the next European Parliament elections and a new Commission before the end of 2009 telecoms have little to fear from increased European regulation. For media content producers it means more competition as telecoms keep consumer prices up and continue to invest in content.

The good news is…nobody knows - June 12, 2008
The accountants in our midst thrive on certainty. So do the lawyers. So do the investment bankers. To win their faith – necessary for good cash flow management - we give them forecasts, predictions, prognostications to satisfy their inner need to be ahead of the game. What happens when we say, “We don’t know what the future holds”.

Europe’s Media Rules – From Television Without Frontiers to the Future

The Television Without Frontiers Directive is all but a memory, soon to be replaced by the Audiovisual Media Services Directive. This ftm Knowledge file details the issues, the debates and the outcome. Also included are articles on competition, product placement and cinema. 51 pages PDF (June 2007)
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Flying Through Turbulence – Media in the New EU Member States

ftm reports on media in the 12 newest EU Member States. Will media find clear air or more turbulence? Country reports, company reports and broadcaster/publisher reports. 98 pages PDF file (February 2007)

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