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Even In The US Where It’s Difficult To Gain Unanimity On Just About Anything, TV Product Placement May Have Just Earned That Distinction On Things Having Gotten Out Of Hand
For PSBs, give up advertising or give up the internet Public broadcasters in Germany may be forced into a choice; either give up ad revenue or scale back Web services. Powerful publishers have joined the chorus of private sector broadcasters and the European Commission offering PSBs a classic Morton’s Fork dilemma…or Catch-22.
That car you want to buy could end the world…and other advertising copy
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”.
What is media supposed to be? The post-analogue, new media teaches that media users drive that definition. Media is servant to a public with varied interests, tastes and pleasures. This is not an idea popular with politicians.
EU competition law is clear. Whether telecom or broadcast distribution, monopolies are forbidden, particularly State monopolies. One by one, they are being unraveled and it’s an unraveling experience.
European films scored at Cannes. Congratulate yourselves. You paid for it. Europe’s national film industries have been in a long battle, mostly with Hollywood, often among each other, soon with Brazil and Bollywood. After a two decades waiting a French film, the documentary style “Entre les murs” by Laurent Cantet, won the Golden Palm. Other European film works partook of the prestige. EC President José Manuel Barroso said, “Europe can be proud.”
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Hot topics click link for moreIn Media Rules and RulersTurkey takes a small, painful step - April 30, 2008 Turkey’s parliament debated long into the night and passed amendments to a notorious defamation law. Media watchers want more. Opposition politicians want less. Turkish media is tired of hearing about it.
Breaking the rules for children’s TV is a good idea - March 24, 2008 Children learn by breaking rules, testing what’s possible, finding their own choices. They see a lot of TV, some really good, some really stupid. Main channel broadcasters cutting back on children’s programming are acting in loco parentis; not to kids but their parents.
Law Sparks Ownership Changes - March 1, 2008 WRC07 Revises Band Allocations - March 1, 2008
Broadcasters pounce on ‘mobile myth’ and ‘digital dividend’ - February 27, 2008
The message that telecoms and vendors wanted people to take home from the Mobile World Congress last week was that it won’t be too long before every shirt pocket or purse will soon by carrying a very smart phone. But along came EU Telecoms Commissioner Mrs. Viviane Reding on the first day and spoiled the party by telling EU telecoms that they need to greatly reduce international text roaming charges by July 1, or she’ll do it for them.
One would think that a British prime minister is the most powerful person in the UK, but with Gordon Brown and Tony Blair both having tried hard to keep their Rupert Murdoch relationships secret there is the perception that if Murdoch is not the most powerful person in the UK, then certainly he is the most feared.
Another government charged with broadcasting rules violations - February 4, 2008
Governments love public broadcasters that dutifully toe the line. The reward is ample financing and legal structures sufficiently opaque to hold off private sector competition. Some might call this synergy.
Slovak legislators hold EU Treaty hostage over media law - January 31, 2008 Center-right political parties are threatening to block Slovak ratification of the EU reform treaty unless Prime Minister Robert Fico withdraws a controversial draft media law. Since taking power in 2006 PM Fico has engaged in a war over media and press reforms. He has consistently criticized the existence of any press criticism.
UK Government To Spend £75 Million On Advertising How To Lead A Healthy Life, But Still Allows Some Junk Food Advertising Before 9 p.m., Protecting The £211 Million That A Ban Would Cost TV Companies - January 24, 2008 Another shot across the bow of public broadcasting as the EC opens inquiry - January 14, 2008
FCC Approves Cross Ownership Waivers, But A Dissenting Opinion Is A Zinger! - December 20, 2007
After years of turning a blind eye toward Italian flaunting of television ad rules, the European Commission has cast its’ steely grey gaze. While Silvio Berlusconi commanded both public and private TV the attitude was, er, nuanced.
Dmitry Medvedev – digital guy - December 10, 2007 UK Judges Rule No Blasphemy In The BBC’s Broadcast Of The Jerry Springer Rock Musical - December 6, 2007 Your television will go black…and other scary stories - November 15, 2007 It’s the week to watch if you’re in Geneva or Brussels. Television, they say, is sure to suffer if nameless, faceless Eurocrats and functionaires have their way. Why can’t things be like the old days?
Microsoft decamps Brussels, tail between legs: NOT! - October 29, 2007 EU Clears SonyBMG For A Second Time - October 4, 2007 British Regulator Rips GMTV With £2 Million Fine For Cheating The Public And Over At The BBC Heads Are Rolling Because of The Violations of the Public’s Trust - September 27, 2007 Was ist das? German courts examine anti-trust agency decision against Axel Springer - September 26, 2007 Apple’s big meeting with the Commission cut short - September 20, 2007 The rising star of the competition czar - September 19, 2007 The European Commission and European national regulators celebrated Monday’s court ruling against Microsoft. Big companies with legions of lawyers have met their match. EC Competition Commissioner Neeley Kroes squashed Microsoft like a bug.
Music industry suffers in court - August 20, 2007 News radio stations targeted by media law - August 6, 2007 Smoking To Go Up In Smoke In Disney Films - July 27, 2007 UK Television Apparently Has Swindled Viewers Out of Millions And Millions of Pounds Via Crooked High-Cost Telephone Voting Schemes – Aren’t People Supposed To Be Thrown In Jail For That Much Larceny? - July 27, 2007 Ah, competition rules Hungarian airwaves - July 21, 2007 Spots are spots, Spain or not, says European Commission - July 12, 2007
Major treaties, internationally binding, are consecrated every so often, typically years in the making. In this digital age, that’s a problem. WIPO’s Broadcasting Treaty might be dead, for now, but it remains a problem looking for a place to happen.
TV Plays the Reality Card - June 3, 2007
Radio Suisse Romande and WRG FM Officials Respond - May 30, 2007Broadcasters Network for Solutions - May 29, 2007 Networking is the essence of Brussels. As the seat of the European Commission (EC) and home to hundreds of non-governmental organizations (NGO) and associations seeking to impact European and world-wide policies, Brussels is seen as the place to debate.
Mobile TV - Slow Finding Customers – Gets Subsidies - May 14, 2007 Movie Ratings To Take Smoking Into Account - May 14, 2007 US Media Blasts FCC’s Recommendations On Regulating TV Violence - May 10, 2007 Google And The Belgian Newspapers Start To Make Peace - May 6, 2007 The License Fee Lives. Long Live the License Fee - April 27, 2007
Peering Into Rule Makers Mirror On The Wall Media Industries See Ugly, Step-Sisters - March 23, 2007
Media industry groups are up in arms over the encroaching future. It’s bad enough that media consumers have been enticed by every digital evil. Now – horror of horrors – the rule makers won’t stop reality.
Further Complicated: Advertising, Children and Television - March 10, 2007
Another Bill Collector Pounds At the Internet Door - March 7, 2007 It Wasn’t A Complete Loss For Google In Its Dismal Belgian Copyright Case – The Court Agreed It Can Index Material Without Explicit Permission, But Must Remove It Within 24 Hours If Asked - February 14, 2007 Flying Through Turbulence – Media in the New EU Member States - February 13, 2007 At Least One Thing Seems To Unite European And American Lawmakers When It Comes To Television –Those Unhealthy Food Ads Targeted At Kids Need Restrictions, But Voluntary or Legislation? - February 12, 2007 More Media Reality From Commissioner Reding - January 18, 2007 More FM Radio Allocations and Licenses in Europe - January 3, 2007
Critics Split Over “American” TV Rules - December 18, 2006 American television – its style and language – strikes Europe’s culture protectors with horror. Ads, ads more often, ads for fast food, ads for SUVs – the narrative bleeds together. Ads on television are in and of themselves corrupting in countries where ad spending is still highest in dead-wood media.
EuroParl TV Rules Vote Changes Direction - December 14, 2006 There never has been any love loss between the current Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi and former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. They have been political rivals for many years and now that Prodi is back in power his government is aiming right at the jugular – Berlusconi’s Mediaset TV empire that flourished so well from government decisions made when its boss was prime minister.
UK Commercial Cable and Terrestrial Networks Say Outlook For Kids TV Programming Bleak As British Regulator Proposes Junk Food Ad Ban In Move That Will Cost Millions In Lost Revenue - November 20, 2006 Political Shift to Impact American Broadcasting - November 13, 2006 Sparks Fly At The UN’s Internet Governance Forum As Speakers Damn US Companies For Helping China Restrict Internet Usage. But How Could That Be -- The Chinese Representative Said There Are No Internet Restrictions! - November 11, 2006 Mix Culture and Economics, Then Half-Bake - October 12, 2006 “If you were a revolutionary, which TV would you seize?” A Belgian Court Pokes A Giant Hole In Google News’ Payment-Free Business Model And Orders, Without Hearing From Google, That It Eliminate All Links To Belgian Newspapers Or Pay a €1 Million Daily Fine WIPO Moves Fast on Broadcast Treaty. Webcasters Tremble ! The real “F” Words in US Television Programming Today Are Fear And FCC State Broadcaster Wins Denmark Radio License Auction - August 28, 2006 Tom and Jerry Are Going To Quit Smoking For The Most Part, Courtesy of Turner Broadcasting and the British Broadcast Regulator, But All That Violence In Those Same Cartoons – That Stays - August 24, 2006
Immediate response was rather muted to EC Media Commissioner Vivaine Reding proposed revisions to the TV Without Frontiers Directive. That was six months ago. EURO-MEI and British government, regulator and media business are firmly opposed...for different reasons.
Finnish Government Shuffles, Expands Commercial Radio Licenses - June 3, 2006 Berlusconi’s Disregard of the Italian TV Election Laws Nearly Won Him A Major Upset When He Should Have Lost Big, But Post Election He Got The Good News The Anti Trust Authority Cleared The €200 Million In State Subsidies For DTT Desktop Boxes, Distributed By His Brother, Necessary For His Mediaset Empire To Get Digital Broadcasts Going - May 22, 2006 Mrs Reding to TV: I Cannot Protect You From Competition - May 2, 2006 European commercial televisions executives, gathered in Brussels, heard DG Info Society and Media Commissioner Vivaine Reding talk bluntly about survival. Regulator Moves on Czech Digital TV Licenses - April 13, 2006 Switzerland Writes New Media Law - April 3, 2006 Regulators Work Together For Digital Solutions - April 3, 2006 The Beatles and Denmark Bob For Apple Bites- March 30, 2006 Maybe not! Keeping to their strong tradition of dismissing the French, the Anglo-American media missed the point. Interoperability may test business models but it’s great for consumers.
Public Flogging of BBC Nears End. Damage Phase Ensues - March 20, 2006 Wake Up, Catch Up and Overhaul! - March 6, 2006 Media Sighs Relief At Services Directive Exclusion - February 20, 2006
The latest draft passed the European Parliament after amendments ripped out the hotly contested “country of origin” principle. The audiovisual sector was excluded – along with gambling and public healthcare. Europe’s media organizations breathed a palpable sigh of relief.
It Was Just a Joke Says Radio COPE - February 5, 2006 What Is So Delicious About What Silvio Berlusconi Does Is That He Is So Blatant, So “In Your Face.” He Knows It. The Italians Know It. And He Gets Away With It. - January 29, 2006 EC Grants More Radio / TV Time to Belarus - January 28, 2006 The European Commission (EC) granted €2 million to an NGO and broadcaster consortium for rapid deployment of radio and television broadcasts to election eminent Belarus. The Commissioners contribution came the same day as the Council of Europe (CoE) debated neighborly advice to Belarus.
Motor FM / Netzeitung Plan for Berlin Radio Approved - January 25, 2006 German Regulators Crack Whip at Axel Springer-ProSiebenSat Deal - January 8, 2006 Mrs Reding’s Holiday Gifts For All - December 15, 2005 Comments on proposed TVWF revision:
No Badmouthing Under Kazakh Domain - December 14, 2005 Tale of Three Berlin FM Frequencies - December 5, 2005 WSIS in Tunis – They Came, They Talked, They Wimped Out - November 17, 2005 Poland – Too Hot? – November 10, 2005 Convergence is Here!! - October 31, 2005 “One way to judge which way the (Italian political) wind is blowing is to keep a close eye on the RAI privatization.” ftm, Jan.1, 2005; RAI Privatization Dead - Oct. 27, 2005 Basic Numbers - October 18, 2005 Budapest is Busy - October 13, 2005 Fees and Financing in Tallinn / Estonia - September 29, 2005 The EU Looks Like Making TV Happy By Allowing Product Placement Within Strict Rules - September 29, 2005 EC Audiovisual Conference Debates New Media Rules - September 19, 2005 Big Baby Gets Dutch Work Permit? - September 5, 2005 Radio Teddy: Another Stumble for German PSBs - August 29, 2005 Stealth Ads Cause “Scandal” at German TV - August 1, 2005 EC Says Rights Are in the Hand of the Holder - July 13, 2005 TV5 Chairman Questions CFII - June 21, 2005 French International News Channel Cleared to Go by EC. “Russia Today” Set to Go, Too. - June 13, 2005 Digital Legislating - April 28, 2005 New Youth Station Licensed to Zürich - April 1, 2005 Goodbye to the Services Directive - March 24, 2005 Kiev Media Conference: Globalized Media Leads to “Adult Contemporary Music” - March 17, 2005 European Commission Sends Broadcasters New Signals - March 1, 2005 The European Christian Lobby Against TV Indecency Learns From Its US Cousins the Organized Way to Fight Alleged Blasphemy and Obscenity. It Would Make Even Jerry Springer Blush! - January 16, 2005 French News Channel OK, Arab News Channel Not OK - December 16, 2004 Private Ryan Is Saved, But Now the FCC Investigates the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony - December 15, 2004 Austrian Legislature Changes Law to “Save” Radio Station - December 8, 2004 Is Saving Private Ryan a Bridge Too Far? - November 15, 2004 Turn the FCC Loose in Europe and the US National Debt Would Soon Become a Surplus - October 13, 2004 Swiss OFCOM director Marc Furrer appointed to ComCom - October 5, 2004 Swiss regulator study finds space for “super-regionals” - August 31, 2004 EU Greets New Radio Audiences - June 1, 2004 On 1 May 2004, in one giant stroke, 10 nations, 74 million people and more than 800 radio stations joined the European Union ‘Big Bang’ Proposed for French Radio - March 1, 2004 |
ftm Knowledge
Europe's Media RulesMedia rule makers are taking strong positions on competition, State aid, public broadcasting finance and advertising. and that's only for starters. As the Audiovisual Media Services Directive takes effect, national rules are changing. Europe's Media Rules has all the background and latest developments. 82 pages PDF (June 2008) Free to ftm members, others from €39 Media Searches for Business ModelsThe search for effective business models challenges traditional media and new. From broadcasting to publishing, Hollywood to China, media outlets confront change after change in new terms for revenue creation and value. Media Searches for Business Models is 30 articles on what's real and what's not. 76 pages PDF (May 2008) Free to ftm members, others from €39 The Beijing Olympic Games and ChinaThe Beijing Olympic Games is the most anticipated media event of the 21st century. ftm is following the run-up to the Games, Brand China, Digital China, media business in China and the state of China's media freedom. 25 articles 60 pages PDF (April 2008) Free to ftm members, others from €39 More ftm Knowledge files here |
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