Television Without Frontiers and the Audiovisual Media Services Directive
We are responsible for implementing the EU’s Television Without Frontiers Directive (TVWF) in the UK, and have been involved in the recent negotiations to revise the Directive to take account of new technological and market developments.

These negotiations resulted in the new Audiovisual Media Services Directive, which came into force on 19 December 2007 and will replace TVWF.   The UK and other member states now have until 19 December 2009 to implement the Directive.  

The new AVMS Directive updates EU rules on TV broadcasting.  In particular it:

• Simplifies rules on the proportion of TV broadcasts that can be taken up by advertisements
• Allows for product placement in certain types of TV programme where member states want to permit it
• Retains the single-market “Country of origin” principle, where TV broadcasters are regulated only by the member state from which they are transmitting.    

The Directive requires the UK and other member states to introduce "co-regulation" of video-on-demand services.  This forms a major part of the work which DCMS is doing, with an important contribution from Ofcom, to implement the Directive in the UK.    

Other projects originating from the Directive include

• The possible introduction of product placement
• The regulation of non-EU satellite TV channels based in the UK
• Broadcasters’ access to footage of major sporting and other events for showing in TV news programmes’ “short reports”.

Ofcom are considering whether, and to what extent, to change current UK rules on amounts of TV advertising in the light of the Directive.     

DCMS and Ofcom have set up a stakeholder group to discuss the implementation of the Directive and are keen to continue the close contact with consumer groups, civil society groups and industry as plans develop.  We intend to hold a public consultation in Spring-Summer 2008 on our proposals for implementation. 

If you would like to be kept informed about developments and are not already on our TVWF/AVMS stakeholder list, please contact   Natasha Pavey. Details about the public consultation will appear on this website in due course.

Our 2006 consultation on the Commission’s original proposals for amending the TVWF Directive, and the summary of responses is available in the reference library.

Council of Europe
The convention on transfrontier-television   extends the provisions of the TVWF Directive to the member states of the "Council of Europe" (CoE). The UK is represented on the CoE’s "Standing committee on transfrontier television" (T-TT) , which is working to update the transfrontier television convention in line with the amended TVWF Directive.