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The part of the sector inquiry related to digital content aims at identifying potential contractual restrictions between suppliers (right holders) and providers of online content services.
(612)7.1 Selection of digital content providers (retail markets) -
The sector inquiry focuses only on companies offering online services as part of, or as the entirety of, their services. At the retail level, i.e. at the level of services provided directly to users, such companies are referred to as digital content providers.
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For the purposes of this Report a digital content service is considered as being offered online when it is transmitted using the packet switching protocol standard used on the internet, i.e. TCP/IP, when being delivered to end users' premises.
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The starting point for the digital content provider addressee list was a database comprising more than 2 000 online audio-visual operators across the EU. The list was then narrowed down, with a view to ensuring that the final list of addressees would include the following three categories of providers in each Member State:
The most important market operators in each Member State;
Any potential recent entrant or operator using innovative business models; and
A sufficient number of smaller / local operators.
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Given the nature of digital content services the final list includes a relatively limited number of operators in each Member State which however account for the majority of the audience / market. They are referred to as digital content providers from Member States.
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Some of the operators contacted, have a relatively large cross-border presence, either directly or via subsidiaries. These groups were identified separately and defined as those which have operations in at least five Member States. They are referred to as large groups.
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A number of additional questionnaires were addressed to operators which offer online content through agreements whereby such operators host service providers within a hosting environment with a specific set of characteristics, either via software ("hosting online operator") or via hardware ("hosting device"). A revenue sharing agreement can be part of the relationship between the service provider and the hosting operator, while the relationship with the customer may be directly with the former or with the latter, depending on the specific situation. This category of providers is referred to as hosting operator.
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Respondents belonging to each of the three categories above were chosen on the basis that they offer an online service. The online service did not need to be their exclusive or even main activity. However the questionnaires only refer to the online service and not any other aspect of the companies’ offer. A set of questionnaires was sent to providers of VPN67 and IP routing services, which are often accessed by users to bypass geo-blocking. Many of these companies are not established in the EU, even though they might provide services to customers in the EU. Therefore the number of respondents was unsurprisingly low for this category.
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Digital content providers were asked to submit information in relation to the following categories of products:
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Films: Feature films and motion pictures;
Sports: Sports events and sports programmes, including commentaries;
Television fiction: Television comedy, drama and animation series or programmes;
Children television: Television programmes and series aimed at children, excluding feature films;
News: Television news and current affairs programmes and series;
Non-fiction television: Television content other than films, television fiction, children's programmes, news and sports events; and
Music: Recorded music, excluding music contained in audiovisual content such as background music in films and television programmes.
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A total of 278 digital content providers submitted information in the context of the sector inquiry, including 6 426 licensing agreements. A further 9 companies offering VPN and IP routing services responded to their questionnaire. Table A. below provides the number of respondents per Member State and by category of respondent identified above.
Table A. : Respondents to the sector inquiry in relation to digital content (digital content providers)
(613)7.2 Selection of right holders (wholesale markets) -
Questionnaires were also sent to right holders. Right holders were asked to submit information solely in relation to licensing agreements covering, partly or fully, the rights for digital content services provided online.
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Right holders were selected on the basis of the information provided by digital content providers about their main suppliers and with a view to ensuring a relatively broad coverage across the EU and sufficient diversity across product types.
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Compared to the questionnaires sent to digital content providers, fewer product types were covered in those sent to right holders. In particular, films were excluded in order to avoid any potential overlaps with an investigation into the cross-border provision of films by pay-TV providers68 that the Commission is conducting. News and non-fiction television products were also excluded from the questionnaire to right holders, since these products were already amply covered in the questionnaires to digital content providers.
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Right holders were asked information in relation to the following product types:
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Sports: A sports event, such as a football match, or a set of sports events, such as a football season, which is the object of a broadcast production or productions;
Television fiction and children television: Television series, comedy, drama, or entertainment programmes, excluding feature films, and television programmes and series aimed at children, excluding feature films;69 and
Music: Recorded music, excluding music contained in audiovisual content such as background music in films and television programmes.
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A total of 53 right holders replied to the sector inquiry and submitted a total of 282 licensing agreements (Table A. ).
Table A. : Respondents to the sector inquiry in relation to digital content (right holders)
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