Infso-2008-00093-00-02-en-rev-01

Application of Articles 4 and 5: general remarks

The following general remarks concern the different methodologies used by each Member State when applying Articles 4 and 5 of the Directive.

Although further efforts seem to be needed in some of the Member States, monitoring practice improved in general, including the monitoring of commercial channels and, in particular, satellite channels. The increased number of monitored channels reflects an ever-growing number of private broadcasters entering the market.

The dynamic development of the sector is further mirrored in the Member States’ reports. For the first time, channels broadcasting in Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld (DVB-H) are listed in a Member State’s report. Italy’s statistical statement featured four such channels (Sky Cinema Mobile, Sky Sport Mobile, Sky Vivo Mobile, Sky Show Mobile). Some Member States have also included on-demand channels in their reports: for example, the Netherlands reported the ‘Arrivo on demand B.V.’ and ‘Chellomedia Programming b.v.’ channels, while Belgium included the channel ‘SiA a la demande’ in its report, while citing the reservations expressed by the channel as to the possibility of applying Articles 4 and 5 to its format.

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