Sat Regulation under threat?

byte

An Ireland-backed plan to make satellite TV broadcasters more accountable to local regulators could be under threat, despite support from some EU member states.

The EU Commissioner in charge of broadcasting, as well as education and culture, Viviane Reding of Luxembourg, has said that proposals from Ireland's Minister for Communications Dermot Ahern to amend the "Television without Frontiers" directive would in fact kill the regulation altogether.

"Television Without Frontiers" allows broadcasters to operate in multiple European markets, but face regulation in only their home market. Talks on the future of the directive were held at Dublin Castle on Tuesday at a meeting of the EU Informal Broadcasting Council.

In Ireland, any amendments to the directive will have particular impact on satellite TV broadcaster British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB), which has over 300,000 Irish subscribers, but pays no dues to the communications regulator ComReg. ComReg also lacks the authority to impose its will upon Sky Ireland, which argues that such regulation is unnecessary since it is forced to answer to UK broadcasting authorities.

Full Story here:
http://www.electricnews.net/news.html?code=9397001

watty

The problem is that the uk should be regulating Sky and have not even protected their own interests (FTV card debacle, Encryption & EPG charges etc).

Sky and some others have in fact exploited the Directive in an opposite direction to the spirit of it when it suits them.

It was supposed to diminish pirate cards by making the "real" sub cards avaibable, but really only AB Sat is taking much advantage (you can openly buy an ABSat package at most EU addresses), And Sky has created a virtual monopoly of Pay satellite in Irieland becuase UK rigfhts usually include Ireland.

The Directive should have specified that any encryption used in Europe must be available on a CAM for industry CI and that any box with embedded encryption must be able to work with anyones CAM.

Since the Digibox can take any Non-Sky CAM and no BskyB CAM is available for any CI slot, Sky particularly have created a near monopoly in UK/Ireland in Pay Satellite.

They are attempting the same in Italy. Sky Italia created fromn Sky takeover of two companies near bust because of card piracy, (hacking details published by a company owned by Newscorp! The folks basically behind Sky). Sky Italia are phasing out the existing boxes and repalcing them with Digibox, then the parallel non-Sky encryption will be turned off.


Maybe the Directive needs Killed and a new one made.

The other fly in in the Sans Frontiers Directive is of course "Rights". This is mostly Greedy Sports and Holywood. Who want to sell the same thing over and over again to us. This is the main reason ap[art from Sky/Newscorp/FOx that there is really little choice in Pay TV and virtually no competiton.

watty

In reality the Drinks Advertizing thing is a "blind". That would really need a pan EU directive. What the Minister here is really after is MONEY! Unless Sky can be Regulated here as well as in UK, they can't Tax them via Comreg like NTL/Chorus.

The minister's scheme won't fly.

If there is to be a Satellite Spectrum tax, it would need to be applied to all 36 or so Satellite positions receivable and all the operators using them that can be received, why just Sky? A daft idea.

Again the only nearly fair thing would be a pan-europe Tax, but I think it would be a bad thing. The Governments have already VAT for raising TAX.

The VAT on any subscription should NOT go to the originating country, but the country of the subscriber. Sky Install VAT goes to Dublin, but all Sky Irish monthly VAT is going to UK.

byte

Originally posted by LurkingIcon
They are attempting the same in Italy. Sky Italia created fromn Sky takeover of two companies near bust because of card piracy, (hacking details published by a company owned by Newscorp! The folks basically behind Sky).

Would that be the NDS scandal from some time ago?

SRB

Eh yes, and the less said about it the better !