The Slovak Government today approved an amendment to the Broadcasting and Retransmission Act submitted by the Culture Ministry, which as of December will set out the rules for Internet television and Internet providers of audio-visual and media services on demand.
The amendment was made necessary by Slovakia’s commitment to adopt a provision from the European Directive on Audiovisual and Media Services by December 19, 2009. The bill is now due to be approved by Parliament.
According to the ministry, the amendment concerns broadcasting with a fixed time schedule of programmes that is available to the general public and is aimed at providing information, entertainment or education. Providers of Internet programmes won’t have to ask for a licence, but they will be obliged to notify the Broadcasting and Retransmission Council.
The law will be less strict on Internet providers than traditional broadcasters, however. It won’t oblige them to ensure objectivity, impartiality and plurality of opinions.
The ministry received 241 comments on the amendment, one of them signed by more than 600 people who demanded that the regulations should only apply to providers whose audiences are made up of more than 30 percent of the Slovak population, thereby making life easier for small providers. The ministry rejected this, however, arguing that the regulations don’t relate to the size of the target group but to the content of the programmes.
(Source: TASR)
on Jul 16th, 2009 at 17:09
What is interesting however is the fact that the EU Directive does not foresee a regulative difference between internet and classical broadcasting but between linear and non-linear services. The Slovak interpretation will thus overregulate TV- based video on demand and underregulate internet based linear television (streaming)