The new media landscape: Regulating the idiot boxes

The European Commission has proposed a modernization of the Directive 89/552/EEC, also known as the TV without Frontiers Directive (TVWF). The draft Audiovisual Media Services Directive suggests extending regulation to cover a broad range of new and emerging audiovisual media services. The proposal unleashed fierce opposition from all sectors. The most contentious issue concerns the distinction between the two types of audiovisual media services (linear and non-linear), which are distinguished from each other by the degree of user control. The Commission has failed to provide any convincing argument to prove the necessity of imposing a new regulation and the inadequacy of the current regulatory framework. This paper analyses the proposed Audiovisual Media Services Directive.