What are the challenges of licensing VOD services, IPTV, OTT and satellite services in our brave new digital world?

Find out by joining us in Athens this September, where the European Audiovisual Observatory (part of the Council of Europe) is organising a public conference on licensing procedures concerning audiovisual media services. This conference is set in the context of the almost finalised revision of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD), the main European legal text covering this field. Our event takes place on Tuesday 25 September from 9.00 – 13.30 at the premises of the Ministry of Digital Policy, Telecommunications and Media (11, Fragoudi str. and Al. Pandou, 10163, Kallithea, Athens).

The conference is jointly organised by the Observatory, the Greek Ministry of Digital Policy, Telecommunications and Media and the National Council for Radio and Television of Greece (the Greek regulatory authority). All media professionals, journalists, and academics are welcome to attend – so register free of charge here. Conference languages are English and Greek. Full programme here.

• It will be opened by Greek Minister of Digital Policy, Telecommunications and Media, Nikos Pappas, Rodolfos Moronis, Vice President of the Greek National Council for Radio and Television and Lefteris Kretsos, General Secretary for Media and Communication, Ministry of Digital Policy, Telecommunications and Media.
• The European Audiovisual Observatory will do the scene setting for this conference by providing its latest data on market trends in audiovisual media services, presented by Gilles Fontaine, Head of the organisation’s Department for Market Information.
• A new report mapping the licensing systems for AV services in 28 EU countries will be presented by Maja Cappello, Head of the Observatory’s Department for Legal Information.
• The state of the art of the AVMSD revision will come straight from Anna Herold, Head of the European Commission’s Division on Audiovisual and Media Services Policy.
• The round table following this contextual overview will zoom in on three case studies: Austria, Ireland, and the Netherlands. National representatives from these countries will illustrate how and for what reasons services provided via IPTV, VOD, OTT, and satellite as well as non-profit audiovisual media services are – or are not – subject to licensing or authorisation/notification procedures. In addition to exploring these examples, the panellists will discuss the potential impact that the revised AVMS Directive will have on the obligations on the audiovisual services provided in their respective countries. Jean-François Furnémont, contributing author to the Observatory’s mapping on licensing procedures, will further enrich this exchange with additional information on other countries.

Susanne Nikoltchev, the Observatory’s Executive Director, said she was looking forward to carefully treading “the shifting sands of licensing in Europe, accompanied by some sure pathfinders and the Observatory’s mapping study which can provide some useful pointers…”

Link to our conference page here
Register free of charge here
Full programme here-English
Full programme here-Greek