IRIS Special
The themes covered are of direct practical relevance and are explored with academic rigour. The particular value of the IRIS Special series lies in its international approach or the comparison of different legal systems as the case may be. Recognised as a reliable source of information, the series has a track record of supplying both the audiovisual industry and also legislators and other decision makers at national and European level with highly useful data, overviews, ideas and analyses. The European Audiovisual Observatory publishes one or two IRIS Specials annually. Depending on their theme, they each contain 50-150 pages. In many cases, background material – standard-setting legal texts for example – is included.
- All published issues are available for free in PDF format (see below).
- Print versions for publications prior to 2022, may be purchased from the Council of Europe online shop.
IRIS Special 2007 - Legal Aspects of Video on Demand
Whenever a “new” audiovisual service becomes established, questions are inevitably asked about what legal norms govern it and whether those norms take sufficient account of all legitimate needs and interests. As far as video-on-demand (VoD) is concerned, it is clear that the “Television without...
IRIS Special 2007 - The Public Service Broadcasting Culture
In the recent Report “Public service media in the information society”, commissioned by the Council of Europe, Christian S. Nissen points to a provocative argument in the vibrant discussions about public service broadcasting. He writes that public service media can be seen as a remedy for a...
IRIS Special 2006 - Broadcasters' Obligations to Invest in Cinematographic Production
This IRIS Special describes the various ways in which the television industry supports cinematographic film – whether enshrined in law or on a voluntary basis, whether direct or indirect. It considers broadcasters' investment obligations in different European countries and investigates whether...
IRIS Special 2006 - Audiovisual Media Services without Frontiers - Implementing the Rules
Working from the premise that after a revision of the TVwF Directive the rules of the two leading European instruments on broadcasting will be once more re-aligned, this publication seeks to explore the interplay between the Directive and the Convention. It will focus on monitoring and...
IRIS Special 2005 - To Have or Not to Have Must-Carry Rules
Must-carry rules are one string in the regulators' bow regarding their efforts to ensure that all viewers may enjoy a certain basic content package. The establishment of new distribution platforms for television content (mainly cable) seemed to call this aim into question. It was feared that...
IRIS Special 2005: Tomorrow's Delivery of Audiovisual Services - Legal Questions Raised by Digital Broadcasting and Mobile Reception
After taking stock of developments on the television market generally, this IRIS Special begins with a description of how digital terrestrial television has developed and the different services that have become possible as a result of digitalisation. It then goes on to look at those aspects of...
IRIS Special 2004 - Digital Television Glossary
This Digital Television Glossary was commissioned by the Observatory from the Institute of European Media Law (EMR) with a view to creating this IRIS Special and in preparation of the workshop. Concretely, we asked for a description of the functioning of digital television and – in parallel to...
IRIS Special 2004 - Political Debate and the Role of the Media - The Fragility of Free Speech
This IRIS Special examines the significant issue of whether the media should be doing what they are able to do when it comes to political debate.
IRIS Special 2004 - Regulating Access to Digital Television - Technical Bottlenecks, Vertically-integrated Markets and New Forms of Media Concentration
Every single aspect of digital television is affected by the question of access control: the compilation and preparation of content to be transported; the transmission and reception of content (encrypted or not), including the necessary technical devices; content bundling; programme selection...
IRIS Special 2003 - Co-Regulation of the Media in Europe
This publication explains co-regulation, offers current examples of its use and discusses possible areas in which it may be applied. It describes the characteristics and legal requirements of co-regulation, as well as the chances and risks associated with it.
