Review of Audiovisual Media Services’ Directive still impacts media pluralism in the field of advertising

Following the plenary vote yesterday, it is now confirmed that the two Cult Committee rapporteurs have a mandate to move forward with interinstitutional negotiations. Publishers of newspapers and magazines in Europe are concerned that these negotiations will start on the basis of a Parliament report on the proposal for an updated AVMS Directive that could seriously compromise media pluralism and press freedom in Europe, despite strong disagreement expressed in the different political groups.

In particular, the Parliament’s report advocates for isolated ad spots to be as admissible as any other advertisement, including during TV prime time, although this provision (Article 19) was not part of the initial European Commission proposal. Similarly, the text changes the hourly based limitation in advertising rules to a daily percentage, which will fuel advertising during prime time hours. Finally, EMMA and ENPA regret that press websites are included under the scope of the Directive although their principal purpose is not to display videos which will entail many press freedom issues.

As a result, the mandate is backing measures that are harmful to a free and economically independent press. The report adopted on 25 April, which is the basis of this mandate, supports further deregulation of the audiovisual advertising rules which neither guarantee consumer protection nor create the conditions necessary for media diversity and press freedom.

EMMA

The European Magazine Media Association, is the unique and complete representation of Europe’s magazine media, which is today enjoyed by millions of consumers on various platforms, encompassing both paper and digital formats.

www.magazinemedia.eu
ENPA

The European Newspaper Publishers’ Association (ENPA) is the largest representative body of newspaper publishers across Europe. ENPA advocates for 14 national associations across 14 European countries, and is a principal interlocutor to the EU institutions and a key driver of media policy debates in the European Union.

www.enpa.eu