Ofcom will regulate online video portals such as the BBC iPlayer and the UK version of Hulu under new European legislation.
The UK media regulator has launched a consultation on the adoption of measures set out in the EC Audio Visual Media Services Directive, the successor to Television Without Frontiers. The Directive seeks to apply a number of basic content standards to “television-like” VOD services including those carried over the open internet.
The consultation is seeking to establish which VOD services will fall within the scope of the new regulation. It will also look at how much self-regulation could be applied with the regulator taking over backstop powers. One proposal is that the Association for Television on Demand (ATVOD) take on the role of co-regulator. The organisation already runs its own self-regulatory scheme.
