Proposals to raise the amount paid by Norwegian cablenets for the commercial channel TV2 by some 1,500% have been ruled illegal by the Cable Dispute Tribunal.
Welcoming the ruling, Svein Erik Davidsen, MD of Canal Digital Norway, said it marked an important victory for TV distributors. “We have maintained all along that the amount that TV2 is entitled to is the so-called market price. We are obviously pleased that the Cable Dispute Tribunal has ruled completely in our favour.”
In 2006, TV2 and the majority of cable TV distributors agreed on the remuneration the channel would be paid for distribution on cable TV networks. However, disagreement emerged over what should be paid in subsequent years, leading to disagreement within the cable dispute committee. The amount requested had increased from 450% to 1,539% over the three years, leading to protests from cable operators that saw no reason for such an increase.
“Nothing suggests that the level of remuneration in the years 2007, 2008 and 2009 should be changed,” said lawyer Hans Erik Johnsen of the solicitors Wiersholm, who represented Canal Digital in the case. The Tribunal said no such levels of remuneration have been established within the cable sector and that the same is true for comparable channels such as TV4.
The Tribunal ruled operators should paid NOK0.54 (€0.06443) per subscriber per month for TV2’s main channel in 2007, NOK0.56 in 2008 and NOK0.57 in 2009.
The action follows a previous case brought before the Tribunal earlier this year concerning the copyright clearing house Norwaco. Here the Tribunal decided that a 20% increase claimed by Norwaco was unreasonable. It said that no proof had been shown that any new rights had become due and that price comparisons with other platforms were not relevant at a time when viewing figures for TV2 were on the decrease.
The same arguments were brought forward by TV2 in the carriage dispute, a point not lost on Knut Børmer, director of the cable TV association Kabel Norge. “What TV2 claim is a market price is actually not, because on platforms other than cable, TV2 in most cases sets the price themselves, and there is no retransmission according to the copyright Act, but rather primary broadcasts”.
TV2’s desire to increase its rates may receive a boost from the current tender process for a commercial public service broadcaster. The recently departed culture minister Trond Giske has said that the current must carry regulations should be amended, allowing the commercial channels to set their rates at market terms.
The deadline for applications for the new licence was recently extended to December 7, with the licence itself running from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2014. The proposed location of the channel being Bergen gives a head start to TV2.
Kabel Norge argues that the proposal falls short of the USO Directive Article 31 as being non-proportional and non-transparent.
Leave a Reply