The European Commission has requested 12 member states (Austria, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Finland, Hungary, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, and Slovenia) to update their broadcasting rules as a matter of urgency in order to comply with their obligations under the Audiovisual Media Service (AVMS) Directive.
The AVMS Directive replaces Television Without Frontiers and is designed to meet the challenges on the digital age. Included are new rules on TV over the internet, video on demand and mobile TV. It also allows Member States to authorise innovative advertising tools such as split-screen advertising or product placement.
States were obliged to have written the contents of the Directive into national broadcasting legislation by December 31, 2012, but to date the 12 member states have either not implemented the legislation or informed the Commission that they have done so.
If the states fail to inform the Commission of actions to implement the Directive within two months they may be referred to the EU Court of Justice.
