ATVOD, the UK self-regulatory body for on demand television, has introduced a new banded fee structure that significantly reduces the fees for smaller providers and caps the fees for larger operations. It follows a consultation period amid an earlier shortfall in revenues.
“We entered the consultation with a completely open mind and our decision reflects the balance and strength of arguments made by our stakeholders in response to the available options,” said ATVOD chief executive Peter Johnson. “The new tariff addresses two of the biggest concerns expressed to us about fees during our first year: the impact on smaller providers, and the impact on providers with large numbers of services”.
In all the new fee structure, which has been approved by Ofcom, reduces average fees by 5.5%. It replaces the flat rate of £2,900 that had been set in the previous year and had come in for criticism from a number of content providers.
A new concessionary rate of £100 for non-commercial service providers has been introduced, as have new concessionary rates of £150 and £200 for commercial service providers with turnover below £50,000 and £100,000 respectively.
The new three band standard tariff is based on the turnover of the service provider, with rates set at £800, £5,175, and £10,350 for the first service, and a maximum of £800 per service for further services from the same provider. Fees have been capped at an overall £25,000 for the total paid by a single provider.
