The negotiators from the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council have reached agreement on new copyright legislation.
New rules will make it easier for European broadcasters to make their shows available to online audiences.
Vice-President for the Digital Single Market Andrus Ansip said: “I am very pleased we reached yet another agreement that brings us closer to a functioning Digital Single Market. The updated broadcasting rules are a big part of the puzzle. This regulation has the potential to unlock a large amount of broadcast content across borders, benefitting the 41% of Europeans who watch TV online but also the 20 million EU citizens who were born in a different EU country from the one they live in”.
While 41% of Europeans watch TV online, the number is higher among the young generation with 50% of Europeans aged 15-24 doing it at least once a week. And among Europeans aged 15-45, 19% use online broadcasting services to watch TV series and films.
In the Principle of the Country of Origin (COO): the Directive introduces the country of origin (COO) principle to facilitate the licensing of rights for certain programmes that broadcasters may wish to offer on their online services (simulcasting, catch-up services and other services that complement the main broadcast, such as previewing).
Under the directive, copyright holders will be compensated for their work.
The political agreement is expected to be confirmed by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU in the next weeks.
