Europe’s commercial broadcasters have breathed a sigh of relief after the European Parliament voted to amend “problematic language” proposed in the IMCO Committee INI Report on the Geoblocking Regulation.
The IMCO Committee had been seeking to include copyright protected works in the scope of geo-blocking regulation.
The proposals had met with fierce opposition from 600 organisations across film, cinema, TV and radio.
“We salute the decision taken today in the European Parliament,” said Grégoire Polad, Director General of ACT. “This is a strong and powerful signal sent to all legislators and particularly the European Commission. Both the European Parliament and the European Council of Ministers have now made it abundantly clear that there is no political support for any present or future inclusion of the audiovisual sector in the scope of the Geoblocking regulation. Territorial exclusivity and the practice of geoblocking are not a limiting factor but rather an enabler for strong audiovisual production, supply and offers across the European Union”