Earlier this week, the UK’s House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee published its report titled “Public Service Broadcasting: As Vital As Ever“, following its consultation on the impact of Subscription Video-On-Demand (SVOD) services on the UK’s public service broadcasters (PSBs) such as the BBC, Channel 3, Channel 4 and Channel 5. Amongst other aspects, … Read more
The UK Gambling Commission (“UKGC“) has clarified that video game ‘loot boxes’ and the purchasing of mystery in-game content do not fall within the meaning of ‘gambling’ under current UK legislation. Read more
HSF’s Consumer sector team (including Hayley Brady and James Balfour from our Digital TMT and Sourcing group, alongside members of our IP group) have recently produced a feature article in PLC Magazine on Challenges in the Consumer Sector. This is the first in a series of three articles examining the current issues facing the sector. … Read more
As outlined in our blog post on the implementation of the AVMS directive, legislative amendments to the AVMSD were published in the EU Official Journal and entered into force on 19 December 2018 following lengthy negotiations. The reform seeks to modernise the AVMSD to reflect market consumption and technological changes, largely arising from the merging … Read more
In light of the prevalence of global on-demand and internet content services (such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and YouTube), Ofcom has today announced a range of measures to ensure that the Public Service Broadcasters (PSBs) in the UK remain easy to find on TV guides, there is high quality content for children and teenagers, and … Read more
There is no doubt that the likelihood of a “no-deal” Brexit continues to grow. Against this backdrop, the UK Government has issued a Consultation Document setting out its proposed approach to implementing legislative amendments to the EU’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive (“AVMSD“) into domestic law to modernise the framework for a digital age. Despite the … Read more
The House of Lords Select Committee on Communications has published a report recommending a new approach to, and comprehensive and holistic strategy for, regulating the digital environment. Unsurprisingly the report concludes that the “digital world has not kept pace with its role in our lives” and, in particular, it calls for the establishment of a … Read more
On 26 March 2019, the European Parliament voted in favour of the new EU Copyright Directive (the “Directive”) marking the end of lengthy negotiations and delays. The aim of the Directive is to enhance the position of rights’ holders in relation to the use of their material on the internet but, in particular, Articles 11 … Read more
In response to the rising popularity of video on-demand services, the House of Lords Select Committee on Communications (“Committee“) has launched an inquiry into the future of public service broadcasting. The Committee notes that public service broadcasters (PSBs) such as the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 face mounting challenges in an age where conventional TV … Read more
