Council’s general approach on the draft Audiovisual Media Services (AVMS) Directive raises concerns for media pluralism

Press publishers deeply regret that Member States have given up the existing hourly-based limit for TV advertising.

Publishers of newspapers and magazines in Europe are concerned that the Council’s general approach on the proposal for an updated AVMS Directive could seriously undermine media pluralism and press freedom in Europe.

First of all, the Council text supports an unprecedented deregulation of the audiovisual advertising market, which is probably neither what consumers want nor certainly what the objective of maintaining a vibrant and pluralistic media landscape requires.

Despite repeated calls to avoid reopening the existing hourly-based time restriction for TV audiovisual commercial communications (Article 23), Member States in the Council significantly moved away from such a rule and, as a result, would create a highly insecure situation for the press sector on the advertising market. In that context, EMMA and ENPA urge Member States to, at the very least, not go further in terms of deregulation and, in particular, firmly oppose to the Parliament’s proposal to make isolated ad spots as admissible as any other advertisements.

ENPA is an international non-profit organisation representing publishers of newspaper and news media on all platforms. ENPA is working on a number of areas of European policy and legislation which are essential for the effective day-to-day running of operations of local, regional and national newspapers. In a rapidly changing media environment, ENPA supports publishers with the aim of achieving a successful and sustainable future for independent news media in Europe. For more information: www.enpa.eu

EMMA, the European Magazine Media Association, is the unique and complete representation of Europe’s magazine media, which is today enjoyed by millions of consumers on various platforms, encompassing both paper and digital formats. EMMA represents 15.000 publishing houses, publishing 50.000 magazine titles across Europe in print and digital. For more information, visit www.magazinemedia.eu

For further information contact:

Max von Abendroth 
Executive Director, EMMA

max.abendroth@magazinemedia.eu

+32 2 536 06 04