Lewis Silkin are most popular: <\/p>\n
\n within Cannabis & Hemp topic(s)
\n in United Kingdom
<\/p>\n
The Media Act 2024 promised a whole raft of new measures,
In brief:<\/p>\n
Diving into these in a little more detail:<\/p>\n Video-on-demand services \u2013 content and
As video-on-demand (VoD) services have grown in popularity, the
The UK government has confirmed<\/a> that services which have more than
From 1 April, Ofcom will consult on the proposed VoD Code, which
Statutory sanctions for breach of the VoD Code will include
Electronic programme guides<\/p>\n The government has published a statement<\/a> on extending regulation to
There are currently only four providers of regulated EPGs
It’s important to note that the regulation of EPGs not only
Connected TVs<\/p>\n The Media Act has also made changes aimed at ensuring more
Smart speakers<\/p>\n Listening habits have also changed dramatically. The Media Act
Conclusion<\/p>\n The landscape is complex and there’s a lot going on! If you
The content of this article is intended to provide a general
\nprincipally to ensure outdated regulation is updated to reflect
\ntoday’s real world and there is more consistency regardless of
\nhow people are accessing content. Implementation of these measures
\nis now beginning in earnest, and Ofcom has recently issued a
\nhelpful update<\/a> on its latest action. With other
\nrelated proposals also coming from the UK government, it’s
\nuseful to distill where we’re at.<\/p>\n
\nthe draft VoD Code which will be similar to
\nthe existing Broadcasting Code, but will apply to ‘Tier 1’
\nvideo-on-demand (VoD) services, and the related consultation is
\nexpected to be published on 1 April.
\n
\nthe new threshold for designation as a ‘Tier 1’
\nvideo-on-demand services has been confirmed at 50,000
\naverage monthly users.
\n
\nthe government has plans to extend the list of
\n‘regulated electronic programme guides’
\n(EPGs) \u2013 this will have significance for many
\nservices\/channels found on the currently unregulated EPGs of
\npopular linear streaming platforms. If the proposals are
\nimplemented, as well as the identified EPGs becoming subject to
\nregulation, the channels\/services on them will also be subject to
\nthe Broadcasting Code, many for the first time.
\n
\nOfcom has set out its plans for new prominence rules for
\nfinding public service broadcasters (PSBs) on connected
\nTVs, with final codes and guidance coming later this
\nyear.
\n
\nnew regulation of radio selection services on voice-activated
\nplatforms (such as smart speakers) has been
\noutlined, with recommendations as to which platforms will be
\ndesignated now published and a draft Code of Practice expected
\nshortly.
<\/p>\n
\naccessibility<\/p>\n
\nMedia Act introduced a new framework to help to protect audiences
\nfrom harmful content. While UK-based on-demand services have been
\nregulated since 2010, the regime has been narrower than that for
\ntraditional linear broadcast channels under the Broadcasting Code.
\nThe new VoD Code will apply to the most popular VoD services in the
\nUK, adapting the Broadcasting Code rules to make sure that they are
\nsuitable for on-demand services.<\/p>\n
\n500,000 average monthly users in the UK will be in scope of the new
\nrules. This will mean that Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+,
\nITVX and Channel 4 On Demand will be subject to the VoD Code.<\/p>\n
\nwill require accurate and impartial news reporting and protection
\nagainst harmful content. Also in spring 2026, Ofcom will publish a
\ndraft of the accessibility code requiring Tier 1 VoD platforms to
\nensure that 80% of catalogue content is subtitled, 10% is
\naudio-described, and 5% is signed.<\/p>\n
\nfinancial penalties with a maximum fine per breach of a rule will
\nbe \u00a3250,000 or 5% of qualifying revenue.<\/p>\n
\nelectronic programme guides (EPGs) not currently within scope of
\nEPG regulation and that are typically delivered over the internet.
\nRegulated EPGs have obligations to make sure that the channels
\ndisplayed on their listings are properly licensed, and that
\nlistings are allocated on a fair and non-discriminatory (FRAND)
\nbasis. Regulated EPGs must also ensure prominence of PSB channels
\nand comply with accessibility requirements.<\/p>\n
\n(Everyone TV, Sky, Virgin Media, and YouView). The government plans
\nto introduce secondary legislation, firstly to regulate additional
\nEPGs of these providers, and then to regulate additional popular
\nand mainstream unregulated EPGs.<\/p>\n
\nhas an impact on the providers of those EPGs, but on the
\nchannels\/services listed on them. This is of particular
\nsignificance for smaller and niche channels that are often found on
\nEPGs of these streaming services, but not on the traditional
\nbroadcast EPGs. If the EPGs on which they’re listed become
\nregulated, these channels will also be required to hold an
\nappropriate Ofcom licence and will become subject to the
\nBroadcasting Code (that is, they’ll be treated in the same way
\nas traditional linear broadcast channels).<\/p>\n
\nconsistency, regardless of how consumers access programming.
\nConnected TVs and their “Television Selection Services”
\n(not to be confused with EPGs) are caught by new rules to make PSB
\ncontent prominent and easily discoverable on connected TVs, and to
\nensure accessibility for those with sight and hearing impairments.
\nThe PSBs were invited to make applications to Ofcom about which of
\ntheir internet ‘players’ and apps should be protected by
\nthe regime, and this will be confirmed in due course. In terms of
\nthe platforms which will need to give those PSB players\/apps
\nprominence and comply with the accessibility rules, Ofcom has said
\nthat a platform must have at least 700,000 active users to be
\ndesignated. It has said that 14 will be designated, including those
\nof Samsung, Apple and Freely. As part of last year’s
\nconsultation on the new rules, Ofcom issued a draft code of
\npractice and guidance for connected TV providers. Final versions of
\nthese will be published later this year.<\/p>\n
\nbrings voice-activated platforms, such as smart speakers into
\nregulation for the first time, requiring that they must carry
\ninternet radio services which correspond to UK broadcast radio
\nstations, and ensure that they play by giving spoken commands.
\nOfcom has now published its final recommendations<\/a> that Amazon’s Alexa,
\nGoogle Assistant, and Apple’s Siri should be designated under
\nthe new regulations for voice-activated platforms. It now plans to
\nconsult on a new draft Code of Practice for the designated
\nplatforms about how they can comply with their new duties.<\/p>\n
\nneed help navigating the rules, please contact the authors.<\/p>\n
\nguide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
\nabout your specific circumstances.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lewis Silkin are most popular:
within Cannabis & Hemp topic(s)
in United Kingdom
The Media Act 2024…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15222,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[59,57,58,50,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-494450","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-kingdom","8":"tag-gb","9":"tag-great-britain","10":"tag-greatbritain","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=494450"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494450\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=494450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=494450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=494450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}