Sixth Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the application of Articles 4 and 5 of Directive 89/552/EEC "Television without Frontiers", as amended by Directive 97/36/EC, for the period 2001-2002 {SEC(2004) 1016} Text with EEA relevance
Date: 2004-07-28
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European television, application of EU law, audiovisual production, broadcasting, programmes industry, report, television

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 28.07.2004 
COM(2004) 524 final 

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SIXTH COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

on the application of Articles 4 and 5 of Directive 89/552/EEC "Television without 
Frontiers", as amended by Directive 97/36/EC, for the period 2001-2002 

{SEC(2004) 1016} 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. 

2. 

INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................ 3 

COMMISSION OPINION ON THE APPLICATION OF ARTICLES 4 AND 5 ...... 4 

2.1. 

General remarks – Application of Articles 4 and 5...................................................... 4 

2.1.1.  Articles 4 and 5 in the context of a dynamic European audiovisual landscape ........... 4 

2.1.2. 

Implementation modes and monitoring by Member States ......................................... 4 

2.1.3.  Tools of analysis and assessment................................................................................. 5 

2.2. 

2.3. 

3. 

Application of Article 4 ............................................................................................... 6 

Application of Article 5 ............................................................................................... 7 

CONCLUSIONS.......................................................................................................... 8 

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SIXTH COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

on the application of Articles 4 and 5 of Directive 89/552/EEC "Television without 
Frontiers", as amended by Directive 97/36/EC, for the period 2001-2002 

Text with EEA relevance 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

This communication, drawn up pursuant to Article 4(3) of Council Directive 89/552/EEC1 of 
3 October  1989  on  the  coordination  of  certain  provisions  laid  down  by  law,  regulation  or 
administrative  action  in  Member  States  concerning  the  pursuit  of  television  broadcasting 
activities, as amended by Directive 97/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council 
of 30 June 19972, constitutes the Commission’s sixth report on the implementation of Articles 
4  and  5  of  the  Directive3.  It  sets  out  the  Commission’s  opinion  on  the  statistical  statements 
submitted  by  the  Member  States  on  the  achievement  of  the  proportions  referred  to  under 
Articles 4 and 5 for each of the television programmes falling within their jurisdiction. Article 
4(3) of the Directive states that the Commission may take account in its opinion, in particular, 
of  progress  achieved  in  relation  to  previous  years,  the  share  of  first  broadcast  works  in  the 
programming,  the  particular  circumstances  of  new  television  broadcasters  and  the  specific 
situation of countries with a low audiovisual production capacity or restricted language area4.  

The purpose of this document is to bring the statistical statements of the Member States and 
the  Commission’s  opinion  to  the  attention  of  the  other  Member  States,  the  European 
Parliament and the Council. The reporting period (2001-2002) concerns the EU-15. The ten 
new Member States, which joined the EU on 1 May 2004, are not covered by this document. 
However,  they  will  be  included  for  the  first  time  in  the  next  application  report  for  the 
monitoring  period  2003-2004.  The  Commission  will  take  particular  care  to  ensure  that  the 
new  Member  States  can  participate  in  this  complex  exercise  and  to  meet  –  in  line  with  the 
principle  of  progressive  improvement  –  the  aims  of  the  “Television  without  Frontiers” 
Directive, particularly in respect to the proportions referred to in Articles 4 and 5.  

The  appreciation  of  the  reports  from  the  European  Free  Trade  Association  Member  States 
(EFTA) participating in the European Economic Area is done in a separate report published 
by the EFTA Secretariat.5 However, Annex 5 of the accompanying Commission staff working 
paper6 reproduces summaries of their reports accompanied by a short analysis.  

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OJ L 298, 17.10.1989. 
OJ L 202, 30.7.1997. 
Meaning the “Television without Frontiers” Directive or “the Directive”. 
These are non-exhaustive criteria. 
Annex X to the EEA Agreement regulates –with certain adaptations – the application of the Directive to 
EFTA States participating in the EEA.  
SEC (2004) 1016 – hereinafter “Commission staff working paper”. 

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This document includes two parts: 

•  Part I – Commission opinion on the application of Articles 4 and 5; 
•  Part II – Conclusions drawn from the above opinion and the Member States’ reports. 

Additional  and  detailed  information  can  be  found  in  the  eight  Annexes  of  the  Commission 
staff working paper. 

2. 

COMMISSION OPINION ON THE APPLICATION OF ARTICLES 4 AND 5 

2.1. 

General remarks – Application of Articles 4 and 5 

2.1.1.  Articles 4 and 5 in the context of a dynamic European audiovisual landscape  

The  first  general  observation  concerns  the  trend  in  the  number  of  television  channels  in 
Europe.  As  a  preliminary  point,  the  total  number  of  channels  in  the  EU-15  which  were 
concerned7  by  Articles  4  and  5  of  the  “Television  without  Frontiers”  Directive  was  around 
880 as at 1 January 2003. The comparable number of channels in the previous year (January 
2002) was around 780.8 In terms of number of channels, this represents an increase of over 
12% in a single year, reflecting the dynamism in European audiovisual supply.  

This  development  is  also  reflected  by  the  results  of  the  evaluation  of  the  Member  States’ 
reports  for  the  present  reference  period.  The  total  number  of  reported  channels  covered  by 
Articles 4 and 59 rose from 472 in 2001 to 503 in 2002.  

2.1.2. 

Implementation modes and monitoring by Member States 

The  second  general  remark  regards  the  methodology  of  Member  States  in  fulfilling  their 
reporting obligation under the Directive. Some Member States still failed to provide full and 
comprehensive  information,  particularly  with  regard  to  satellite  and/or  cable  television 
channels which were frequently omitted from national reports, e.g. Netherlands and Germany 
failed  to  report  on  a  considerable  number  of  channels  and  Italy  systematically  excluded 

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The  reporting  obligation  under  Article  4(3)  applies  to  all  transmissions  by  broadcasters  within  the 
jurisdiction of a Member State, with the following exceptions: Articles 4 and 5 do not apply to “news, 
sports events, games, advertising, teletext services and teleshopping”. Article 9 states that Articles 4 and 
5 do not apply to “television broadcasts that are intended for local audiences and do not form part of a 
national network”. Recital 29 of the Directive 97/36/EC states that “channels broadcasting entirely in a 
language other than those of the Member States should not be covered by the provisions of Articles 4 
and 5”. Article 2(6) states that the Directive 97/36/EC does not apply to broadcasts intended exclusively 
for reception in third countries, and which are not received directly or indirectly by the public in one or 
more Member States. 
These figures are based on the data published by the European Audiovisual Observatory in the 2001, 
2002  and  2003  yearbooks.  It  includes  public  service  and  private  national  channels  with  analogue 
terrestrial broadcasting licence, and cable and/or satellite and/or DTT channels. It does not include non-
European channels targeting EU Member States, channels targeting third countries and regional, local 
or territorial channels and regional or local windows on national channels. 
This  figure  was  obtained  by  determining  the  total  number  of  reported  channels  less  the  number  of 
channels which were exempted due to the nature of their programmes (entire programme made up of 
news, sports events, games, advertising, teletext services or teleshopping) and less the number of non-
operative channels. Channels for which Member States failed to communicate data relating to Article 4 
or 5 were included. 

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satellite channels from its statistical statement concerning Article 5.10 Terrestrial television, on 
the other hand, was covered comprehensively in the Member States’ reports. The Commission 
would  point  out  that  the  reporting  obligation  under  Article  4(3)  of  the  Directive  applies  to 
each of the television programmes within the jurisdiction of the Member State concerned.11 

It is also important to mention that the nature and intensity of checks often differ significantly 
between  Member  States:  daily  monitoring  of  programming,  statistical  reports,  surveys, 
sampling  and  estimates  in  some  cases.  Monitoring  may  be  carried  out  by  an  independent 
regulatory authority or, in other cases, directly by the competent governmental department. 

The  differences  in  terms  of  methodology  in  the  application  and  interpretation  of  the 
provisions of the Directive complicate the task of generating figures which reflect the exact 
state of play of the application of Articles 4 and 5. Notwithstanding these variables, the results 
presented  in  this  Communication  enable  the  trends  in  this  field  to  be  identified  and 
conclusions to be drawn as to the effectiveness of the measures adopted.12 

2.1.3.  Tools of analysis and assessment 

Under  Article  4(3)  of  the  “Television  without  Frontiers”  Directive,  the  Commission  is 
responsible for ensuring the application of Articles 4 and 5 in accordance with the provisions 
of the Treaty. To assist the Member States with their monitoring responsibilities, guidelines 
drawn  up  by  the  Contact  Committee13  have  been  suggested  for  the  monitoring  of  the 
implementation of Articles 4 and 5. These guidelines are intended to support Member States 
in  their  reporting  obligation  under  Article  4(3)  by  clarifying  certain  definitions  in  order  to 
avoid differences in interpretations.  

In addition, a series of indicators14 has been developed to provide an objective analysis grid in 
order  to  better  assess  the  statistical  statements  submitted  by  Member  States.  These 
performance indicators help to evaluate the progress made in applying Articles 4 and 5 both at 
Community  and  at  national  level.  Subject  to  the  option  taken  by  some  Member  States 
pursuant to Article 3(1) of the “Television without Frontiers” Directive of establishing more 
detailed or stricter rules in the areas covered by the Directive15, these indicators help to give 
an overview of the implementation and application of Articles 4 and 5. 

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The report “exempted” satellite channels from the reporting obligation under Article 5 with reference to 
national  legislation.  The  Commission  is  currently  examining  this  case  as  to  its  conformity  with 
Community law. 
The  second  paragraph  of  Article  4(3)  states  that  “[the]  report  shall  in  particular  include  a  statistical 
statement on the achievement of the proportion referred to in [Article 4] and Article 5 for each of the 
television  programmes  falling  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Member  State  concerned,  the  reasons,  in 
each  case,  for  the  failure  to  attain  that  proportion  and  the  measures  adopted  or  envisaged  in  order  to 
achieve it.” 
In this respect there should be mention of the independent “Impact Study of Measures Concerning the 
Promotion of Distribution and Production of TV Programmes Provided for Under Article 25(a) of the 
“Television without Frontiers” Directive which is currently in progress and the results of which are to 
be presented by the end of 2004. 
http://europa.eu.int/comm/avpolicy/regul/twf/art45/controle45_en.pdf  
Cf. Annex 1 of the Commission staff working paper. 
In  practice,  a  majority  of  Member  States  have  made  use  of  this  option  (e.g.  exclusion  of  studio 
productions  in  Italy,  positive  definition  of  works  to  be  included  in  Germany).  Six  Member  States 
(E,  F, I,  NL,  SF,  UK)  apply  higher  percentage  requirements  than  those contained  in  the  Directive on 
some or all of their broadcasters (e.g. 60% requirement for transmission of European works in France, 
25% allocation to works by independent producers in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, etc.). 

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This  is  the  background  against  which  the  opinion  set  out  in  this  document  is  presented.  It 
identifies  general  trends  in  the  application  of  the  measures  of  promotion  of  distribution  and 
production of European television programmes both at Community level and in the individual 
Member States concerned for the period 2001-2002.  

2.2. 

Application of Article 4 

This  part  analyses  the  achievement  of  the  proportion  referred  to  under  Article  4  of  the 
“Television without Frontiers” Directive16.  

The  average  transmission  time  reserved  for  European  works  by  channels  with  the  highest 
viewing  figures17  in  all  Member  States  was  66.95%  in  2001  and  66.10%  in  2002, 
representing  a  0.85  point  decrease.  This  slight  decrease  must,  however,  be  seen  against  an 
overall  mid-term  increase  of  the  proportion  in  the  scheduling  of  European  works. 
Compared with the previous reference period (60.68% in 1999 and 62.18% in 2000) there 
was  a  5.42  point  increase  over  four  years.  Thus,  the  medium-term  trend  was  upward 
overall.18 Depending on the Member State in question, the average transmission time varied 
between  46.98%  (Portugal)  and  87%  (Netherlands)  in  2001  and  between  48.67%  (Ireland) 
and 80% (Luxemburg) in 2002. The trend in terms of growth of average transmission time of 
European works over the reference period (2001-2002) was positive in eight Member States, 
stable in one and negative in six. The overall trend was therefore upward over the reference 
period.  

As for the total  number of  channels which achieved or  exceeded the majority  proportion of 
Article  4  (European  works)  over  the  reference  period,  the  average  compliance  rate  for  all 
channels in all Member States was 69.93% in 2001 and 74.53% in 2002, representing a 4.60 
point  increase  over  the  reference  period.  Compared  with  the  previous  reference  period 
(68.58% in 1999 and 72.50% in 2000) there was a 5.95 point increase over a period of four 
years (1999-2002). This is a remarkable figure given the increase in the number of channels, 
essentially special-interest channels, over the same period. The compliance rates for all types 
of  channels  varied  between  38%  (Sweden)  and  100%  (Finland)  in  2001  and  between  43% 
(Sweden) and 100% (Finland) in 2002. The compliance rate, in terms of number of channels 
of all types, rose in nine Member States, was stable in five and fell in one.  

These generally positive results in relation to the application of Article 4 at Community level 
– most indicators with few exceptions showing an increase within the reference period (2001-
2002) and even more in comparison with the previous reference period (1999-2001) – suggest 
that  the  objectives  of  the  “Television  without  frontiers”  Directive  are  being  achieved  at 
Community level with regard to the scheduling of European works. A summary table19 shows 
the situation relating to the application of Article 4 across the Community over the reference 
period (2001-2002). 

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Article 4(1) lays down that “Member States shall ensure where practicable and by appropriate means, 
that broadcasters reserve for European works, within the meaning of Article 6, a majority proportion of 
their transmission time excluding the time appointed to news, sports events, games, advertising, teletext 
services and teleshopping.” 
The  data  on  the  proportion  of  the  average  transmission  time  covers  the  channels  with  over  3% 
audience share. 
Cf.  Table  below  on  page  9  showing  the  development  of  the  main  indicators  in  the  EU-15  over  four 
years (1999-2002). 
Cf. Table 1 in Annex 2 of the Commission staff working paper. 

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2.3. 

Application of Article 5 

This  part  analyses  the  achievement  of  the  proportions  referred  to  under  Article  5  of  the 
“Television without Frontiers” Directive20. 

As  already  pointed  out  above  with  regard  to  methodology,  some  Member  States  did  not 
provide comprehensive information, particularly for satellite channels in respect to Article 5. 
Certain Member States completely omitted the relevant data in their reports, for example by 
“exempting”  the  channels  concerned.21  Furthermore,  for  some  channels  no  data  on  the 
adequate proportion of recent European works were provided.  

In  this  connection,  the  Commission  would  point  out  that  the  obligations  referred  to  under 
Article 4(3) apply to each of the television programmes falling within the jurisdiction of the 
Member  State  concerned.  It  is  the  responsibility  of  each  Member  State  to  provide  a 
comprehensive list of all the channels covered by Article 5 of the Directive and to supply full 
data on them. Member States are  not empowered to  provide for general  “exemptions”  from 
obligations under the Directive except for cases specified by the Directive.7 above 

The  results  presented  below  must  be  examined  bearing  in  mind  that  channels  for  which  no 
data  had  been  communicated  were  not  considered  in  the  calculation  of  the  various 
performance  indicators,  e.g.  the  (average)  transmission  time  of  European  works  or  the 
compliance rate.22 

The first outcome of the assessment of the Member States’ reports in relation to the required 
minimum  proportion  of  10%  under  Article  5  concerns  the  average  transmission  time  or, 
depending  on  the  choice  made  by  the  Member  State  when  transposing  the  Directive,  the 
average programming budget23 reserved for European works by independent24 producers: the 
average proportion of works by independent producers broadcast by all European channels 
in  all  Member  States  was  37.75%  in  2001  and  34.03%  in  2002,  representing  a  3.72  point 
decrease over the reference period. Compared with the previous reference period (37.51% 
in 1999 and 40.47% in 2001), there was a 3.48 point decrease over four years. The average 
proportion reserved for this type of work varied, depending on the Member State concerned, 
between  21.33%  (Italy)  and  68.92%  (Netherlands)  in  2001  and  18.78%  (Italy)  and  61.42% 
(Austria) in 2002. Over the reference period, there was an increase in the average proportion 
of European works by independent producers in six Member States and a decrease in nine. 

The second finding concerns the total number of channels of all types achieving or exceeding 
the minimum proportion of 10% of European works by independent producers: the average 

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Article 5 lays down that “Member States shall ensure, where practicable and by appropriate means, that 
broadcasters  reserve  at  least  10%  of  their  transmission  time,  excluding  the  time  appointed  to  news, 
sports events, games, advertising, teletext services and teleshopping, or alternately, at the discretion of 
the Member State, at least 10% of their programming budget, for European works created by producers 
who are independent of broadcasters.” 
Italy is the most striking example in this respect. 
Cf. indicator 1 and 2 in Annex 1 of the Commission staff working paper. 
In  practice,  only  terrestrial  channels  and  four  cable  and  satellite  channels  under  French  jurisdiction 
made use of this option. 
Within the meaning of recital 31 of the Directive 97/36/EC of 30 June 1997, which provides that (non-
exhaustive criteria): “(…) Member States, in defining the notion of “independent producer”, should take 
appropriate  account  of  criteria  such  as  the  ownership  of  the  production  company,  the  amount  of 
programmes supplied to the same broadcaster and the ownership of secondary rights”. 

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compliance  rate  for  channels  in  all  Member  States  was  90.67%  in  2001  and  89.13%  in 
2002, representing a slight decrease of 1.54 points over the reference period. Compared with 
the previous reference period (85.02% in 1999 and 84.81% in 2000) there was a 4.11 point 
increase  over  four  years.  The  average  compliance  rate  for  channels  in  each  Member  State 
ranged  from  72%  (Greece)  to  100%  (Ireland,  Netherlands,  Austria,  Finland  and  Sweden)  in 
2001  and  from  71%  (Sweden)  to  100%  (Denmark,  France,  Ireland,  Austria  and  Finland)  in 
2002.  The  average  compliance  rate  rose  in  six  Member  States,  was  stable  in  four  (three  at 
100%) and fell in five. 

The  third  result  refers  to  the  average  share  allocated  at  Community  level  to  recent 
European works by independent producers, i.e. works broadcast within five years of their 
production: the average share, for channels in all Member States, allocated to recent European 
works by independent producers was 61.78%  in 2001  and 61.96% in  2002, representing a 
slight 0.18 point increase over the reference period; these are percentage figures in relation to 
all (recent or not recent) European works made by independent producers. Compared with the 
previous  reference  period  (53.80%  in  1999  and  55.71%  in  2000)  there  was  a  8.16  point 
increase over four years; consequently, in a mid-term perspective considerable progress had 
been achieved in relation to the development of works by independent producers. The average 
share  allocated  to  this  type  of  work  varied,  according  to  Member  State,  between  22.72% 
(Spain) and 98.75% (Ireland) in 2001 and 23.75% (Spain) and 98.75% (Ireland) in 2002. In 
seven  Member  States  there  was  a  positive  growth  in  the  average  allocation  of  this  type  of 
work, in one it was stable and in seven there was a decrease. In relation to the total qualifying 
transmission time, recent works by independent producers were lying constantly above 20% 
with a slight increase of 0.92% points over four years.  

A summary table25 gives an overview of the application of Article 5 at Community level over 
the period concerned (2001-2002). 

3. 

CONCLUSIONS 

The  principal  conclusions  which  can  be  drawn  from  the  Member  States’  reports  on  the 
application  of  Articles  4  and  5  for  the  period  2001-2002  are  presented  below.  A  detailed 
analysis of the application of Articles 4 and 5 in each Member State can be found in Annex 3 
of  the  Commission  staff  working  paper  and  summaries  of  the  Member  States’  reports  are 
enclosed in Annex 4. 

The  figures  on  the  average  transmission  time  for  the  EU-15  indicate  that  for  the  first  time 
there  has  been  no  progress  at  Community  level  in  the  scheduling  of  European  works 
(Article  4).  However,  notwithstanding  a  slight  decrease  (-0.85  points)  over  the  present 
reference  period  (2001-2002),  there  was  a  more  apparent  increase  of  5.42  points  over  four 
years (1999-2002) which demonstrates a stabilisation in the scheduling of European works 
at  almost  2/3  of  total  qualifying  transmission  time.  Consequently,  from  a  mid-term 
perspective  there  has  been  an  overall  satisfactory  application  of  Article  4  of  the 
“Television without Frontiers” Directive. 

As regards the application of Article 5, the trend is less positive. For the first time, there was 
– looking at EU-average figures – a decrease both within the present reference period (-3.70 

25 

Cf. Table 2 in Annex 2 of the Commission staff working paper 

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points)  and  also  compared  with  the  previous  reference  period  (-3.46  points).  However,  the 
EU-average  transmissions of European works by independent producers were constantly at 
levels  which  are  well  above  the  minimum  proportion  of  10%  set  by  the  Directive.  In 
addition,  there  were  relatively  high  levels  of  transmissions  of  recent  European  works  by 
independent  producers26.  In  relation  to  European  works  by  independent  producers  overall 
(recent  or  not),  recent  works  were  even  increasing.  In  this  perspective,  the  positive 
development over the reference period continued the positive trend of the previous reference 
period (1999-2001). The overall assessment is therefore that the objectives of the Article 5 of 
the  “Television  without  Frontiers”  Directive  have  broadly  been  met.  The  application  of 
Article  5  in  respect  to  the  scheduling  of  recent  European  works  made  by  independent 
producers was generally satisfactory.  

The summary table at the end of this report shows the development of the main performance 
indicators in the EU-15 (EU-average transmissions of European works, of European works by 
independent producers and of recent European works made by independent producers) over a 
period of four years (1999 – 2002). 

The national reports reflect – with a few exceptions – an overall satisfactory application 
by the Member States of the provisions of Article 4 (European works) over the reference 
period (2001-2002). Eight Member States increased the average majority proportion over the 
reference  period.  Also,  from  a  mid-term  perspective,  in  relation  to  the  previous  reference 
period  (1999-2000),  for  the  majority  of  Member  States  there  has  been,  in  line  with  the 
principle  of  progressive  improvement,  constant  progress  at  national  level.  Nine  Member 
States increased the average majority proportion in relation to 1999. 

Concerning Article 5 (European works created by independent producers), for the majority 
of  Member  States  the  results  are  less  positive.  Only  six  Member  States  increased  the 
minimum  proportion  over  the  reference  period,  while  there  was  a  negative  trend  in  nine 
Member  States.  Nor  was  there  any  major  improvement  at  national  level  compared  with  the 
previous reference period. Although an improvement was noted in seven Member States, in 
eight  others  there  was  a  fall  in  relation  to  the  proportions  in  1999.  This  trend  is  however 
alleviated  by  two  aspects.  First,  the  decreases  concerning  Article  5  at  national  level  were 
comparatively  moderate  in  terms  of  percentage  points27.  Second,  as  already  pointed  out 
above,  all  in  all,  the  average  transmissions  of  European  works  by  independent  producers 
stabilized  over  four  years  at  above  1/3  of  total  qualifying  transmission  time.28  Although 
Article 5 stipulates only a “minimum” threshold this is nevertheless a notable proportion. 

As a consequence, detailed examination of the Member States’ reports reveals, in a context of 
a general increase in the number of channels, stability in the broadcasting of European works, 
including  those  –  to  a  lesser  extent  –  by  independent  producers,  particularly  in  the  case  of 
recent works. 

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Recent  European  works  by  independent  producers  were  over  four  years  constantly  above  1/5  of  total 
qualifying  transmission  time  which  corresponds  approximately  to  2/3  of  works  by  independent 
producers. 
With  the  exception  of  the  Netherlands  and  Portugal,  all  decreases  were  ranging  below  3%  for  the 
present reference period. 
This  corresponds  to  more  than  1/2  of  European  works  overall  (whether  or  not  by  independent 
producers). 

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This generally positive situation must, however, be qualified given that certain Member States 
did  not  communicate  data  on  a  considerable  number  of  channels  which  are  covered  by 
Articles 4 and 5. In this respect, the Commission would remind the Member States of the need 
for  increased  controls  and  monitoring  of  the  channels  concerned  and  the  importance  of 
ensuring – for reasons of fair competition – that these channels comply with their obligation 
under  national  law  to  communicate  the  requested  data  as  other  channels  do.  In  addition, 
Member  States  should  ensure  that  the  channels  concerned  achieve  –  where  practicable  and 
appropriate  –  the  proportions  of  transmission  time  laid  down  by  Articles  4  and  5  of  the 
“Television  without  Frontiers”  Directive,  in  line  with  the  principle  of  progressive 
improvement. 

In practice, the reasons given for the instances of non-compliance29 were often combined in 
Member States’ reports. Moreover, they did not differ notably from one Member State to the 
other or compared with the reasons given for the previous reference periods. The channels in 
question are often the same in the various Member States concerned. 

29 

The most frequent reasons were the following: Groups of channels belonging to the same broadcaster 
meet,  if  taken  together,  the  majority  proportion  but  not  individually;  special-interest  nature  of  the 
channels’ programmes and progress achieved; the recent nature of the channel; subsidiaries of non-EU 
companies.  

EN 

10 

   EN 

 
                                                 
In conclusion, the evaluation of the findings presented above suggests that the objectives of 
Article 4 and 5 of the “Television without Frontiers” Directive have been achieved over the 
reference  period  (2001-2002)  and  also  compared  with  the  previous  reference  period 
(1999-2000).  

Development of main indicators in the EU-15 
(1999-2002)

)
e
m

i
t

i

i

n
o
s
s
m
s
n
a
r
t
g
n
y
f
i
l

i

a
u
q

l

a
t
o
t

f
o
%

(
s
n
o
i
t
r
o
p
o
r
p

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

60,68%

62,18%

53,80%

37,51%

55,71%

40,47%

66,95%

66,10%

61,78%

61,96%

37,75%

34,03%

20,18%

22,55%

23,32%

21,10%

EW
IP
RW (% of IP)
RW 

1999

2000

2001

2002

EW 

IP 

European works (in relation to total qualifying transmission time) 
European works made by independent producers (in relation to total qualifying transmission time30) 

RW (% of IP) 
independent producers) 

Recent  European  works  by  independent  producers  (in  relation  to  European  works  by 

RW 

Recent European works by independent producers (in relation to total qualifying transmission time). 

30 

Or,  depending  on  the  choice  made  by  the  Member  State  when  transposing  the  Directive,  the  average 
programming budget reserved for European works by independent producers. 

EN 

11 

   EN