REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS First Report on the Application of Articles 13, 16 and 17 of Directive 2010/13/EU for the period 2009-2010 Promotion of European works in EU scheduled and on-demand audiovisual media services
Date: 2012-09-24
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European audiovisual area, European television, audiovisual production, cultural promotion

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 24.9.2012  
COM(2012) 522 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE 
COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE 
COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

First Report on the Application of Articles 13, 16 and 17 of Directive 2010/13/EU for the 
period 2009-2010 

Promotion of European works in EU scheduled and on-demand audiovisual media 
services 

{SWD(2012) 269 final} 

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REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE 
COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE 
COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

First Report on the Application of Articles 13, 16 and 17 of Directive 2010/13/EU for the 
period 2009-2010 

Promotion of European works in EU scheduled and on-demand audiovisual media 
services 

I. INTRODUCTION 

This report, composed of two parts, is drawn up pursuant to Article 13(3) and Article 16(3) of 
Directive 2010/13/EU (hereinafter referred to as ‘the AVMS Directive’) 1. 

This  is  the  Commission’s  first  report  on  the  application  of  Article  13,  concerning  the 
promotion  of  European  works  in  EU  on-demand  services,  since  the  adoption  of  the  AVMS 
Directive, and it covers the period 2009-2010. Pursuant to Article 13 the report is based both 
on  the  data  which  had  to  be  provided  by  the  Member  States  by  December  2011  and  on  an 
independent study which was conducted in 20112 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Study’). The 
next report on the application of Article 13 is due within four years. 

This document also contains a report on the application of Articles 16 and 173 of the AVMS 
Directive on the promotion of European works and independent productions in EU television 
services for the period 2009-2010. This report is biennial. 

Unlike  previous  reports  on  the  former  Articles  4  and  5  of  Directive  89/552/CE  ("the 
Television  without  Frontiers"  Directive)4,  this  report  does  not  cover  the  EEA  countries5
because  of  the  delay  in  transposing  the  AVMS  Directive  into  the  EEA  ‘acquis’.  Therefore 
these countries were not invited to submit their data for this report. 

II REPORTS 

1. COMMISSION REPORT ON THE APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 13 

1.1. General remarks 

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Directive  2010/13/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  10  March  2010  on  the 
coordination  of  certain  provisions  laid  down  by  law,  regulation  or  administrative  action  in  Member 
States concerning the provision of audiovisual media services (Audiovisual Media Services Directive). 
This codified version replaces Directive 89/552/EEC as amended by Directive 97/36/EC and Directive 
2007/65/EC. 
Study available on the following website: 
http://ec.europa.eu/avpolicy/info_centre/library/studies/index_en.htm#promot. 
Former Articles 4 and 5 of Directive 89/552/EEC. 
Council Directive 89/552/EEC 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 (JO L 298 of 17.10.1989, p.23). 
Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein. 

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The  revision  of  Directive  89/552/EEC  in  response  to  convergence  of  all  audiovisual  media 
enlarged its scope to include non-linear services. The AVMS Directive states that on-demand 
services shall also promote European works and cultural diversity. As in the case of Articles 
16 and 17, Article 13 is designed to meet both an economic and cultural objective, aiming at 
strengthening  the  European  audiovisual  industry.  Member  States  are  required  to  ensure  that 
on-demand  services  falling  under  their  jurisdiction  promote,  where  practicable  and  by 
appropriate  means,  the  production  of  and  access  to  European  works.  Given  the  nascent  and 
specific nature of on-demand services, Article 13 is flexible as to the methods to be used for 
promoting  European  works.  Article  13(1)  provides  examples  of  means  of  such  promotion: 
financial contribution to the production and rights acquisition of European works, or the share 
and/or prominence of European works in the catalogues offered by the service providers. 

The promotion and accessibility of European programming are among the issues raised in the 
context of the emergence of connected devices and convergence phenomenon. For a number 
of years already we have seen audiovisual content distributed and consumed via the Internet. 
This  can  include  content  which  reaches  viewers  outside  of  the  influence  of  cable  operators, 
Internet Service Providers, or broadcasters. With the emergence of TV sets and set-top boxes 
with added Internet connectivity and the increasing use of tablet computers and smartphones, 
convergence is an ever growing part of daily reality. 

1.1.1. Article 13 in the context of the European on-demand sector 

During  the  reference  period  the  state  of  development  of  the  on-demand  service  market  was 
very uneven in the EU. 

According to the above-mentioned Study, the number of on-demand services was estimated at 
435 in 20096. Over a quarter of them were catch-up TV services and the predominant delivery 
system  was  internet,  followed  by  IPTV.  France  had  the  highest  number  of  on-demand 
services available in 2009 (73 services), followed by the UK (66) and Germany (47). In the 
majority of Member States the number of on-demand services was between10 and 20. Most 
of  them  were  freely  available,  without  any  subscription.  They  were  generally  advertising-
funded or financed through public funding. 

As explained below under 1.1.2., not all national reports provided information on on-demand 
services.  The  14  national  reports  with  data  show  a  very  divergent  state  of  market 
development.  Five  Member  States7  reported  a  total  number  of  on-demand  services  greater 
than 10 in 2010. The highest numbers could be found in the UK (82) and Slovakia (36), the 
lowest  ones  in  Ireland  and  Spain  (3),  Belgium’s  French  Community  (2)  and  Austria  (1). 
Cyprus had no on-demand services. 

The breakdown of on-demand services8 also varies greatly from one Member State to another 
and  it  is  difficult  to  detect  a  trend  concerning  the  preferred  type  of  service:  six  Member 

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This figure is provided for EU-30, including the EEA countries. 
Belgium (Flemish Community), the Czech Republic, Denmark, Slovakia and the UK. 
The questionnaire sent by the Commission to the Members States distinguished between catch-up TV 
services, VOD and mixed services (VOD/catch-up). 

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States9 reported a majority of VOD services, generally with conditional access; another six10 
reported a majority of freely accessible catch-up-TV services, one11 reported a combination of 
catch-up and mixed services accessible free-of-charge, and another one12 reported a majority 
of mixed services. 

The  Study  and  the  national  reports  reveal  some  differences  as  regards  the  number  of  on-
demand  services  in  some  Member  States.  This  might  stem  from  differences  in  the 
interpretation  of  the  kind  of  services  to  be  taken  into  account.  According  to  the  definition 
contained  in  Article  1(1)(g)  of  the  AVMS  Directive,  services  offering  audiovisual  content 
only  as  an  ancillary  element  should  not  be  reported.  By  contrast  catch-up  TV  services 
constitute  on-demand  services  and  must  be  reported,  unless  the  programmes  they  offer  are 
exactly the same as those broadcast on television13. Although the wording of Article 13 does 
not  specifically  refer  to  the  type  of  content  offered  by  on-demand  services,  the  purpose  of 
Article 13 is the same as for Articles 16 and 17 of the AVMS Directive. Therefore on-demand 
services  offering  exclusively  news,  sports,  games  or  commercial  communications  should  be 
excluded  from  the  national  reports  on  the  application  of  Article  13.  In  the  same  way  the 
percentage  of  European  works,  when  applicable,  should  in  principle  be  calculated  as  the 
percentage of qualifying hours14. 

1.1.2. Methodology applied by the Commission 

The  objective  of  the  Study  conducted  in  2011  was  to  analyse  the  state  of  play  in  terms  of 
implementation  of  Article  13  in  the  EU  Member  States  at  the  end  of  2010  as  well  as  the 
content  of  EU  non-linear  services.  It  also  aimed  at  providing  the  Commission  with  the 
necessary information to set up performance indicators for the application of Article 13. 

Starting  from  the  three  examples  of  European  works  promotion  in  regard  to  non-linear 
services  given  in  Article  13(1)  of  the  Directive,  the  Study  reviewed  the  various  monitoring 
modalities as well as their practicability. 

On  this  basis  the  Commission  identified  a  series  of  indicators  which  were  defined  in  the 
questionnaires  sent  to  the  national  authorities.  As  regards  prominence  in  particular,  several 
options  were  mentioned:  description  of  the  works  including  country  of  origin,  browser  by 
origin,  recommendation  tools  about  European  works,  sections  of  the  service  dedicated  to 
European works, trailers promoting European works or promotions of European works. These 
indicators may need to be refined for future reports. 

1.1.3. Methods of implementation and monitoring by the Member States 

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Belgium (97.7 %), Bulgaria (100 %), Denmark (100 %), Spain (75 %), Luxembourg (80 %) and Portugal 
(55.6 %) . 
Czech  Republic  (86.2 %),  Ireland  (100 %),  Greece  (76.9 %),  Austria  (100 %),  Romania  (100 %)  and 
Slovakia (58.3 %). 
Finland. 
Sweden. 
See Recital 27 of the AVMS Directive 
Excluding news, sports, games and commercial communications 

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a) State of play as regards national legislation 

Findings of the Study on the application of Article 13 

At the end of 2010, 14 Member States had reproduced the wording of the AVMS Directive 
without  imposing  concrete  obligations  concerning  on-demand  service  providers.  In  certain 
cases, it is left to the national regulatory authorities to specify later the appropriate methods 
for promoting European works. 

As far as monitoring is concerned, the Study shows that the majority of Member States rely 
on  the  information  submitted  by  the  on-demand  service  providers  without  any  verification. 
Independent  monitoring  is  carried  out  in  only  two  Member  States  and  the  information 
supplied by on-demand service providers is verified in another four. 

National reports 

Nine  national  reports  did  not  contain  any  information  due  to  belated  transposition  of  the 
AVMS Directive or late enforcement of the national legislation implementing the Directive. 
Five Member States reported the absence of registered15 or recognised16 on-demand services 
during the reference period. 

Amongst Member States that had implemented the Directive, (i.e. imposed the obligation to 
promote  European  works  in  on-demand  services),  only  six  reports17  indicated  that  their 
legislation specifies concrete measures. 

These measures vary from one Member State to another: in the Czech Republic, Spain, Italy 
and Austria, on-demand services are subject to the obligation to reserve a proportion of their 
catalogues for European works (respectively 10 %, 30 %, 20 % and 50 %18). The obligation to 
contribute  to  the  financing  of  European  works  was  reported  by  the  French  Community  of 
Belgium, the Czech Republic, Spain and Italy (respectively up to 2.2 % and minimum 1 % and 
5 % of turnover)19. The obligation to give prominence to European works in catalogues is to 
be found in the legislation of the French Community of Belgium, Bulgaria and Austria (for 
private  on-demand  services).  Ways  of  doing  this  include  in  particular  advertising  inserts, 
separate  tabs,  magazine  articles  and  promotional  programmes  as  well  as  the  adequate 
identification of European works or indication of the country of origin. 

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Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Hungary. 
23 services were declared at the end of 2010 in the Netherlands but the Media Authority had not yet set 
out  the  criteria  to  decide  whether  they  qualify  as  on-demand  audiovisual  media  services  —  see  Staff 
Working Document – Part I – Section 2. 
Belgium-French  Community,  Bulgaria,  Czech  Republic,  Spain,  Italy  (not  yet  enforced  in  2010)  and 
Austria. Two Member States have not been included in the list: Latvia, where the legislation imposes an 
obligation to offer European works but does not specify any concrete percentage and Hungary, where 
the  legislation  set  out  a  quota  for  Hungarian  works  only  (this  provision  has  been  amended  in  the 
meantime). 
Only for public on-demand services in Austria. 
In  the  Czech  Republic  and  Italy  financial  contribution  is  an  alternative  to  the  obligation  to  offer  a 
specific share of European works in catalogues.  

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b) National authorities’ monitoring methods 

Although few national reports provided information on this issue, data on the application of 
Article 13 was mostly collected by the national authorities directly from on-demand service 
providers. 

Some Member States commented on how they have raised or intend to raise the awareness of 
on-demand service providers about the need to register and/or to comply with the obligation 
set out in Article 1320. The French Regulatory Authority CSA informed about spot checks in 
respect  of  the  share  and  prominence  of  European  works  in  catalogues.  In  Belgium  (French 
Community)  where  a  general  prominence  obligation  has  been  laid  down,  interesting  and 
detailed information was provided on the monitoring carried out by the regulatory authority 
on  the  proportion  of  ‘promotional  occurrences’  dedicated  to  European  works  in  on-demand 
services21. 

The Commission stresses the importance of carrying out efficient monitoring to ensure correct 
application of Article 13. Although the AVMS Directive does not contain any obligation to 
set up concrete monitoring systems, the Commission asks those national authorities who have 
not  done  so,  to  put  in  place  systems  that  allow  data  provided  by  the  on-demand  service 
providers to be verified. 

1.2. Application of Article 13 – On-demand audiovisual media services 

Findings of the Study22 

The proportion of European works on catch-up TV services was much higher (96.2 % of total 
hours) than the proportion of European works offered by VOD services (accounting for only 
45.1 %  of  total  hours).  Catch-up  catalogues  are  closely  linked  to  the  content  broadcast  by 
television  services.  European  works  were  significantly  more  prominent  in  the  catalogues 
offered by broadcasters (81.1 % of hours) than by independents (46.7 % of hours) and telecom 
operators (31.2 %). They were also significantly more prominent in the catalogues offered by 
public services (99.1 % of hours) as opposed to commercial ones (55.8 % of hours). Services 
with the lowest proportion of European works  were generally  new players23 (10-20 %).  The 
proportions of European works in terms of ‘qualifying hours’24 (64.5 %) were close to those 
provided for catalogues as a whole (65.1 %). 

National reports 

Data provided by the national reports are not complete and not representative enough to draw 
reliable conclusions on the application of Article 13. 

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In particular the Czech Republic, Latvia, the Netherlands and Sweden. 
See  comments  on  the  application  of  Article  13  in  Belgium-French  Community  –  Staff  Working 
Document – Part I – Section 2 
For technical reasons the monitoring was carried out in the first half of 2011. 
iTunes by Apple, Lovefilm,Germany and Blinkbox in the UK, among others . 
See footnote 14. 

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In spite of the lack of specific obligations set out in the national legislation of some countries, 
14  national  reports  provided  some  data  —  to  differing  extent  —  on  the  modalities  of 
European works promotion put into practice by on-demand service providers.  These reports 
indicated  quite  a  high  share  of  European  works  in  catalogues.  Averages  ranged  from  40 % 
(Spain25)  to  88.9 %  (Denmark)  in  2009  and  from  36.4 %  (Portugal)  to  100 %  (Austria26)  in 
2010. Due to the limited number of reports and the very low number of on-demand services 
(two  or  three)  reported  in  some  Member  States,  any  calculation  of  EU  averages  would  be 
meaningless. Comparison between the reported percentages of European works consumption 
and of European works offered does not allow reliable conclusions to be drawn either. Five 
Member  States27  also  reported  financial  contributions  to  European  productions  and  six 
national reports28 indicated the use of some prominence tools29. 

The Commission can only welcome the presence of a relatively high share of European works 
in on-demand services. 

2. COMMISSION OPINION ON THE APPLICATION OF ARTICLES 16 AND 17 

2.1. General remarks 

2.1.1. Articles 16 and 17 in the context of the European audiovisual landscape 

The  European  audiovisual  market  continued  to  grow  steadily  over  the  period  2009-2010. 
Figures  show  a  trend  of  accelerated  increase  of  channels.  According  to  the  European 
Audiovisual Observatory, in December 2010 there were 7, 622 television channels in EU-27 
—  of  which  3, 126  were  local  channels  —  compared  to  6, 067  in  2008.  This  represents  a 
25.6 % increase, higher than the one registered between 2006 and 2008. 

During the same period, a decrease was registered in the total number of covered channels30 
compared to the previous period: their number went from 1, 679 in 2008 to 1, 313 in 2009 and 
1, 390  in  2010  for  European  works31,  due  to  a  change  in  the  methodology  allowing  the 
exemption  of  very  small  channels  from  the  reporting  obligation,  as  mentioned  under 
2.1.2.1.below.  However,  when  using  the  methodology  applied  for  the  previous  report  –  i.e. 
taking into account the channels exempted from  the reporting obligation –  the figures show 
that the number of covered channels rose by 21.8 % between 2008 (1, 679) and 2010 (2, 045), 
with a slightly lower growth rate than the one registered on the market. 

2.1.2. Methods of implementation and monitoring by the Member States 

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This figure corresponds to the unique service reported in 2009. 
This figure corresponds to the unique catch-up TV service reported in 2010. 
Belgium-French Community, Bulgaria, Greece, Spain and Sweden. 
Belgium-French Community, Bulgaria, Greece, Spain, Romania and Sweden. 
See Staff Working Document – Part I – Section 2 . 
‘Covered’ channels: total number of channels identified minus the number of non-operational channels 
and  the  number  of  channels  exempted  from  their  reporting  obligation  (see  paragraph  2.1.2.1.)  and  of 
exempt  (due  to  the  nature  of  their  programmes)  or  excluded  channels  (due  to  legal  exceptions)  -  see 
Indicator 1 in Staff Working Document - Part II – Annex 1 . 
For Independent works, the number of covered channels went from 1 585 in 2007 to 1 311 in 2009 and 
1 387 in 2010. 

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2.1.2.1. Changes in methodology 

Given the emergence of channels with a very low audience share (below 0.3%) it was decided 
to give them the possibility to request an individual exemption from their reporting obligation 
under Articles 16 and 17. The detailed conditions for granting such exemptions are set out in 
the ‘Revised Guidelines for Monitoring the Application of Articles 16 and 17 of the AVMS 
Directive’, which will be reviewed after their first full implementation foreseen in 201432. 

Overall, the number of national reports providing data for all covered channels increased in 
comparison  with  the  previous  period.  Fifteen  reports  out  of  27  provided  statistical  data  on 
European works for all channels in 2009 and 2010 (12 and 11 respectively in 2007 and 2008). 
For  independent  productions,  14  and  15  national  reports  provided  data  for  all  channels  in 
2009  and  2010  respectively  (11  in  2007  and  2008).  The  Commission  welcomes  this  trend 
which reflects more efficient monitoring by the national regulatory authorities. However this 
can  also  be  explained,  at  least  partially,  by  the  exemption  of  very  small  channels  from  the 
reporting  obligation  since  these  channels  typically  encounter  more  difficulties  in  providing 
statistical data.  

2.1.2.2. Monitoring 

As  stated  in  previous  reports,  there  is  no  uniform  monitoring  methodology  in  the  EU.  In 
Cyprus  the  competent  authority  could  only  monitor  channels  broadcasting  via  analogue 
technology  during  the  reference  period  pursuant  to  the  legislation33.  Greece  and  Slovenia 
reported difficulties in collecting data from all channels34.  

By contrast, improvements were registered in three Member States. The Slovenian regulatory 
authority  started  verifying  data  submitted  by  some  broadcasters.  The  inclusion  of  data 
concerning public regional channels in the German report must also be seen as a monitoring 
improvement.  In  Sweden  the  efforts  of  the  supervisory  authority  to  increase  broadcasters’ 
awareness about the importance of correct implementation of Articles 16 and 17 seemed to be 
bearing  fruit  since  the  proportion  of  European  works,  which  was  below  the  required  quota 
during the previous period, passed the 50 % threshold in 2009 and 2010. 

However,  there  is  still  room  for  progress.  The  Commission  reiterates  the  importance  of 
monitoring to ensure correct application of Articles 16 and 17. Although the AVMS Directive 
does not contain any obligation to set up concrete monitoring systems, the Commission asks 
those  national  authorities  who  have  not  done  so  to  put  in  place  systems  that  allow  data 
provided by the broadcasters to be verified. 

2.2. Application of Article 16 – Majority proportion of European works 

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http://ec.europa.eu/avpolicy/docs/reg/tvwf/eu_works/guidelines_2011_en.pdf. 
This situation changed on 1 July 2011. 
See Greek and Slovenian comments in the Staff Working Document – Part II – Section 3. 

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The  average  transmission  time  dedicated  to  European  works  by  all  reported  channels  in  the 
EU-27 was 63.8 % in 2009 and 64.3 % in 201035. Figures show an upward trend as indicated 
in the table below which partially offsets the drop registered between 2006 and 2007. 

2009-2010: 0.5 percentage point increase 

2007-2010: 1.7 percentage point increase 

From 2007 to 2010 the increase was stronger in the ‘new Member States’36. 

EU-15: 1.7 percentage point decrease (65.8 % in 2007, 64.1 % in 2010) 

EU-12: 5.9 percentage point increase (58.7 % in 2007, 64.6 % in 2010) 

The Commission welcomes the progress registered by the EU-12 which has enabled them to 
slightly surpass the level achieved by the EU-15. 

At  Member  State  level,  the  average  share  of  transmission  time  devoted  to  European  works 
during  the  reference  period  varied  between  44 %  (Ireland)  and  83 %  (Hungary)  in  2009  and 
between 47.4 % (Slovenia and UK) and 81 % (Hungary) in 2010. Over the same period, the 
trend was positive in 12 Member States, negative in 12 and remained stable in three. 

Trends  in  the  transmission  time  reserved  for  European  works  over  the  period  2007-2010  in 
each Member State have been reproduced in charts37. 

The  rule  on  the  promotion  of  European  works  in  linear  services  is  generally  working  well 
although it has a limited effect on the circulation of programmes throughout the EU as it does 
not ensure the distribution of non-domestic European works. Non-domestic European works 
make up 8.1 % of the total qualifying transmission hours, while most non-European works are 
American38. Some successful audiovisual works such as 'Borgen' or the co-production 'Borgia' 
have crossed national borders but these cases still remain too limited. It is of key importance 
to  have  European  works  that  appeal  to  audiences  across  borders.  This  can  be  achieved  for 
example by means of co-productions that have an appeal for a wide European audience. 

EU-average  compliance  rates  regarding  European  works  were  fairly  stable  over  the 
reporting period but registered a considerable increase over the period 2007-2010, rising from 
59.6 % to 69.6 % with notable growth in the EU-15 (11.3 percentage points). 

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Figures provided at EU level result from the mathematical average of all national averages calculated 
on the basis of statistical data communicated by the Member States. They have not been weighted since 
not all the parameters necessary for a correct weighting are available for all channels. 
Member States which joined the EU in 2004 and 2007 (EU-12) – EU-15 is composed of Member States 
which joined the EU at an earlier stage (up to 1995). 
See Staff Working Paper – Part II – Section 2. 
The Study .see footnote 2. 

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It is worth noting that compliance rates reflect not just the channels’ achievement with regard 
to  the  European  works  proportion,  but  also  the  level  of  communicated/non-communicated 
data.  The  improvement  registered  during  the  reference  period  regarding  communicated  data 
(see section 2.1.2.1.) has played a role in better compliance rates. 

Three  Member  States39
  encountered  difficulties  in  reaching  the  required  proportion  of 
European works over the whole reference period. At the same time two Member States which 
registered  averages  below  50 %  during  the  previous  period  were  able  to  reach  the  required 
proportion  of  European  works  in  201040.  The  Commission  encourages  the  Member  States 
concerned to support the efforts of the channels falling within their jurisdiction to improve or 
sustain their performance over the coming years. 

2.3.  Application  of  Article  17  of  the  AVMS  Directive  –  European  works  created  by 
independent producers (independent productions) and recent works 

The EU-average proportion reserved for independent productions broadcast by all reported 
channels  in  all  Member  States  was  34.1 %  in  2009  and  33.8 %  in  2010,  having  slightly 
decreased during the reporting period. 

2009-2010: 0.3 percentage point decrease (34.1 % in 2009, 33.8 % in 2010) 

2007-2010: 1.5 percentage point decrease (35.3 % in 2007, 33.8 % in 2010) 

This downward trend was already detected in the ninth report41. Member States are therefore 
invited to reflect upon ways of reversing this trend. 

At  Member  State  level,  the  average  share  of  transmission  time  devoted  to  independent 
productions  ranged  from  14.5 %  (Slovenia)  to  59.7 %  (Belgium)  in  2009  and  from  14.8 % 
(Italy) to 61.7 % (Belgium) in 2010. As in the previous period all Member States achieved the 
10 % proportion of independent works. 21 Member States in 2009 and 19 in 2010 posted results 
above 25 % of total qualifying transmission time reserved for independent productions. 

EU-12 nearly closed the gap on EU-15: 

EU-15: 4 percentage point decrease (38.5 % in 2007, 34.5 % in 2010) 

EU-12: 1.7 percentage point increase (31.2 % in 2007, 32.9 % in 2010) 

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Ireland, Slovenia and the United Kingdom. 
Cyprus and Sweden. 
9th Communication on the application of Articles 4 and 5 of Directive 89/552/EEC, as amended by 
Directive 97/36/EC and Directive 2007/65/EC for the period 2007-2008 available at: 
http://ec.europa.eu/avpolicy/reg/tvwf/implementation/promotion/index_en.htm. 

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Although  the  EU-12  registered  better  developments  than  the  EU-15,  the  proportion  of 
independent productions they achieved in 2010 remained behind that attained by the EU-15. 

EU-average  compliance  rates  regarding  independent  works  follow  a  similar  trend  as  for 
European works, with a moderate increase over the reporting period and a considerable one 
over the period 2007-2010 (11.5 percentage points), especially in the EU-15 (15.4 percentage 
points). 

Regarding recent European works by independent producers (recent works42), EU-
average figures also show a downward trend: 

2009-2010: 0.3 percentage point decrease (62.1 % in 2009, 61.8 % in 2010) 

2007-2010: 1.2 percentage point decrease (63 % in 2007, 61.8 % in 2010) 

When considering the two different groups of Member States43, findings for the period 2007-
2010 are as follows: 

EU-15: 0.6 percentage point increase (65.4 % in 2007, 66 % in 2010) 

EU-12: 4 percentage point decrease (60 % in 2007, 56 % in 2010) 

Although overall results regarding recent works are satisfactory, the Commission encourages 
the  Member  States,  in  particular  the  EU-12,  to  make  efforts  to  promote  the  transmission  of 
recent independent works in their countries. 

3. CONCLUSION 

This first report does not provide sufficient data to draw any conclusions on the promotion of 
European  works  by  on-demand  service  providers  (Article  13).  Belated  transposition  of  the 
Directive  in  the  Member  States  and  very  uneven  development  of  the  on-demand  service 
markets make any analysis and comparisons difficult. The way Article 13 has been transposed 
also  differs  from  one  Member  State  to  another.  In  some  countries  the  legislation  imposes 
specific tools for the promotion of European works, while in others no concrete measures to 
be  applied  by  on-demand  service  providers  have  been  specified.  In  accordance  with  Article 
13(3),  the  Commission  will  take  technological  developments  into  account,  and  will  analyse 
these  matters  in  the  context  of  the  emergence  of  connected  devices  and  the  convergence 
phenomenon.  The  Commission  will  engage  soon  in  discussions  with  Member  States  on  the 
appropriate ways to implement Article 13. 

42 
43 

i.e. works broadcast within five years of their production. 
See footnote 36 

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Regarding Article 16 of the Directive, the data provided by the Member States showed that 
overall performance improved during the reference period. The 64.3 % average of European 
works  achieved  in  2010,  well  above  the  proportion  set  out  in  Article  16,  reflects  generally 
sound  application  of  this  provision  throughout  the  EU.  However,  the  great  majority  of 
European works consist of domestic works. Member States are invited to monitor closely the 
achievements  of  all  the  channels  falling  within  their  jurisdiction  and  encourage  failing 
channels to reach the required proportion of European works. 

In 2010, with an average of 33.8 %, the requirements of Article 17 were met comfortably in 
terms of independent productions broadcasting. However, the results showed a declining trend 
with respect to the level achieved in 2007 for both independent and recent works. Although 
the EU-12 posted better performance regarding independent productions than the EU-15, all 
Member  States  are  called  upon  to  monitor  the  application  of  Article  17  by  the  broadcasters 
and  encourage  efforts  aiming  at  the  transmission  of  a  higher  proportion  of  European 
independent productions and recent works. An increase in their ratio will help to support and 
strengthen  the  EU  independent  production  industry  as  well  as  boost  employment  in  that 
sector. 

The  Commission  calls  on  Member  States  to  take  account  of  the  low  circulation  of  non-
domestic European works and address this issue where possible. 

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Development of Main Indicators from 2007 to 2010 (EU-27) 

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