CELEX: 51994PC0455
Language: en
Date: 1994-10-25
Title: Amended proposal for a EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND COUNCIL DIRECTIVE ON THE USE OF STANDARDS FOR THE TRANSMISSION OF TELEVISION SIGNALS (INCLUDING REPEAL OF DIRECTIVE 92/38/EEC)

•COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                              C0M(94) 455 final
                                              Brussels, 25.10.1994
                                              94/ 0476CCOD)
<T
                         Amended proposal for a
               EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND COUNCIL DIRECTIVE
             ON THE USE OF STANDARDS FOR THE TRANSMISSION
                          OF TELEVISION SIGNALS
               (INCLUDING REPEAL OF DIRECTIVE 9 2 / 3 8 / E E C )
      (presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 189 A (2)
                            of the EC-Treaty)
  il
  "-^
 ---pagebreak---                          EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
1.            INTRODUCTION
1.1           On the 15th of November 1993, the Commission adopted its proposal for
              a Directive on the use of standards for the transmission of television
              signals1. It seeks to establish a regulatory framework of standards for
              advanced television services. It foresees the repeal of Council Directive
              92/38/EEC of 11 May 1992, in order to take into account market
              evolution and recent technical developments.
1.2           At its first reading on the 20th April 1994, the European Parliament
              adopted eight amendments to the Directive2. The Commission can
              accept two of them as proposed. The Commission can accept a further
               four amendments but with modifications to the Parliament's text. Two
              of the amendments cannot be accepted by the Commission. The rationale
               for each of these decisions is explained below.
2.             ACCEPTED AMENDMENTS
2.1            The Commission agrees that a reference to the "Television without
               frontiers" Directive is appropriate and therefore accepts amendment 1.
2.2            The Commission agrees that the Union has the responsibility to avoid
               undesirable fragmentation of effort in this field and therefore accepts
                amendment 4.
 1
    COM (93) 556 FINAL - COD 476, O.J No C 341, 18.12.1993, p. 18
 2
    PE 180.706 adopted-20.04.1994
 ---pagebreak--- 3.                AMENDMENTS ACCEPTED IN PRINCIPLE
3.1               The Commission accepts the substance of amendments 2, 5, 7 and 8 but
                  modifies the text as proposed by the Parliament. The modifications jeflect
                  technical and legal details, and, for amendment 7, reflect the outcome of
                  the in-depth industry wide consultation on the conditional access issue.
3.2               Amendment 2
                  The Commission considers it to be inappropriate to base a public law
                  exclusively on a specific private initiative, the European Digital Video
                  Broadcasting Group (DVB). It is possible, however, to retain the idea
                  behind the Parliament's amendment by modifying the drafting.
3.3               Amendment^
                  The Commission can accept the reference to advanced services as
                  proposed, but must insist on the inclusion of 625 line services as well as
                   1250 line services within the definition of advanced services. This is
                  because there will be other kinds of advanced service besides HDTV.
3.4               Amendment^
                  The Commission agrees that the market for digital television services is
                  best served by the availability of agreed standards for transmission before
                  such services are launched. It therefore accepts the substance of the first
                  part of the Parliament's amendment.
                  In relation to conditional access3, the Commission wished to ascertain the
                  position of the market actors on this subject before incorporating a
                   suitable article on this subject in the Directive. Following a lengthy and
                   wide consultation between the relevant economic parties conducted under
                   the auspices of the European Project for Digital Video Broadcasting, a
                   number of agreements have been reached dealing with Conditional
                   Access to digital television services. The agreements include:
                          the definition of a Common Scrambling Algorithm4, which will
                          become a European standard for the scrambling and descrambling
                          of digital television signals;
    Conditional Access is the process of granting access, by suitable authorized customers, to scrambled
    television signals.                                                                    ,
    Scrambling is the process of rendering the broadcast signal unintelligible during broadcasting. This
    signal is capable of being descrambled subsequently if the proper authorization is given. A
    scrambling algorithm is the mathematical basis of the scrambling process.
 ---pagebreak---                        the acceptance of the need for conditional access systems to have
                       the technical capacity for transcontrol5 at cable television network
                       head-ends;
                       the acceptance of principles for the licensing of proprietary
                       conditional access technology to receiver manufacturers;
                       the acceptance of a technical operational procedure known as
                       "Simulcrypt"6 as a useful but not unique or obligatory means of
                       ensuring that the same scrambled television programme can be
                       delivered to viewers via different conditional access systems;
                       the agreement to specify and to submit to the European
                       standardization bodies a Common Interface7 which would allow
                       consumer equipment possessing it to use multiple conditional
                       access systems where the proprietary elements of such systems
                       could be included in detachable modules. It was agreed that the
                       common interface could become an important, but not obligatory,
                       element in the market;
                       the preparation of a voluntary Code of Conduct dealing with
                       commercial relations between relevant market parties in relation
                       to the control of customer access to digital television signals;
                       the agreement to recommend to the appropriate authorities that
                       suitable anti-piracy legislation be adopted and enforced in the
                       Member States of the European Union and the Council of Europe.
              The Commission notes the progress made by the industry in addressing
              these issues. While it considers this progress to be significant, it is
              nevertheless aware that these voluntary agreements do not definitively
              guarantee that there will be no difficulties in the future development of
              the new market for digital pay television. It will be essential therefore
              that these market developments be monitored carefully particularly in the
              start-up phase of this new industry.
5
  Transcontrol, in this context, is the technical process of transferring control of a conditional access
  systemfroma conditional access service provider to a cable television network operator.
6
  Simulcrypt is a set of technical arrangements, defined by the European Project for Digital Video
  Broadcasting, which will allow a Broadcaster of scrambled signals simultaneously to access bases of
  consumer decoders which use different conditional access systems.
7
  A Common Interface is a connection between a unit of digital equipment which provides reception of
  unscrambled services and a module which performs descrambling and conditional access functions.
  The interface is designed so that different conditional access systems may be incorporated into
  modules and continue to work effectively with the equipment
 ---pagebreak---     The Commission therefore proposes to monitor market developments
    with a view to ensuring that the interests of consumers and of fair
    competition are in practice protected. It is also stressed that nothing in
    the Directive limits the rights of any party under Articles 85 and 86 of
    the Treaty to seek redress if they feel that their entitlements to fair
    competition are being adversely affected by any actions of other market
    parties.
    In relation to the text of the Directive itself, the Commission proposes
    that it requires all consumer equipment used for descrambling digital
    television signals to use the Common Scrambling Algorithm, in order to
    ensure that all pay television service providers can, in principle, provide
    all digital pay television consumers in the European Union with their
    programmes.
    It is further proposed to make provision in the Directive for the transfer
    of control of conditional access at cable television network head-ends and
    for the licensing of proprietary conditional access technology.
    The Commission has thus modified the Directive in three ways to deal
    with the conditional access issue :
    i)       by adding four new Recitals dealing with the subject;
    ii)      by incorporating a new Article 3 bis;
    ii)      by adding a phrase in Article 6 concerning the review of
            developments in the market on conditional access to digital
             television services.
3.5 Amendment8
    Technology in this field is rapidly evolving. Market developments are
     also likely to evolve rapidly, but it is difficult to predict their precise
     scope and timing. Regulation may be required to ensure harmonious
     market development in this field but it is premature to define now its
     scope and timing. The text proposed by the Parliament has been
     modified by the Commission to reflect these realities.
4.  REJECTED AMENDMENTS
4.1  Amendment 3
    The Commission believes that reference to the evolution of technology
     and the market provides necessary motivation for the Directive and
     therefore cannot accept the Parliament's amendment deleting this
     reference.
 ---pagebreak--- 4.2 Amendment 6
    According to technical experts, it is not feasible to develop a wide-screen
    analogue transmission system which is simultaneously compatible with
    PAL and SECAM. Furthermore, there is no incentive among the market
    actors to develop such a system. The digital era provides an opportunity
    to replace both PAL and SECAM with a single new digital standard.
5.  CONCLUSION
5.1 In accordance with article 189a, paragraph 2 of the EC Treaty the
    Commission hereby amends its initial proposal.
 ---pagebreak---                                                ANNEX1
                                    REJECTED AMENDMENT
                                              Tenth Recital
Initial Proposal                                    Amendment of European Parliament
Whereas it is appropriate to repeal Council Whereas it is appropriate to repeal Council
Directive 92/38/EEC and to issue a new Directive 92/38/EEC and to issue a new
Directive in the light of these Directive;
developments        in the market and
technology;
                                             (Amendment 6Ï
                                               Article 2(ii)
Initial Proposal                                    Amendment of European Parliament
(ii) if they are in wide-screenformatand 625 (ii) if they are in wide-screen format and 625
     lines, and are not fully digital, use the D2-        lines, and are not fully digital, use the
     MAC transmission system, or a                        D2-MAC transmission system, or a
     transmission system which is fully                   transmission system which is rally
     compatible with PAL or SECAM                         compatible with PAL or SECAM,
                                                          preference being also given to the
                                                          establishment of a transmission system
                                                          guaranteeing compatibility with PAL and
                                                          SECAM:
 ---pagebreak---                                          ANNEX2
Initial Proposal                             Modified Proposal
Proposal for a Directive of the Modified Proposal for a Directive of the
European Parliament and of the European Parliament and of the
Council on the use of standards for the Council on the use of standards for the
transmission of television signals           transmission of television signals
COM(93) 556 Final - COD 476
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN
COMMUNITIES,                                 UNION.
Having regard to the Treaty establishing     Having regard to the Treaty establishing
the European Community, and in               the European Community, and in
particular Articles 57(2), 66 and 100a       particular Articles 57(2), 66 and 100a
thereof,                                     thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Having regard to the proposal from the
 Commission1,                                Commission1,
Having regard to the opinion of the Having regard to the opinion of the
 Economic and Social Committee2,             Economic and Social Committee2,
                      1
                           COM (93) 556 FINAL - COD 476, O.J No C 341,
                           18.12.1993, p. 18
                    . 2   CES 378/94, 23.03.1994
 ---pagebreak--- Initiai Proposal                             Modified Proposal
Whereas the Community, through Council       Whereas the Community, through Council
Decisions 89/337/EEC3 and 89/630/EEC4,       Decisions 89/337/EEC3 and 89/630/EEC\
recognised the strategic importance of       recognised the strategic importance of
High Definition Television (HDTV) for        High Definition Television (HDTV) for
the European consumer electronics            the European consumer electronics
industry and for the European television     industry and for the European television
and film industries and established the      and film industries and established the
strategyframeworkfor the introduction of     strategyframeworkfor the introduction of
European HDTV;                               European HDTV;
Whereas the objectives of the strategy for   Whereas the objectives of the strategy for
the introduction of HDTV in Europe are       the introduction of HDTV in Europe are
an integral part of the Community audio-     an integral part of the Community audio-
visual policy, and whereas they must take    visual policy, and whereas they must take
into account other objectives of this policy into account other objectives of this policy
within the perspective of the development    within the perspective of the development
of Europe's audio-visual capacity, which     of Europe's audio-visual capacity, which
comprise structural objectives such as the   comprise structural objectives such as the
 development of production in countries or   development of production in countries or
 regions with more limited audio-visual      regions with more limited audio-visual
 capacity;                                   capacity, in respect of which the
                                             importance of Directive 89/552/EEC on
                                              "Television without frontiers" should be
                                             reaffirmed:
 ---pagebreak---                                                     10
Initial Proposal                                     Modified Proposal
Whereas Council Directive 92/38/EEC on               Whereas Council Directive 92/38/EEC on
the adoption of standards for the                    the adoption of standards for the
transmission of television signals5 set a            transmission of television signals3 sets a
regulatory framework of standards for                regulatory framework of standards for
advanced television broadcasting services            advanced television broadcasting services
for television programmes, based on HD-              for television programmes based on HD-
MAC6 as the European satellite and cable             MAC6 as the European satellite and cable
transmission standard for non-fully digital          transmission standard for non-fully digital
HDTV and the D2-MAC7 standard for                    HDTV and the D2-MAC7 standard for
other not completely digital satellite and           other not completely digital satellite and
cable transmission in the wide-screen 16:9           cable transmission in the wide-screen 16:9
aspect ratio format;                                 aspect ratio format;
Whereas Council Decision 93/424/EEC on               Whereas Council Decision 93/424/EEC on
an Action Plan for the introduction of               an Action Plan for the introduction of
advanced television services in Europe8              advanced television services in Europe8
aims at promoting the wide-screen 16:9               aims at promoting the wide-screen 16:9
format (625 or 1250 lines), irrespective of          format (625 or 1250 lines), irrespective of
the European television standard used and            the European television standard used and
irrespective of the broadcasting mode                irrespective of the broadcasting mode
 (terrestrial, satellite or cable);                  (terrestrial, satellite or cable);
 Whereas Article 7 of Council Directive              Whereas Article 7 of Council Directive
 92/38/EEC on the adoption of standards               92/38/EEC on the adoption of standards
 for the transmission of television signals          for the transmission of television signals
 calls on the Commission to report on the             calls on the Commission to report on the
 effects of the application of that Directive,        effects of the application of that Directive,
 on the evolution of the market, in                   on the evolution of the market, in
 particular on market penetration measured            particular on market penetration measured
 by objective criteria, the use of the               by objective criteria, the use of the
 Community funding, and make proposals                Community funding, and make proposals
 to the Council to adapt that Directive to            to the Council to adapt that Directive to
 these developments if necessary;                     these developments if necessary;
                           5
                                O.J. No L 137, 20.05.1992, p. 17
                           6
                                ETSI standard reference : prETS 300 3S2
                           7
                                ETSI standard reference ; prETS 300 250
                           8
                                O.J. No L 196, 5.08.1993, p.48
 ---pagebreak---                                                   11
Initial Proposal                                   Modified Proposal
Whereas, in order to reach Community               Whereas, in order to reach Community
goals as set out in the above-mentioned            goals as set out in the above-mentioned
Decisions and to contribute to the                 Decisions and to contribute to the
achievement of an internal market, as              achievement of an internal market, as
provided for in Article 8(a) of the Treaty,        provided for in Article 8(a) of the Treaty,
in the broadcasting of television signals, it      in the broadcasting of television signals, it
is necessary to take steps to adopt a              is necessary to take steps to adopt a
common        format      for     wide-screen      common         format      for   wide-screen
transmissions;                                     transmissions;
Whereas the wide-screen 16:9 aspect ratio          Whereas the wide-screen 16:9 aspect ratio
has been adopted at world level by the             has been adopted at world level by the
International Telecommunication Union              International Telecommunication Union
(ITU)9 for HDTV and it is desirable and            (ITU)9 for HDTV and it is desirable and
possible to develop the market for                 possible to develop the market for
advanced television services and products          advanced television services and products
having the same wide-screen 16:9 aspect            having the same wide-screen 16:9 aspect
ratio;                                             ratio;
Whereas television services are currently          Whereas television services are currently
 delivered to the home by terrestrial              delivered to the home by terrestrial
 systems, by satellite systems and by cable         systems, by satellite systems and by cable
 systems and it is essential that advanced          systems and it is essential that advanced
wide-screen services should be made                wide-screen services should be made
 available to the largest possible number of        available to the largest possible number of
 viewers;                                           viewers;
 Whereas there is a need to establish               Whereas it is essential to establish
 common digital standards for the                   common standards for the digital
 transmission of television signals whether         transmission of television signals whether
 by cable, or by satellite, or by terrestrial       by cable, or by satellite, or by terrestrial
 means as an enabling element for effective         means as an enabling element for effective
 free-market competition and this is best           free-market competition and this is best
 achieved through the activities of a               achieved bv mandating a recognised
 recognised European           standardisation      European standardisation body taking
 body;                                              account, as appropriateT of the outcome of
                                                    consensus processes underway among
                                                    market parties:
                              CCIR Recommendation 709 defines "picture
                              characteristics" including the wide-screen 16:9
                              aspect ratio                                  t
 ---pagebreak---                  12
Initial Proposal  Modified Proposal
                  Whereas conditional access is an
                  important matter for the consumers and
                  providers of pay television services and for
                  therightsholders of programmes:
                  Whereas a widelv based consultation
                  process involving the relevant economic
                  actors in the European market has resulted
                  in agreements on a number of issues
                  concerning conditional access to digital
                  pav television services:
                  Whereas it is necessary to mandate the use
                   of a Common European ^ Scrambling
                   System in consumer equipment in the
                  European Union in order to ensure that all
                   pav television service providers can, in
                   principle, provide all digital pay television
                   consumers in the European Union with
                   their programmes:
                   Whereas it is appropriate, furthermore, to
                   make provision for transcontrol of
                   conditional access at cable television
                   network head-ends and.for the licensing of
                   conditional access technology in order to
                   ensure market clarity on these issues:
 ---pagebreak---                                             13
Initial Proposal                             Modified Proposal
Whereas it is appropriate to repeal Council  Whereas it is appropriate to repeal Council
Directive 92/38/EEC and to issue a new       Directive 92/38/EEC and to issue a new
Directive in the light of these              Directive in the light of these
developments in the market and               developments in the market and
technology;                                  technology;
Whereas technologies for advanced Whereas technologies for advanced
television services are developing rapidly television services are developing rapidly
and a common approach to their and a common approach to their
development is necessary; whereas development is necessary; whereas
separate and multiple actions by the separate and multiple actions by the
Member States could lead to undesirable Member States could lead to undesirable
fragmentation of the market for products fragmentation of the market for products
and services and to duplication of efforts; and services and to duplication of efforts;
and whereas consequently such actions and whereas consequently such actions
could be better achieved at Community should be carried out at Community level*
level;
 ---pagebreak--- Initial Proposal                               Modified Proposal
HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:                   HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1                                      Article 1
Member States shall take all appropriate       Member States shall take all appropriate
measures to promote and support the            measures to promote and support the
accelerated development of televisions         accelerated development of advanceoN
services in the wide-screen 16:9 format        television services in the wide-screen 16:9
and using 625 or 1250 lines;                   format and using 625 or 1250 lines,,
Article 2                                      Article 2
All television services transmitted to All television services transmitted to
viewers in the Community whether by viewers in the Community whether by
cable, satellite or terrestrial means shall:   cable, satellite or terrestrial means shall:
i)   if they are in wide-screen format, only i)     if they are in wide-screen format, only
     use a transmission system having the           use a transmission system having the
     16:9 aspect ratio;                             16:9 aspect ratio;
ii) if they are in wide-screen format and ii) if they are in wide-screen format and
     625 lines, and are not fully digital, use      625 lines, and are not fully digital, use
     the D2MAC transmission system, or a            the D2MAC transmission system, or a
     transmission system which is fully             transmission system which is fully
     compatible with PAL or SECAM;                  compatible with PAL or SECAM;
iii) if they are in high definition, and are iii) if they are in high definition, and are
     not fully digital, use the HDMAC               not fully digital, use the HDMAC
     transmission system.                           transmission system.
Article 3                                      Article 3
Completely digital television systems must     Completely digital television services must
use a transmission system which has been       use a transmission system which has been
standardised         by       a     European   standardised by a recognised European
standardisation body but are otherwise not     standardisation body prior to the market
covered by this Directive.                     launch of such services.
 ---pagebreak---                  15
Initial Proposal  Modified Proposal
                  Article 3 bis
                  In relation to conditional access to digital
                  Pav-TV services broadcast to viewers in
                  the Eigropean Union the following
                  conditions shall apply :
                  i)    All consumer equipment, for sale or
                        rent or otherwise made available in
                        the European Union, capable of
                        descrarnbling      digital    television
                        signals, shall possess capability to
                        allow the descrambling of such
                        signals according to the common
                        European, scrambling algorithm as
                        standardised bv a recognised
                        European standardisation body:
                  ii) Conditional Access systems operated
                        on the market in the European Union
                        shall have me necessary technical
                        capability     for     cost    effective
                        transcontrol at cable head-ends
                        allowing the possibility for full
                        control by cable television operators
                        at local or regional level, of the
                        services using such conditional
                        access systems:
                   iii) In connection with the inclusion bv
                         manufacturers of conditional access
                         systems in consumer equipment, the
                         following conditions shall applv:
                         a.   where      conditional      access
                              systems are licensed to
                              manufacturas for inclusion in
                              receivers this shall be done on
                              fair, reasonable ami non-
                              diiwriminatftry terms;
 ---pagebreak--- Initial Proposal                            Modified Proposal
                                                 b. licensing or other provision of
                                                      conditional access systems to
                                                      manufacturers for inclusion in
                                                      receivers shall be done in such a
                                                     •*way as not to prevent the
                                                      inclusion of either another
                                                      conditional access system or a
                                                      common interface in the receiver,
                                                      provided that relevant security
                                                      conditions relating to the
                                                      conditional access system are
                                                      met.
Article 4                                   Article 4
Any television set with an integral viewing Any television set with an integral viewing
screen of visible diagonal greater than 42  screen of visible diagonal greater than 42
cms, which is put on the market for sale or cms, which is put on the market for sale or
rent in the Community shall befittedwith    rent in the Community shall befittedwith
at least one standardised (by a recognised  at least one standardised (by a recognised
European standardisation body) open         European standardisation body) open
interface socket permitting simple          interface socket permitting simple
connection of additional decoders or        connection of additional decoders or
peripherals.                                peripherals.
Article 5                                   Article 5
Any wide-screen 16:9 television service     Any wide-screen 16:9 television service
 which is received by and re-distributed on which is received by and re-distributed on
 cable television systems shall be re-      cable television systems shall be re-
 distributed on such systems in the wide-   distributed on such systems in the wide-
 screen 16:9 format.                        screen 16:9 format.
 ---pagebreak---                                                 if
Initial Proposal                                 Modified Proposal
Article 6                                        Article 6
Before 1 January 1996 and every 2 years          Before 1 January 1996 and every two
thereafter the Commission shall review           years thereafter the Commission shall
this Directive and submit a report to the        review this Directive and submit a report
European Parliament, to the Council and          to the European Parliament, to the Council
to the Economic and Social Committee on          and to the Economic and Social
market and technological developments, in        Committee on market and technological
particular relating to developments in           developments, in particular relating to
digital technology.        If necessary, the     developments in digital technology and
Commission shall make proposals to the           also to market developments on
Council to adapt this Directive to these         conditional access to digital television
developments.                                    services. If necessary, the Commission
                                                 shall make proposals to the Council to
                                                 adapt      this     Directive     to    these
                                                 developments.          A new regulatory
                                                 framework for           completely digital
                                                 television systems could thus be drawn up
                                                 asfromthefirstrevision, if necessary.
Article 7                                        Article 7
Directive 92/38/EEC is hereby repealed           Directive 92/38/EEC is hereby repealed
with effect from the date six months after       with effect from the date six months after
the date of notification of this new             the date of notification of this new
 Directive.                                      Directive.
 Article 8                                        Article 8
 1. Member States shall brinL                         Member States shall bring Into force
     no later dan 6 months after the date             no later than 6 months after the date
      of its notification the laws, regulations       of its notification the laws, regulations
     and        administrative       provisions       and       administrative       provisions
                    to comply with                    necessary to comply with this
     Directive. They shaH forthwith inform             Directive. They shaH forthwith inform
 ---pagebreak--- Initial Proposal                             Modified Proposal
2. When Member States adopt these                When Member States adopt these
     provisions, these shall contain a           provisions, these shall contain a
     reference to this Directive or shall be     reference to this Directive or shall be
     accompanied by such reference at the        accompanied by such reference at the
     time pftheir official publication. The      time of their official publication. The
     procedure for such reference shall be       procedure for such reference shall be
     adopted by Member States.                   adopted by Member States.
3. Member States shall communicate to 3. Member States shall communicate to
     the Commission the texts of the             the Commission the texts of the
     provisions of national law which they       provisions of national law which they
     adopt in the field governed by this         adopt in the field governed by this
     Directive.                                  Directive.
               .<*% m
                                             Affole?
This Directive is addressed to the Member This Directive is addressed to the Member
States.                                      States.
Done at Brussels, (date)                     Done at Brussels, (date)
For the European Parliament                  Foe the European Parliament
                                             Foe the Council
 ---pagebreak---                                         A
                                                                   BSN «54-1475
                                                            COM(94) 455 final
                                                   DOCUMENTS
                                                                            15
                             Catalogue number : CB-CO-94-477-EN-C
                                                           ISBM 92-77-81291-5
OfficefiDrOffidalPublications of the Eurc^>can Communities
L-29S5 Luxembourg