CSA outlines vision of future media regulation

French media regulator the CSA has outlined its initial thoughts on the creation of a new audiovisual law for the country.

The CSA has proposed a system of co-regulation for online video content, based on self-regulation within a framework set by the CSA, which would intervene only in cases where self-regulation failed.

The regulator has proposed among other things that its power to regulate the pay TV market be strengthened to ensure that competition be maintained, that a tax should be levied on the sale or change in ownership of services with broadcast licences. The CSA has also proposed a strengthening of its involvement in the regulation of public media and a fixing of an audience percentage limit for any national TV service distributed on the terrestrial network.

It would also like to see a modernisation of the country’s digital-terrestrial platform, driven forward by the fixing of a deadline for the shut-down of MPEG-2 services at the end of 2015 and the launch of new services using DVB-T2 and HEVC video coding. The SA would also like the power to issue requests for proposals to migrate existing standard definition services exclusively to HD.

Other proposed measures include taking another look at the obligations of connected TV and video sharing sites.