ATVOD freezes fees

UK video-on-demand regulator ATVOD has frozen the fees paid by UK on-demand operators to the regulator this year after three consecutive years in which average fees have fallen.

The Ofcom-approved tariff will sees fees frozen at the level of £91-£96 (€113-€119) for non-commercial service providers, and £137-145 and £183-£193 for commercial operators with turnover below £50,000 and £100,000 respectively.

For other operators a three-band standard tariff will be set at rates of £732-£771, £4,740-£6,151, and £9,480-£12,302, depending on the turnover of the individual service provider. There will be a cap of £25,000 on total fees paid by any single provider.

“The proposals we set out in the consultation took account of the work we had done in partnership with the industry through a joint working party and were endorsed by the majority of respondents,” said ATVOD CEO Pete Johnson.

“We are very pleased to be able to freeze fees after three consecutive years in which average fees have fallen. The outcome demonstrates the effective operation of a co-regulatory arrangement which allows statutory rules to be rigorously enforced in a manner which minimises the impact on compliant services.”