Media Study - Medija centar Beograd

3.5.2 RECOMMENDATION ON MUST CARRY
Background
As “must carry” rules have significant economic consequences for cable operators 88 , such obligations shall only be
imposed where they are essential to meet clearly defined public interest objectives such as pluralism and diversity
fairness and equal access to distribution. In particular, must-carry may be appropriate in the absence of alternative
delivery mechanisms, including situations where subscribers are locked-in to a given platform 89 . They shall be
transparent. An appropriate remuneration for “must carry” obligations may be considered. Where remuneration is
provided for, it shall be set in a proportionate and transparent manner, e.g. in ‘feed-in’ agreements.
While on analogue cable networks with a limited bouquet of program choices, it may be sufficient to ensure
plurality by obliging cable operators to carry programs of public broadcasters, the situation on digitized cable
networks may have to be reconsidered. Due to the big choice, carriage of public broadcasters’ programs may not
be sufficient as its proportion in relation to other programs is insignificantly small. If all other cable capacities are
filled with content which does not safeguard plurality (e.g. imaging a scenario where only movie channels,
interactive shows were available), there is doubt that plurality is ensured. Thus the extent to which plurality
between programs / used channels should be ensured may have to be considered 90 .
Although these rules concern mostly cable regulation, they are best addressed in the Broadcasting Law as they
focus on plurality rather than on the means of transmission (only in the latter case, the law on electronic
communications may be the more appropriate place to address the issue).
Recommendation
It is recommended through regulation to ensure optimal plurality in cable distribution:
Plurality of programs over the cable must be ensured on analogue cables as well as in of cable upgrades and
digitalization.
“Must carry” rules must be adapted to the technological development of cable, IPTV and other distribution
networks.
A fair share of non-linear content should be permitted and the cable operators adequately compensated.
88 Refer to http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/policy/ecomm/doc/current/broadcasting/working_doc_must_carry.pdf.
89 This impact is all the more important since competition, in particular on broadband, has moved many cable operators from “mere” radio and
television markets to the “triple play”, i.e. not only into broadcasting but also in internet access and voice telephony, where they compete with
internet access providers and more traditional telecommunications companies. (source: EU working paper on must carry
http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/policy/ecomm/doc/current/broadcasting/working_doc_must_carry.pdf , retrieved on April 23 rd 2010)
90 During an intermediate period, there will be the need to carry both analogue and digital channels during the
changeover from analogue to digital; must carry rules must be fine tuned to ensure that cable operators are not
over burdened (Proportionality).
95