VOD Industry Research

Regulation topic	Relevant information
Topic 2 - The regulation of media and long form drama in the UK  https://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/oct/14/video-on-demand-ofcom-atvod  https://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv-radio-and-on-demand/advice-for-consumers/television/video-on-demand  https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/may/25/netflix-and-amazon-must-guarantee-20-of-content-is-european   http://www.chillglobal.com/blog/posts/netflix-and-the-eu-content-regulation	The first article explained the new regulatory position that the UK’s Ofcom is taking to provide stronger regulations within the VOD areas. It is worth noting, that the previous ATVOD only covered UK based VOD services, however, the new approach will also include regulation of services provided internationally, such as in this example, Netflix.   The second source explains how Ofcom actually regulate the VOD content. It is found that it is actually similar to what is required of TV stations within the UK, with regards to hate speech, adult content and so on. Two important things here. The first, is that it details how people are to go about making complaints, and the second, is how people who have complaints on content shown on the BBC’s VOD service, iPlayer, should be directed to the BBC first.  The third source explains how these popular services, when in the EU, should also place good visibility on shows and content produced in Europe. This is intended to bring the services closer to the kind of regulation that TV programmes are subject to.  The fourth source is a further elaboration of the above, stating that Netflix is not happy with the new rules being introduced, and has tried several times to point out how the service is already compliant with this. For example, The Crown being based around the British monarchy and so on.
Topic 3 - The impact of new media technologies on regulation  https://9to5mac.com/2017/02/08/new-eu-rules-will-remove-geoblocking-so-customers-can-use-online-subscription-services-like-netflix-abroad/  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/05/26/the-eus-plans-to-regulate-content-on-streaming-services-are-a-mi/	The first article explains how the issue of availability of different streaming services are present across countries.  For example, the US form of Netflix has different content to the UK form, and vice versa. The article also explains how this will also impact users watching abroad. For example, if someone from the UK went on holiday to the US, and wanted to watch Netflix, they would now be allowed to do so, but they would only have access to the US content.   The second article also touches on the issue of prevailing European-based drama, but goes on to mention how the programmes are going to be funded, either they pay for them themselves, or place a fund into a central fund.