1. The regulatory response to media concentration New IRIS Special report
European Audiovisual Observatory - Public Workshop
12 October 2016, Brussels
Prof. Dr. Mark D. Cole, Director for Academic Affairs, EMR and Professor of Media and Telecommunication Law at the University of Luxembourg 1

2. Outline I. The Institute of European Media Law (EMR)
II. Structure of the report
III. Media diversity at European level
IV. Conclusions
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3. The Institute of European Media Law (EMR)
Founded in 1990
Today, among the most prestigious research institutes in the area of media law in Germany, but active across Europe
Partner of the EAO (cooperation agreement) and many other national, European and international institutions
EMR media network (European media law correspondents)
Main scope of activities:
Research projects and legal studies (focus on comparative legal analyses)
Conferences
Publications 3

4. Outline I. The Institute of European Media Law (EMR)
II. Theme and Structure of the report
III. Media diversity at European level
IV. Conclusions
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5. IRIS Special – the new report
Media ownership Market realities and regulatory responses 5

6. Structure of the Report
Media ownership in European markets (the economics view)
Guaranteeing media diversity at European level: the legal framework and its implementation (EU/CoE/interplay MS)
Media Pluralism Monitor: an instrument to measure and publicise media concentration
Media concentration reports concerning selected countries: Germany, UK, Italy, France, Spain, Poland
Legislative framework (Constitutional, specific law); „convergence“ factor; interplay with competition law; monitoring; status quo/recent developments
Conclusions 6

7. Outline I. The Institute of European Media Law (EMR)
II. Theme and Structure of the report
III. Media diversity at European level
IV. Conclusions
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8. Guaranteeing Media diversity at European level
Analysis covers European Union as well as activities of the Council of Europe
Actual role of European level not fully clear – question of competency esp. of EU
Relevant legal framework
The human rights context:
Art. 10 European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)
Case law ECtHR! Explicit mention of pluralism as justification
Art. 11 EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (CFR)
Incorporating ECHR incl ECtHR interpretation and explicit mention in para. 2
But: no media- or media-concentration-specific regulation 8

9. Measures and Instruments on European level
Measures to prevent media concentration in the EU
EU competition law and practice
Art. 101, 102 TFEU, Regulation (EC) No. 139/2004 (= Mergers Reg.)
Detailed analysis of market definitions in convergent markets
Relationship between EU and national level
Esp. “double test” EU competition law and national specific law safeguarding legitimate interests = media pluralism (foreseen in Art. 21 (4) Mergers Reg.)
Exemplified by presenting recent relevant Commission cases which had to deal with question of convergence and its impact on market definitions
Lack of specific legislative acts, but important EU political initiatives
e.g. Green Papers, Parliament resolutions, Funding decisions (MPM)
MPM: systematic information collection, awareness, comparability 9

10. Measures and Instruments on European level
Measures to prevent media concentration in the context of the Council of Europe
Recommendations of the Committee of Ministers
Recommendations of the Parliamentary Assembly
Non-binding but important impulse for CoE-Member State action and awareness building
Recently esp. concerning transparency of media ownership
Impact of media-related markets and players
E.g. “media agencies” as players potentially impacting diversity due to financing element
E.g. IT giants with “data power” and how this impacts other media providers 10

11. Outline I. The Institute of European Media Law (EMR)
II. Theme and Structure of the report
III. Media diversity at European level
IV. Conclusions
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12. Conclusions
Media pluralism a basic requirement for freedom of expression and information in a democratic society
Constitutional principle in most countries examined
Fundamental rights in ECHR, CFR, but no media-specific binding law at European level
Decisive impact of EU competition law on media diversity
Relevant CoE recommendations/resolutions provide political impetus for media regulation in MS 12

13. Conclusions Main findings in the states examined
Variety of instruments in place in the states examined to combat media concentration and guarantee media pluralism:
Specific provisions to safeguard media pluralism in most countries
General competition rules
Other protective measures, e.g. implementation and protection of public service broadcasting meeting minimum quality standards and ensuring the provision of a certain breadth of information in an independent and balanced way
Ongoing debates about the protection of media pluralism in many countries 13

14. Conclusions Challenges created by convergence
Digitisation, technical advances
Changing user behaviour (focus on Internet services)
New types of media services via Internet
New big players
Content providers (e.g. Netflix, Amazon Prime)
Intermediaries (e.g. Google, Facebook)
 Safeguarding media pluralism remains an important task and instruments need to be constantly re-evaluated in the changing landscape 14

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