New Law About The Future Audiovisual

Learn a little more about future "new Audiovisual Law" 

The government approved last October 16, 2009 the draft Audiovisual Communication Act.

This new legislation has as main objectives: to improve the current renewal of licenses for the chains, redistribute, broadcast times of the various television productions, providing greater control over the content to protect minors and to regulate the amount of advertising issued by the chains.

License Renewal

Current law states that force the renewal of licenses for the chains will be conducted every 10 years, giving the last word to the Government. Well, the new law will automatically renew licenses every 15 years if they meet the payment of reservation fees for radio public domain. The channels will have the opportunity to lease part of your bandwidth, even to be able to offer third to 50% of it.

Limitations on exclusive

One issue that has raised controversy is the limited exclusivity in the emission of events (eg football matches), since the law prioritizes the "right to information of citizens."

Enhancing European production

Another point of interest is the time reserved for European works, which shall be 51% of the time of issuance of the chains, both autonomic and state level. Alternative crops may be European works or in any of the official languages of the country. Excluded from this figure: news, sports, games, advertising, teletext and teleshopping.

Protection of minors

In order to protect minors, the law prohibits the broadcast of pornographic content open and gratuitous violence restricted between 22 hours and at 06 h always encoded or under parental control. The more moderate lewd content, but of equal involvement for minors, also should be brought within these hours and must be preceded by acoustic and visual signals.

Similarly, programs for gambling and betting (the ubiquitous "call TV") will be limited from 01h to 05h in the morning, either in open or encrypted.

What about advertising?

Regarding advertising, the text cites that "should not cause moral or physical detriment to minors (...) in the protected zone" thereby preventing content to promote the admiration of others, or advertisements that promote excessive cult of the body that rejection could create the image itself.

Advertising in general will cut the duration since the new law sets a maximum of 19 minutes per hour of broadcasting promotional, distributed as follows: 12 minutes to conventional advertising, and 5 minutes of self telepromotions 2 over.

Conclusion

It was not until the law comes into force to evaluate the results. At the moment there is one that welcomes, and that seems to offer many benefits towards the protection of minors, declining advertising content or expansion of European production. On the other hand, ad agencies, networks and different political groups seem to have disagreements with some aspects of the law, either economically or content. The controversy, once again, is served.