Medien

Copyright and license agreements: Fair conditions for cable television and IPTV

Support in acquiring copyrights and ancillary copyrights for the distribution of television or radio programs is one of the association’s strong services for its network operators. Originally, this applied to traditional cable distribution, but today it also applies to IPTV, television services on the open Internet (OTT) and time-shifted functionalities. In the cable TV and IPTV sector, ANGA members have a market share of over 90 percent.

The association’s services include, in particular, the provision of pre-negotiated model license agreements with the collecting societies. This enables network operators to acquire the necessary rights at considerably reduced conditions and without having to negotiate on their own.

If no agreement can be reached with individual collecting societies, ANGA also fights in court proceedings in the interests of its members and the entire telecommunications industry. Last year, the association achieved an extraordinary success in a legal dispute with the collecting society Corint Media. ANGA also campaigns for fair framework conditions for copyright law at federal and EU level.

Media policy: More diversity instead of more regulation

Audiovisual content is playing an increasingly important role. Modern telecommunications networks are indispensable for this. High-performance fiber optic, HFC and 5G networks enable the reliable provision of content, streaming services and live broadcasts. Users are increasingly turning to their mobile devices to watch videos and films on the go – this is where mobile networks are crucial. The digital transformation of the media industry is dependent on reliable, high-performance telecommunications networks.

For years, media policy has focused on ever more detailed regulation in order to shape the relationship between traditional broadcasting and new services and providers. As providers of media platforms and user interfaces, our member companies are also subject to media regulation. We actively support them in implementing these regulations. In our dealings with politicians, we advocate seeing new services as an opportunity and focusing on the needs of viewers.