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Content Futures

The rise of content and media intermediaries as digital gate-keepers raises major policy and regulation concerns. IIC members agree that consumer choice offers benefits. Does the trend towards non-bundled offers in pay TV threaten diversity, and what concerns remain for some types of content: national content in smaller markets, local reporting in larger markets? And, if regulation does create a level playing field between OTTs and telcos, will demand for local content naturally emerge and reward local players?

Q&A with Augusto Preta Q&A with Augusto Preta

Augusto Preta - CEO, IT Media Consulting, Chairman, IIC Italian Chapter

  • Monday, 17 July 2017

Key speakers on Content Futures

Adriana Labardini Inzunza

Adriana Labardini Inzunza

Alejandra de Iturriaga Gandini

Alejandra de Iturriaga Gandini

Alfredo Rafael Deluque Zuleta (Dr)

Alfredo Rafael Deluque Zuleta (Dr)

Andrew Barendse (Dr)

Andrew Barendse (Dr)

Andrew Hall

Andrew Hall

Angelo Marcelio Cardani (Professor )

Angelo Marcelio Cardani (Professor )

Talks on Content Futures

More InterMedia articles on Content Futures

  • Q&A With Madeleine de Cock Buning

    President of the Dutch Media Authority.
    June 2015, Volume 43 Issue 02

  • Smartphones: Liberation or limits?

    As more people, especially the less well off, have only a smartphone to access
    the internet, there are signs that a new type of digital divide could develop.
    Ofcom’s Alison Preston describes new research carried out in the UK

    July 2016, Volume 44 Issue 02

  • Principles for Policymakers

    Today’s media and communications world needs a fundamental set of principles to help policymakers determine public value. ROBERT PICARD and VICTOR PICKARD have just such a global set to hand.

    July 2017, Volume 45 Issue 2

  • Video’s Demands

    Trends in internet video services are becoming apparent, and regulatory and competition agencies need to respond, as Augusto preta reports.
    June 2015, Volume 43 Issue 02

  • Voyage of discovery

    Jean-Pierre Blais reports from Canada on 'discoverability' and the paradox of finding good television content in an age of seeming abundance
    April 2016, Volume 44 Issue 01

  • Searching For The Creative Economy

    Ian Hargreaves  pieces together projects and evidence that are defining a crucial, technology driven sector of the economy.
    January 2016, Volume 43 Issue 04

  • Challenges for Audiovisual Regulation

    How is media policy and regulation developing in a world moving from broadcasting to audiovisual content on many platforms? Joan Barata presents the agenda.
    October 2016, Volume 44 Issue 03

  • Competing for Protection

    What is the status of international copyright reform in the digital age? TED SHAPIRO contrasts efforts at the World Intellectual Property Organisation with ongoing reform in the EU as part of the digital single market initiative.

    April 2017, Volume 45 Issue 1

  • Freedom vs Security

    Once again, the competing discourses of freedom of expression and national security are in play, as Monroe Price discusses in the context of global media policy.
    October 2016, Volume 44 Issue 03

  • Modern Times

    How can children gain vital literacy skills in today's internet, mobile phone and video game era? Aviva Silver says it's about storytelling.
    September 2015, Volume 43 Issue 03

  • Next Steps for Audiovisual Regulation

    Highlights of the review of Europe’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive are explored by Lorna Woods. Changes in how video-sharing platforms  are judged could have major global implications for service providers.
    July 2016, Volume 44 Issue 02

  • Platform or Publisher?

    The US election has brought the debate about whether social media firms such as Facebook are really media players, not technology platforms, into sharp relief, as and discuss.

    January 2017, Volume 44 Issue 4

  • Q&A with Celene Craig

    Celine CRAIG, Deputy Chief Executive, Broadcasting Authority of Ireland – Údarás Craolacháin na hÉireann
    Newsletter Issue 38

  • Q&A With Deepak Jacob

    President and General Counsel, Star TV group in India
    September 2015, Volume 43 Issue 03

  • Seamingly Successful

    Rene Arnold and Anna Schneider explore the level playing field debate on OTT services from a consumer perspective.
    October 2016, Volume 44 Issue 03

  • Spectrum Clash

    The pressure on terrestrial broadcasters to give spectrum to the mobile sector shows no sign of letting up. Roland Beutler, at Germany's Südwestrundfunk, a regional public broadcaster, puts his side of the debate.
    September 2015, Volume 43 Issue 03

  • TV in a mobile world

    Can broadcasting make the step into an increasingly mobile world? Roland Beutler discusses technology and business models in the context of public service remits, mobile network operators and the new world of 5G.
    October 2016, Volume 44 Issue 03

Regulatory Watch articles on Content Futures

  • Mapping digital financial inclusion

    The Brookings Financial and Digital Inclusion Project (FDIP) report for 2017 evaluates access to and usage of affordable financial services by underserved people across 26 geographically, politically and economically diverse countries.

  • OECD reports on Mexico’s telecoms reform

    Mexico’s 2013 telecom reform has brought benefits, spurring competition that has increased access and brought down mobile internet costs from among the highest in advanced economies to among the lowest, according to the OECD Telecommunication and Broadcasting Review of Mexico 2017.

  • Ireland’s call for social media regulation

    An independent regulatory body should be established to resolve social media complaints, the Press Council of Ireland has said.

  • Ireland’s Press Council wants a social media regulator

    An independent regulatory body should be established to resolve social media complaints, the Press Council of Ireland has said. It issued a statement following widespread reports...

  • Venezuelan activists take to transport to give the news

    Riding public transport armed with a wobbly TV-shaped cardboard frame and loud voices, a group of young Venezuelan activists have found a novel way to transmit news, in a country where space has shrunk for stories about hardship and protests, finds Reuters.

  • Thailand looks at unifying telecoms and broadcasting

    Thailand’s telecoms regulator is floating the idea of revamping the regulatory framework governing the provisions of telecoms and broadcasting services in Thailand with a unified licensing regime, notes the Bangkok Post.

  • Germany plans social media law

    Germany is planning a new law calling for social networks like Facebook to remove slanderous or threatening online postings quickly or face fines, reports Reuters. “This (draft law) sets out binding standards for the way operators of social networks deal with complaints...

  • FCC is studying media ownership rules

    FCC chairman Ajit Pai has said that the agency is studying restrictions on media ownership, characterising a number of the rules as “quite antiquated”. In an interview with Variety, Pai said that an easing of such restrictions “is one of the issues that is under consideration”.

  • European media report studies pluralism

    The European Audiovisual Observatory, part of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, has published a study, “Media ownership, market realities and regulatory responses”, which asks how European and national legislation can protect media pluralism, whether this be in the form of a multitude of operators making available a large variety choice of programming, or...

  • France’s regulator warns that convergence harms investment

    The head of the French telecoms regulator has warned that the growing trend for mobile operators to offer bundles of telecoms and TV services across Europe risks harming investment in their networks, reports the Financial Times.

  • Content and mobile roaming in Europe

    Europeans will soon be able to fully use their online subscriptions to films, sports events, e-books, video games or music services when travelling within the EU, according to an agreement reached by negotiators of the European Parliament, the member states and the European Commission.

  • Spain to collect copying levy

    The Spanish government is preparing to include cloud storage, smartphones, tablets and hard drives in a new private copy levy designed to replace the previous “digital canon” declared illegal...

  • Global kids online

    A majority of children say they learn something new online at least every week, but large numbers still face risks online,...

  • Norway turns off FM stations

    Norway is turning off its FM radio stations, making good on a decision made in April 2016, and following a radio digitisation mandate issued by the Storting (the Norwegian parliament) in 2011.

  • Taiwan’s regulator proposes SMP rule changes

    Taiwan’s National Communications Commission (NCC) has proposed regulations that would enhance its power to determine what entities would become “significant market powers” (SMPs), while allowing carriers to use frequencies more flexibly, the Taipei Times reports.

  • EU audiovisual regulator group makes plans

    During its recent plenary meeting in Brussels the European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services (ERGA) adopted its report on accessibility, established its work programme for 2017 and re-elected Madeleine de Cock Buning (Netherlands) as chair,...

  • EU Council of Ministers agrees on digital development policy aims

    The EU’s Council of Ministers has issued conclusions on mainstreaming digital solutions and technologies in EU development policy, as adopted by the Council at a meeting held on 28 November. It says the exponential spread and scale-up of information and communication technologies (ICT), including the internet, have “profound global implications”,...

  • UK advertising regulator to rule on internet speed claims

    UK broadband companies will be made to change the way they advertise their internet speeds, under regulator plans, notes the BBC. “The Advertising Standards Authority says current descriptions of speeds ‘up to’ a certain amount are confusing...

  • PTS discontinues auction of the 700 MHz band

    The Swedish government has decided that the 694-790 MHz frequency band should be available for terrestrial television broadcasting subject to a permit obligation up to and including 31 May 2018, which revokes the decision made by the government in 2014 to release the space for other use.

  • Report on regional and local broadcasting in Europe

    The European Audiovisual Observatory, part of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, has published an analysis of the current state of regional and local broadcasting in Europe, writes Broadband TV News.

  • Italian regulator looks at OTT services; broadband plan approved

    Italian telecoms regulator Agcom has published the results of a study into electronic communications services, and in particular over the top (OTT) social messaging tools such as WhatsApp, Skype, iMessage and Facebook Messenger, notes TeleGeography.

  • Thailand drafts a progressive universal service fund rule for TV operators

    Thailand's National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has approved the draft of a new universal service obligation (USO) fund rule, which will charge TV operators a progressive rate based on actual revenue, reports the Bangkok Post.

  • Europe’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive set for major update

    The European Commission has proposed an updated Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) that "reflects the new approach of the Commission towards online platforms

  • YouTube criticised for poor contribution to musicians

    The BPI, a record labels' association which promotes British music, has published its Music Market 2016 yearbook, a guide to the UK recorded music industry in numbers.

  • Sri Lanka’s media reforms ‘long overdue’

    'Rebuilding public trust – an assessment of the media industry and profession in Sri Lanka' assesses the media environment in Sri Lanka using the Media Development Indicators (MDIs), an internationally accepted framework developed by UNESCO to assess the state of media in a country. 

  • Accessibility deal for European public sector websites

    A deal to make public sector websites more accessible – particularly to those with disabilities – has been agreed by the three European Union institutions, notes Ars Technica.

  • Germany to change WiFi copyright law

    The law is to be changed in Germany to allow businesses to operate open WiFi networks without being liable for copyright infringement carried out by users of those networks, notes OutLaw.com, quoting German media sources.

  • Australian regulator may get broader remit The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) could be given both a broader and a deeper remit to cover all layers of the communications sector if the recommendations of a government review are enacted, reports IT News.
  • Digital rights of children now a priority

    On 2 March 2016, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe formally adopted the third Council of Europe Strategy for the Rights of the Child, writes Sonia Livingstone on a London School of Economics blog.

  • Tool for m-health apps regulation from the US FTC

    The US Federal Trade Commission has created a web-based tool for developers of health-related mobile apps to help developers understand what federal laws and regulations might apply to their apps.

  • New Zealand aims for utility style framework

    New Zealand's communications minister, Amy Adams, has announced a series of high-level policy decisions on the future regulation of the telecoms sector.

  • Broadcast carriage fee stand-off in India

    Broadcasters in India have called for regulation or near-total abolition of carriage fee while distribution platform operators (DPOs) have said that carriage fee should be left untouched to allow market forces to decide, reports Television Post.

  • Norway’s ‘e-coms’ plan

    Norway's transport and communications minister, Ketil Solvik-Olsen, says a document has been drawn up concerning the development of electronic communications infrastructure, with the aim of ensuring digital employment in Norway.

  • Cambodia’s telecoms law under fire

    A human rights group is criticising Cambodia's telecoms law for provisions that it says undermine free speech and violate the privacy of individuals, reports Advox.

  • Ad blockers get slammed but malicious ads exist

    An “unethical, immoral, mendacious coven of techie wannabes” – that is how Randall Rothenberg, president of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, describes ad-blocking companies, reports the Financial Times.

  • Concerns about Croatia’s broadcast regulator

    The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s (OSCE) representative on freedom of the media, Dunja Mijatović, has expressed concern about a “sudden decision” by the Croatian government 

  • Internet drives Taiwan regulatory reform

    At the end of 2015, "after a long run of ambitious regulatory reform", Taiwan's National Communications Commission (NCC) officially released its legislative proposal on five new laws 

  • Abandon legislative silos in Europe, report says

    Europe needs to abandon its separate legislative silos for the internet, audiovisual media and electronic communications and replace them with one regulatory framework for all digital infrastructures and another one for all digital services, to ensure a level-playing field in the digital value chain, says a report from the Centre on Regulation in Europe (CERRE).

  • Ad blockers get slammed but malicious ads exist

    An “unethical, immoral, mendacious coven of techie wannabes” – that is how Randall Rothenberg, president of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, describes ad-blocking companies, reports the Financial Times.

  • ERGA speaks out on regulator independence

    The European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services (ERGA) has released a number of statements and reports, including a statement on the necessity of independent media, drafted in the light of the recent developments in Poland, as well a report on the independence of the national regulators.

  • 'Media Interests' snapshot released by ACMA

    The Australian Communications & Media Authority has released a Media Interests Snapshot infographic...

  • Commission proposals on copyright and digital contracts

    As part of its Digital Single Market strategy, the European Commission has proposed allowing Europeans to travel with their online content, and also a plan to modernise EU copyright rules.

  • Argentina ‘to scrap media ownership law’

    Oscar Aguad, head of Argentina’s new communications ministry, has announced that the government wants to scrap the country’s controversial media law, which prohibits telecoms operators from owning TV channels, notes Telecom Paper.

  • Ofcom bringing video-on-demand in-house

    The regulation of video-on-demand programme services is being brought fully within Ofcom, the UK regulator, to sit alongside its regulation of broadcast content.

  • Media ownership rules ‘obselete’ – NBN chair

    The chair of Australia’s National Broadband Network (NBN) has argued that Australia's cross-media ownership laws are no longer necessary, as the advent of streaming video-on-demand services such as Netflix have rendered them obsolete, notes ZDNet.

  • Net neutrality complaint in Canada

    Canada’s largest wireless provider, Rogers, has filed a complaint with the regulator, CRTC, siding with the Public Interest Advocacy Centre’s concern that Videotron’s newly-launched Unlimited Music service is in violation of Canada’s net neutrality rules, reports MobileSyrup.

  • US consumers go for OTT but broadband choice urged

    In recent years, a lot of media and telecoms executives dismissed the idea that Americans would stop subscribing to cable and satellite TV services, an editorial in the New York Times notes.

  • Australian allows HD-only TV

    Australia’s communications minster, Malcolm Turnbull, has introduced the Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Primary Television Broadcasting Service) Bill 2015, an amendment to 1992’s Broadcasting Services Act that will remove the regulation requiring Australian television stations to broadcast in standard definition on their main channels, reports Advanced Television.

  • Low power IoT project up and running

    The GSMA has announced its Mobile IoT initiative, a project backed by 26 of the world’s leading mobile operators, OEMs, chipset, module and infrastructure companies, designed to address the use of low power wide area (LPWA) solutions in licensed spectrum.

  • Asia-Pacific internet users want more policy involvement

    A survey by the Internet Society on internet policy trends in Asia-Pacific has found that the majority of respondents would like their government to provide more opportunities for multistakeholder involvement in policymaking for the internet.

  • Indonesia to review OTT licensing

    Indonesia's Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (known locally as Kemenkominfo) has said it intends to review the legal position concerning the licensing of over-the-top (OTT) service providers.

  • Public sector broadcasting reviewed in the UK

    Ofcom, the UK's converged regulator, has published a third review on public sector TV, "Public service broadcasting in the internet age". The review finds that public service broadcasters continue to make a significant contribution to UK broadcasting.

  • Q&A - Manuel Kohnstamm

    Manuel Kohnstamm, Senior Vice President and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Liberty Global

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