ATVOD

The Association for Television on Demand

The Association for Television on-Demand (“ATVOD”) has been designated as the appropriate regulatory authority for editorial content in an ODPS and also for determining whether the provider of an ODPS has complied with its obligation to notify. 

 

ATVOD wrote to the service provider on 18^th October 2010 informing the service provider of the statutory obligation to notify provision of an ODPS, and setting out the statutory criteria which define an ODPS. We advised the service provider to refer to ATVOD’s ‘Guidance on who needs to notify’ which is available on our website at (www.atvod.co.uk) and  to seek legal advice if appropriate. This letter made clear that a fee was payable with regard to each ODPS and that the fee for the period to 31 March 2011 was £2,900 per service.  Small scale providers who can demonstrate that they have or will have genuine difficulties in paying the full fee – either because: they would be inhibited from being able to provide a new OPDS or would be prevented from continuing to provide an existing one; and/or there are exceptional reasons justifying why they should not be required to pay the full fee – may be eligible for a reduced concessionary fee.

 

Having applied the statutory criteria to the Service, and having considered any response the service provider may have made to our previous letter, we wrote to the service provider on 26^th January 2011 to inform the service provider that we had come to a preliminary view that the Service is an ODPS in respect of which a notification has not been given and in respect of which a fee has not been paid, and that our preliminary view was that the service provider is in contravention of sections 368BA (Requirement to notify an ODPS) and 368D(3)(za) (Requirement to pay a fee) of the Act.

 

 In accordance with our powers under section 368BB(1) of the Act, we invited the service provider to make representations within 21 days. 

 

In a response dated 28^th January 2011 the service provider stated its position that it disputed ATVOD’s authority to ‘levy the proposed fee’ and refered to communications with HM Government regarding what it described as ‘failures in process’.

 

Taking all the relevant considerations into account, including the representations made by the service provider, ATVOD has concluded that the Service is an ODPS. This is because the Service fulfils each of the relevant criteria set out in section 368A(1) of the Act as follows:

 

(a)        its principal purpose is the provision of programmes the form and content of which are comparable to the form and content of programmes normally included in television programme services;

The programmes provided on Country Channel TV are comparable to the form and content

of programmes normally included in television programme services. They follow the conventions of TV programmes, with edited introductions, background music, presenters, interviews, illustrative footage and graphics, and so on.  Examples include the ‘Campaign for Wool’ programmes. The content of the programmes is also similar to the content of many programmes normally included in television programme services, for example documentaries on country matters or wildlife programmes.  According to the site’s text description it includes ‘over 750 on-demand programmes on Farming, Lifestyle, Wildlife and Animals, Recreation, Equestrian and Country Sports.’

 ATVOD considers that the principal purpose of Country Channel TV is to provide these TV-like programmes.

 (b)       access to it is on-demand;

Country Channel TV can be watched at a time of the viewer’s choosing.

(c)        there is a person who has editorial responsibility for it;

The programmes on Country Channel TV have been selected and organised into a coherent catalogue of viewing options with a distinct editorial proposition.

(d)        it is made available by that person for use by members of the public; and

Country Channel TV is made available on the open internet. Anyone with access to the internet can view the programmes

(e)        that person is under the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom for the purposes of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive.

Country Channel TV is provided by The Country Channel Limited which has its registered office at The Long Barn, Chalford park Barns, Oxford Road, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire OX7 5QR.

Having concluded that the Service is an ODPS,  ATVOD has determined that a contravention of section 368BA (Requirement to notify an ODPS) and section 368D(3)(za) (Requirement to pay a fee) has occurred because on the basis of the information available (a) the Service is an ODPS; (b)  the provider of the Service has not, before beginning to provide the Service, given a notification to the appropriate regulatory authority of an intention to provide that service or, if the Service was already being provided on 18 March 2010, did not give a notification before 30 April 2010; and (c) the provider has not paid the regulatory fee for the current financial period ending 31 March 2011, as required by ATVOD under section 368NA of the Act.

 

The service provider may request an appeal by Ofcom of ATVOD’s decision that the Service is an ODPS or that it is the provider of the ODPS. Ofcom requires appeals to be made in writing within 10 working days of the date of the relevant decision. In urgent cases a shorter period may apply. Appeals must be made according to Ofcom’s current procedures. These may be found at: http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/consultations/on-demand-programme-services/.

 

If no appeal is made or if any appeal to Ofcom is unsuccessful or if Ofcom determines that the request has been made out of time, ATVOD may proceed to issue an Enforcement Notification under section 368BB(1)(a) or section 368I(1) of the Act following consultation with Ofcom.  ATVOD may also refer the matter to Ofcom for consideration of the imposition of a financial penalty under section 368BB(1)(b) of the Act or of suspension or restriction of the service under section 368K of the Act.