The Andalusian Government will sanction unlicensed broadcasts with up to one million euros

The amounts for infractions classified as very serious, including broadcasting without a license, will range between 80,001 euros and one million for television communication services, and between 20,001 and 200,000 for radio communication services.

The Government Council has approved the start of the procedures for the preparation of the draft Audiovisual Law of Andalusia. The text will address the needs for comprehensive regulation of this strategic sector for the economy, social cohesion and cultural projection of the community, in addition to establishing measures to ensure the defense of the public service in this area so that privatizations or outsourcing cannot occur. The initial document, which the Council has seen, will be open to contributions from citizens and social agents before its processing as a project and submission to Parliament.

The future law will cover aspects insufficiently developed by the basic state regulations in force since 2010, especially regarding the expansion of user rights, the protection of minors, citizen participation, the control of illegal emissions and strengthening the sanctioning regime. One of its main novelties, also at the national level, will be the regulation of areas of the sector until now without regulatory recognition, as is the case of the public audiovisual service provided by universities and educational centers.

Regarding rights, the draft expands its catalog considering users not only as recipients of services, but as an integral part of audiovisual communication. In this sense, it establishes measures to improve citizen access to the media and the adequate reflection of the political, cultural and social diversity of the community. It also imposes specific obligations on administrations and the media for the protection of minors in their rights to honor, identity and image, in addition to guaranteeing knowledge of the contents of television services and their broadcast schedules with sufficient advance notice.

Among other novelties, the Andalusian standard will expand the reinforced protection time slots currently in force and established by basic state legislation (the General Law of Audiovisual Communication).

Content classified as recommended for children under 13 years of age must be included between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. and between 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. in the case of weekdays. The morning slot, currently located between 8:00 and 9:00, is thus increased by one hour. Furthermore, content that may be harmful to the physical, mental or moral development of minors may only be broadcast openly between 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. (currently the time slot is 10:00 p.m.-6:00 a.m.).

Similarly, the law will guarantee the rights of people with hearing and visual disabilities with various minimum requirements regarding adapted broadcast hours.

More citizen participation

In order to facilitate the involvement of society, the preliminary project includes the creation of the Audiovisual Participation Council of Andalusia, which will be made up of representatives of citizens and agents of the sector. This body, whose composition and functions will be detailed in subsequent regulatory development, must reflect the plural reality of the community and will function as guarantor of the rights of the population in relation to audiovisual communication services.

The regulation of the future law will reach all audiovisual communication service providers, including private, local public and regional providers. For the first time in Spain, those that arise in the areas of universities and public educational centers, as well as non-profit community organizations, will also be recognized and given legal coverage. With the definition of the conditions of provision, the management of its licenses and the control and supervision of its operation, the preliminary project thus achieves the comprehensive regulation of all areas of the sector.

In relation to support for audiovisual economic and business activity, which is currently developed in a dispersed manner, the draft establishes the bases of a system of incentives, tax credits and financing aid to support creation, production, distribution, exhibition and foreign promotion projects.

These aids, which will also cover training and research initiatives and others linked to tourism (such as the promotion of new cinematographic routes), will be specified in the Planning and Promotion Plan for the Audiovisual Sector, the bases of which have already been laid by the Board and which will be prepared in parallel to the processing of the bill.

La ley introducirá también destacadas novedades en relación con los derechos y obligaciones de los prestadores de servicios audiovisuales y fortalecerá los mecanismos de control vinculados a los de carácter público local. Se detallan así medidas para asegurar, con mayores garantías que la legislación estatal, la prohibición efectiva de emitir publicidad en emisoras sin licencia. Con la nueva ley, los anunciantes, las agencias de publicidad y los terceros que contraten con emisoras sin título habilitante serán también responsables.

In the same line of greater control of activity to fight against piracy, inspection activity and the sanctioning regime are reinforced. In the first of these aspects, the law will provide the autonomous Administration with new mechanisms to access places that may be linked to irregular or illegal broadcasts or audiovisual services. In this sense, the figure of the “necessary collaborator” is created, for example, for the owners of plots where emission towers are located, who must provide help to access them.

Sanctions

Regarding the disciplinary regime, the draft establishes new infractions and sanctions for cases of non-compliance with this collaboration and also for those who carry out commercial communications with unlicensed service providers.

The text also updates the economic sanctions provided for in the basic law to make them more in line with the reality and dimension of the audiovisual sector in Andalusia. The amounts for infractions classified as very serious, including broadcasting without a license, will range between 80,001 euros and one million for television communication services, and between 20,001 and 200,000 for radio communication services.

In the case of serious infractions, such as failing to comply with the duty of prior communication or altering the technical broadcast parameters, sanctions of between 20,001 and 80,000 euros may be imposed for television stations and between 10,001 and 20,000 for radio stations. The sanctioning regime is completed with fines for minor infractions of up to 20,000 and 10,000 euros, respectively.

The draft law that is now beginning its processing is the result of consensus with the Andalusian audiovisual sector. The initial text has been preceded by 23 meetings between the Board and more than fifty entities linked to this activity. Both the standard and the support plan that will be developed after its entry into force constitute the two main commitments adopted in 2014 at the Table for the Management and Promotion of the Audiovisual Sector of Andalusia, which brought together associations of professionals, operators, radio and television service providers, representatives of the communication technologies sector, union organizations, social groups linked to people with disabilities and minors, universities, consumers and users, the RTVA and various public entities.