Europe’s web TV services get a chance to skip borders

London: Siim Teller is a big fan of the British Broadcasting Corp. A 37-year-old Estonian, he got hooked on the documentaries, period dramas and other programmes after living in London for four years.

But when he moved to Berlin 18 months ago with his family, Teller could no longer watch British television because of strict copyright rules that stopped at national borders.

“How can they just decide that content is only available in one country when everyone now moves around so much?” asked Teller, who also subscribes to the online streaming services Netflix and Amazon Prime and who regularly tunes into Estonian news programmes. “I understand the commercial reasons, but for the viewer, it’s just annoying.”

Like Teller, many Europeans complain that they cannot view digital content from across the region. But that may soon change. New proposals published aim to give the European Union’s 500 million consumers greater choice of digital streaming content.

Under the revamp, video-on-demand services from national broadcasters, like the BBC iPlayer; digital players like Netflix; as well as potentially premium movies offered by Hollywood studios, among others, may become more readily available across the European Union. (British broadcasters may eventually not be subject to the rules, once Britain leaves the 28-member bloc).

The goal is to allow people from Portugal to Poland to stream shows online and give national broadcasters a Continent-size possible audience as part of efforts to create a unified digital market across the European Union. The copyright proposals will now be debated for two years before becoming law.

Not everyone, though, is happy. Here is a primer on who would benefit and who would most likely lose from the proposal.

The winners

Europeans like Teller could suddenly be able to view streaming content from across the region, giving them access to a huge catalogue of movies and television programmes that have so far been off limits. They may also be able to buy premium content, like pay-TV movies, from other European countries where prices are lower than in their home countries. National broadcasters would still be able to decide whether to offer content outside their home countries.

Streaming services like Netflix and Wuaki, a Barcelona-based rival whose offerings are already available across the Continent, could tap into a broader range of content to offer to their subscribers. Currently, these companies must pen licensing deals in individual countries, so Netflix’s service in Germany, for example, has different content than what is available in France. The copyright changes could end such restrictions.

The losers

Hollywood studios and smaller European distributors could see a drop in how much money they can generate if they can no longer sell their content on a country-by-country basis. Big-budget studios currently make money selling the rights to the likes of Marvel’s “Avengers” and other blockbusters to each European country individually.

But smaller content distributors have baulked, claiming that less money may be set aside to support art-house cinema and television programmes if Europe’s media industry became one-size-fits-all. These companies may, as a result, have fewer resources to invest in local European material, forgoing a French or German comedy that would have limited appeal in favour of American-style blockbusters that reach a mass audience.

National broadcasters and some premium rights holders are likely to face mixed fortunes as Europeans search for the cheapest or most attractive options. While these companies will now have access to a much bigger market, analysts warn that only the largest national broadcasters — with the deepest pockets — are likely to attract the biggest followings.

Premium rights holders in one country may also be undercut by those in another that can offer the same movie content at a lower price, though Europe’s policymakers say they would still have control over how people watch their content online.

— New York Times News Service