Broadcaster against Netflix & co., battle over remote controls and first TV screens

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An icon immediately visible on the home page of the devices, which acts as the single point of access to “Services of general interest”, which includes Rai, Mediaset and other commercial broadcasters, national radios, local TVs and other thematic networks such as new channels. But also at least one traditional remote control, the ones with the keypad, which will have all the numbers (1, 2, 3, 4, up to zero).

The consultation

Agcom launches the public consultation «on the guidelines and on the regulatory requirements to guarantee the prominence of audiovisual and radio media services of general interest», reads the Authority’s press release. In essence, on the system that can allow traditional broadcasters to defend themselves from the onslaught of streaming giants and web platforms that have come to threaten traditional TV even inside the devices, with smart TVs that already on the first screen risk sending users far away from traditional channels.

The icon for «historic» players

That’s why the Communications Authority has launched this 3-day consultation in which, as reported in the Agcom press release, the icon for SIGs is expected to be mandatory next to the icons of traditional broadcasters and those of services innovative at Netflix to be clear. «Publishers, other than Rai and national generalist broadcasters, who intend to be qualified as “services of general interest” – Agcom explains – will have to submit a specific request to the Authority within 30 days of the definitive approval of the measure».

The traditional remote control requirement

The regulation also governs the installation methods and conditions of accessibility of the automatic channel numbering system, “in order to preserve the availability and accessibility of the contents usable via the digital terrestrial platform”. And herein lies the delicacy of a regulation that will have an impact on the production policies of the manufacturers of televisions and remote controls called to intervene both in hardware devices and in software.

The automatic numbering system will in fact have to be installed in the new generation televisions marketed in Italy and «at least one of the remote controls supplied together with a device» must have «numeric keys which allow access to digital terrestrial television channels. Digital terrestrial television channels must also be accessible via a box or icon in the first window of the home page”.