MEPs have rejected a move to oblige television stations within the EU to give a quota of 51 per cent transmission time to European-produced programmes.
An amendment to regulations from the Council of Ministers on broadcasting, favouring a 51 per cent quota, failed to secure the necessary 50 per cent vote yesterday. Member countries will now be requested to supply 51 per cent European produced programmes where practicable".
An amendment was adopted under which member-states will be asked to ensure that broadcasters who secure exclusive rights to important events of general interest, both national and/or European", do not exercise those rights in such a way "as to deprive a sizeable proportion of the public in the member-state of the possibility of following such events live, via broadcasts in uncoded form". Events such as the Olympic Games, the football World Cup and European Championships are specified.
Among other amendments adopted was a proposal to install a v-chip device, to enable parents to control children's viewing, in all new television sets, within one year of technical approval.
The Fine Gael MEP, Ms Mary Banotti, who favoured the introduction of a programming quota within the EU, said it was probably the most lobbied issue ever to come before the Parliament. She called in particular for measures to control violence and pornography on television.
The Fianna Fail MEP, Mr Pat `The Cope' Gallagher, said a quota could "only be good news for the audio-visual sector in Ireland". In particular, he believed a quota would be good for Telefis na Gaeilge.
Fine Gael MEP, Mr John Cushnahan, criticised the selling to the highest bidder of exclusive sporting rights, and explicitly named Sky TV as "having a virtual domination in this area".
