LONDON — ATVOD, the authority that regulates video-on-demand in the U.K., says that for a third successive year, the regulator has cut fees that website, IPTV and mobile operators must pay to stream content.
ATVOD said that on average fees have been reduced by 5 percent after new proposals were made to simplify notification requirements.
Many adult entertainment-oriented VOD providers operating through multiple platforms and devices will now deal with a simpler regime, and pay just one fee instead of several. Also there is now a cap of £25,000 on total fees paid by any single provider and a three-band standard tariff, from £732-£12,302, based on revenue. ATOV also has added a fee schedule for noncommercial entities.
The new fee structure, approved by U.K. communications regulator OFCOM, continues through March 31, 2014.
"We are very pleased to be able to cut fees for the third successive year and also to reduce the administrative burden through the simplification of notification requirements for service providers — an issue which had been of particular concern to a significant number of our stakeholders," ATVOD Chief Executive Pete Johnson said."The outcome demonstrates the effective operation of a co-regulatory arrangement which allows statutory rules to be rigorously enforced in a manner which minimises the impact on compliant services."