Advanced Television

Regulation

Switzerland rejects plan to cut TV licence fee

Citizens in Switzerland have voted against an initiative to reduce the annual licence fee to the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) – the country’s national public broadcaster. The fee, which has already been cut in recent years, currently costs 335 Swiss francs (€372) per household per year. The initiative, backed by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, […]

March 9, 2026

MPs to quiz YouTube on children’s content

Senior executives from YouTube will face questions from MPs on what the company is doing to ensure young people can find high-quality content on its platform, which, according to Ofcom, is now the most used app or site by children of all ages. The evidence session on March 10th is part of the Culture, Media […]

March 9, 2026By Colin Mann

FCC eyes freeing up Weird Space Stuff spectrum

The FCC is looking closely at certain satellite ‘guard bands’ which separate designated key frequencies in order to avoid unwanted interference. These bands are frequently used for TT&C, the jargon for Telemetry, Tracking and Command of satellites in orbit. The FCC issued one of its Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on March 5th asking stakeholders […]

March 9, 2026

UK Lords warn of AI impact on creative industries

A report, AI, copyright and the creative industries, from the Communications and Digital Committee of the UK House of Lords, has warned of the threats posed to creative industries by AI. The report notes that generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems can now produce imitations of creative material in seconds. These capabilities depend on training models […]

March 6, 2026By Colin Mann

SES happy with releasing 160MHz of spectrum for 5G

Satellite operator SES has, until recently, explained that it favoured just 100 MHz of C-band upper segment being cleared for the FCC to auction. The FCC is required to complete its competitive bidding auction process no later than July 2027 for at least 100 MHz. A ruling is expected from the FCC during the second-half […]

March 6, 2026

BBC: “Charter must provide funding model fit for the future”

The BBC has published its plan “to boost the UK’s creative economy, support democracy and give greater value to audiences”. In a 100-page response to the Government’s Charter Review consultation, the BBC described this as an “urgent opportunity for the UK to secure the world’s leading public service media organisation” for the UK and beyond. […]

March 5, 2026

Spain: Court summons for Cloudflare CEO

A Madrid investigating court has summoned the chief executive of Cloudflare, Matthew Prince, to appear on April 7th as part of criminal proceedings linked to an alleged failure to cooperate in the fight against football piracy. Investigating Court Number 50 of Madrid has admitted a joint complaint lodged by LaLiga and Movistar Plus+, in which […]

March 4, 2026From David Del Valle in Madrid

US identifies notorious piracy markets

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has released the findings of its 2025 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy (the Notorious Markets List). The Notorious Markets List highlights online and physical markets that reportedly engage in or facilitate substantial trademark counterfeiting or copyright piracy. “With the United States co-hosting the […]

March 4, 2026By Colin Mann

Inmarsat “likely to win appeal” over Ligado/AST action

London-based satellite operator Inmarsat, now owned by Viasat of California, is likely to win an appeal in which it is involved over the bankruptcy of Ligado Networks. The Court’s finding says that Inmarsat has demonstrated “a reasonable chance, or probability” of prevailing in its contract dispute. A Delaware federal judge on February 27th granted Inmarsat […]

March 4, 2026

FCC seeks fair play over foreign satellite access

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Brendan Carr says that the US has always welcomed foreign satellite operators in its market. But that welcome could change. The FCC has issued a Public Notice discussion paper and seeking comments on the state of “satellite reciprocity and fair treatment for our operators”. Comments are due by April 1st. […]

March 3, 2026