Advanced Television

Policy

Analysis: Site-blocking not the way to combat online piracy

Josh Withrow, a Fellow at public policy think tank R Street Institute, suggests that blocking of copyright infringing sites carries a number of risks. In an opinion piece, he notes that several tech-related legislative proposals have flown under the radar in 2025, including a renewed push to force internet service providers (ISPs) to take down […]

December 12, 2025By Colin Mann

ACE shutters Indian piracy network

Antipiracy coalition the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) has dismantled India-based piracy network MKVCinemas and its associated domains. Additionally, ACE shut down a high-traffic drive-to-drive cloning tool frequently used by piracy services in India and Indonesia. Most of MKVCinemas’ traffic came from India, a rapidly expanding entertainment market. Collectively, the MKVCinemas domains accounted for […]

December 12, 2025By Colin Mann

MPs to probe children’s TV and video content production

The Culture, Media and Sport Committee of the UK House of Commons is holding the second session of its inquiry exploring the provision of children’s TV and video content in the UK and what can be done to ensure future generations continue to have access to high-quality British-made programming. The hearing on December 16th will […]

December 12, 2025By Colin Mann

Antitrust fines Sky Italia for unfair commercial practices

The Italian Antitrust Authority has levied a €4.2 million fine against Sky Italia for engaging in three distinct unfair commercial practices. The ruling, detailed in the Authority’s weekly bulletin, comes after a period of scrutiny into Sky’s consumer interactions. The largest portion of the fine, €2 million, was imposed for “misleading communications regarding price increases […]

December 10, 2025From Branislav Pekic in Rome

Research: 88% agree anime requires appropriate age-ratings

Research commissioned by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has found nearly nine in 10 (88 per cent) people agree there is a potential child protection risk if anime content is not age-rated appropriately and consistently, with parents who are unfamiliar with anime frequently assuming it is inherently “child-friendly”. The mixed-methods study combined ten […]

December 9, 2025

Ofcom boost for satellite D2D

The race to bring satellite calls and texts to ordinary smartphones has begun, after UK comms regulator Ofcom announced its final decisions about how the technology can be rolled out. Mobile operators are now joining with satellite companies to deliver ‘direct-to-device services’ to everyday smartphones up and down the UK. This involves satellites hundreds of […]

December 9, 2025By Colin Mann

Ofcom fines The Word Network

Ofcom has imposed a financial penalty of £375,000 on religious channel, The Word Network, for breaching broadcasting rules on multiple occasions. Having received viewer complaints – and in one case following routine monitoring – the media regulator launched investigations into the following programmes: Stem Cell Activators, broadcast on July 24th 2023; Various episodes of Peter […]

December 9, 2025

EBU calls on Lithuania to safeguard LRT independence

Public service media organisations from across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) have sent a joint open letter to the Lithuanian Seimas, expressing serious concern about recent legislative initiatives that they believe could undermine the independence and stable financing of Lithuania’s public broadcaster, LRT (Lithuanian National Radio and Television). The letter — addressed to the Speaker […]

December 5, 2025

Italy: RTI, Medusa Film sue Perplexity AI

Italy’s Reti Televisive Italiane (RTI) and Medusa Film, both part of the Mediaset Group, have launched legal action against US-based generative AI company Perplexity AI. This lawsuit, filed with the Civil Court of Rome, marks the first legal challenge in Italy specifically targeting copyright infringement related to the unauthorised use of content for training AI […]

December 4, 2025From Branislav Pekic in Rome

Italian media alarmed over Big Tech role

Italian media associations have issued an urgent appeal to the government and parliament, warning that the unchecked power of global tech giants is jeopardising their crucial role as guarantors of information and pluralism. In a joint statement, the associations – bringing together print media and broadcasters (AIE, FIEG and CRTV) – collectively decried the “profoundly […]

December 3, 2025From Branislav Pekic in Rome