Advanced Television

Policy

Report: Heavy fines loom over Spain’s sports streamers

Spain’s booming sports streaming market is facing a stark warning after a report found that many OTT platforms are failing to comply with key audiovisual regulations — exposing operators to fines of up to €750,000. The study, carried out by AVC Audiovisual Compliance, reviewed 65 sports streaming services based in Spain and concluded that full […]

April 23, 2026From David Del Valle in Madrid

Spain: UTECA sues RTVE over World Cup ads

UTECA has taken legal action against RTVE over its advertising sales strategy for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, escalating a growing dispute between private broadcasters in Spain and the state-owned corporation. Some seven weeks before the tournament begins, the association of private television networks has filed for urgent precautionary measures before the Commercial Court in […]

April 22, 2026From David Del Valle in Madrid

Guilty plea in Milford Haven piracy case

A man from Milford Haven in South West Wales has admitted a series of piracy offences said to have caused an estimated £6 million (€6.9m) loss to pay-TV providers including Amazon Prime, BT Sport and Sky. Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court heard that Michael David Barrow operated over a five-year period, supplying aadapted Amazon Fire TV sticks […]

April 22, 2026By Colin Mann

Major anti-piracy success for LaLiga

Spain’s top-flight football league LaLiga is claiming a record blow against audiovisual piracy, securing criminal convictions, damages and fines against one of the largest illegal IPTV networks. The criminal network had more than 2 million users and thousands of channels across three continents, including IPTVStack and RapidIPTV, through which it generated revenues of up to […]

April 21, 2026By Colin Mann

MPA’s Rivkin: “Protecting copyright an economic necessity”

Motion Picture Association Chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin has reaffirmed the body’s commitment to protecting copyright in the age of AI. Delivering his annual State of the Industry address at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Rivkin noted that every time there had been a new advancement, the industry had persisted. “We’ve adapted. We’ve thrived. We’ve always […]

April 15, 2026By Colin Mann

CNMC backs RTVE in ad dispute with private TV

Spain’s competition watchdog, the CNMC, has ruled in favour of RTVE in its ongoing dispute with private TV players, endorsing the broadcaster’s use of cultural sponsorship and dismissing a formal complaint lodged by UTECA.  The regulator concluded that the programme La Revuelta falls within the legal definition of a cultural programme. As such, it is permitted to include […]

April 9, 2026From David Del Valle in Madrid

FCC spectrum boost for satellite broadband

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has announced that the Commission is to vote on an order to modernise its satellite spectrum-sharing rules—a change that could unlock more than $2 billion in economic benefits for the American people and up to seven-fold more capacity for space-based broadband services. SpaceX had lobbied for such a move, suggesting it […]

April 9, 2026By Colin Mann

Italian court rules Netflix price rises “unlawful”

A Rome court has ruled that increases imposed by Netflix on its Italian subscribers over the last seven years were “unlawful”, and has ordered the US streaming giant to reimburse them. Consumer group Movimento Consumatori said in a statement that the court had upheld ​its lawsuit against Netflix Italia and deemed unfair clauses that allowed […]

April 7, 2026

Telefónica prevails over Vodafone in Disney+ dispute 

Spain’s National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC) has dismissed a complaint filed by Vodafone Spain against Telefónica over the integration of Disney+ into its pay-TV platform, Movistar+. Vodafone had argued that the agreement amounted to a form of hidden exclusivity, potentially restricting competition. However, the regulator – chaired by Cani Fernández – found no […]

April 7, 2026From David Del Valle in Madrid

Trump’s PBS defunding ruled unlawful

A US federal judge has ruled that Donald Trump’s executive order to end funding for NPR (National Public Radio) and PBS public media violated the First Amendment. The judge wrote that the First Amendment right to free speech “does not tolerate viewpoint discrimination and retaliation of this type. It is difficult to conceive of clearer […]

April 2, 2026By Chris Forrester