Advanced Television

ATVOD cuts fees

March 30, 2012

The UK’s Video-on-demand (VOD) co-regulator ATVOD has cut its rates for the second consecutive year, driven by the arrival of new VOD entrants. All broadcasters and publishers of VOD services will have their fees, each paid according to turnover, cut by 3.58% from 1 April.

Non-commercial providers including charities will pay an annual of £96 (€115) per VOD service, while those with a turnover of less than £50,000 will pay £145 per service. Businesses which have a turnover of less than £100,000 will pay £193 under the new fee structure. Meanwhile companies with a turnover below £6.5m will pay an annual fee of £711 for the first service, and £386 for any subsequent services.

Bigger VOD providers, which have a turnover of between £6.5m and £25.9m will pay an annual rate of £4,990 for the first service, and £771 for any additional service, which also includes VOD services they run in different territories. The major VOD operators including ITV, BT and Sky, will pay the highest annual rate – £9,980 for the first service, and £771 for any additional services.

Fees have also been capped at £25,000, so no single company will pay more than that price per year.

ATVOD CEO Pete Johnson said the increasingly flourishing VOD market has helped drive down fees. “There are a larger number of service providers this year than last and we expect even more to arrive next year, this spreads the costs and so we can drive down prices. There are certain fixed costs associated with any regulator service, and the more providers you have paying that the more we can drive down the prices.”

 

Categories: Articles, Policy, Regulation, Standards, VOD