- audiovisual industry
- Monday 4 May 2026, 10:00 - 12:00 (CEST)
Practical information
- When
- Monday 4 May 2026, 10:00 - 12:00 (CEST)
- Where
- Brussels
- Languages
- English
- Part of
Description
Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen held an Implementation Dialogue on the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) in Brussels on 4 May 2026 with a selected group of representatives from the audiovisual media sector.
The dialogue aimed to exchange on the achievements and effectiveness of the AVMSD implementation, as well as to discuss suggestions for its ongoing review, in light of the objectives of simplification and modernisation.
Summary conclusions
The participants broadly agreed that the AVMSD has been valuable and successful in preserving and enhancing the internal market for audiovisual media services, and that the Directive’s overall objectives remain relevant. In particular, the participants widely supported maintaining and strengthening its core objectives: ensuring the proper functioning of the internal media market, promoting cultural diversity, and protecting EU viewers, including minors.
The participants of the Dialogue widely agreed on the importance of simplifying and modernising the AVMSD to ensure that it remains effective in today’s rapidly evolving media landscape. In particular, several participants called for a more level playing field between broadcasters and video-sharing platforms, notably by modernising the advertising rules. Furthermore, there was strong recognition of the need for clearer and more effective rules to ensure the prominence of media services of general interest. Moreover, there was also a clear call to address the growing role of influencers, by providing legal clarity on how the AVMSD applies to them, particularly in view of the objective of protecting minors.
There was also broad consensus that the core objectives of the AVMSD’s European Works provisions, such as promoting cultural diversity, supporting European production, and ensuring visibility of European content, remain valid and essential. At the same time, the discussion revealed nuanced perspectives on how best to support European Works within the evolving media landscape.
Some stakeholders also put forward ideas on how to simplify existing reporting obligations. Moreover, several stakeholders emphasised the importance of coherence between the AVMSD and the Digital Services Act.
The Executive Vice-President thanked the participants for sharing their practical experience with the AVMSD implementation and noted that the feedback collected would inform the ongoing AVMSD review process, complementing the public consultation that closed on 1 May 2026.
List of participating entities
- European Broadcasting Union (EBU)
- Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle)
- Bulgarian National Television (BNT)
- Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF)
- Central European Media Enterprises (CME)
- Media For Europe
- Groupe TF1
RTL Deutschland - Association of Commercial Television and Video on Demand
- Services in Europe (ACT)
- Amazon Prime Video
- Netflix
- YouTube
- Samsung Electronics Europe
- Czech Creators and Online Media Association (ATOM)
- Zentropa Entertainments
- Banijay
- Moana Films
- European Consumer Organisation (BEUC)
- 5Rights Foundation
- European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA)
- Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle der Filmwirtschaft (FSK)