Coalition adds infrastructure views

The European VOD Coalition has welcomed the opportunity to provide input to the European Commission’s consultation on the White Paper, How to master Europe’s digital infrastructure needs?.

The Coalition brings together video-on-demand and digital entertainment companies that share common values and invest in and distribute audiovisual content in the Europe Union as their core commercial activity. It promotes high quality, diverse European content to wider global audiences and believes in supporting an innovative and sustainable European audiovisual sector, to give consumers greater choice in accessing content.

It suggests that VoD services typically operate in a competitive entertainment market, which incentivises content providers to continuously improve the value of their products by investing in quality and experience.

In its 2023 submission to the Commission’s exploratory consultation on The future of the electronic communications sector and its infrastructure, it stated that existing EU pro-competitive regulations have already achieved great outcomes for connectivity coverage and affordability, for the benefit of Europeans and that regulatory intervention was not necessary.

It explained how the Coalition members, as Content and Application Providers (CAPs), already cooperate with Internet Service Providers (ISPs) across Europe and have a symbiotic and mutually beneficial relationship. In fact, CAPs have consistently been proven to fuel demand for broadband and increase broadband adoption, including take-up of high-speed plans, thus having a significant and positive effect on consumer surplus, creating lasting benefits for both ISPs and consumers. Without ISP networks, Coalition Members would not be able to deliver their content to European consumers, it argues. The Coalition reiterates that this equilibrium should not be endangered via unnecessary changes to the regulatory framework and/or to the relationship between CAPs and ISPs.