Reading broadcasting legislation requires first knowing the definitions in Article 3. The whole Law is built on those concepts.
The Central Concept: Media Service Provider
Media service provider: means the legal person having editorial responsibility in the selection of the content of radio, television and on-demand broadcasting services and deciding on the manner in which that service is organised and broadcast.
Editorial Responsibility
Editorial responsibility: means having the power of arrangement and control relating to the content and selection of programmes and to their presentation within a broadcast schedule in radio and television broadcasting services, and within a catalogue in on-demand broadcasting services.
Types of Broadcast
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| On-demand broadcasting service | A broadcasting service in which programmes are watched or listened to at a time chosen by the user and on their individual request, according to a programme catalogue arranged by the media service provider |
| Analogue broadcast | Broadcasting services made over cable, satellite, terrestrial and similar media using analogue modulation technique |
| Regional broadcast | A broadcasting service delivered to at least seventy per cent of the total population of the provinces within a geographical region and to the provinces determined by the Supreme Council within the geographical region |
| Transmission | The provision of broadcasting services for the first time |
Media and Infrastructure
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Cable medium | The medium in which a broadcasting service is delivered to subscribers over any cable infrastructure |
| Terrestrial medium | The medium in which a broadcasting service is delivered to receivers by means of terrestrial transmitter systems |
| Infrastructure operator | The organisation operating the broadcasting service transmission infrastructure |
| Multiplex | Multiple transmission - the structure enabling more than one broadcasting service to be transmitted over the same channel |
Content and Commercial Communication Concepts
- Surreptitious commercial communication: the presentation, by a media service provider for the purpose of advertising or in a manner capable of directing the public, of the activity, trade mark, name, service and product of a producer of goods or services, in words or pictures within programmes and outside advertising breaks and without an explanatory sound or image indicating that advertising is being done.
- Protective symbol: the common symbols used by media service providers for the purpose of informing viewers about the content of a broadcasting service.
- Logo/call sign: the graphic depiction in block form, or the audio announcement, of the service name of media service providers, or of the letters or words of that name, which they are obliged to register with the Supreme Council and the institutions concerned.
European Works and the Independent Producer
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| European works | Audiovisual works whose production or co-production is carried out by natural or legal persons established in the states party to the European Convention on Transfrontier Television and in the member states of the European Union |
| Independent producer | Natural or legal persons having the right freely to produce and distribute programmes, who are not registered employees of the media service provider organisation and who hold the rights within the scope of Law No. 5846 on Intellectual and Artistic Works over the programmes they produce, apart from the limited period for which they have transferred them |
We cover the European works quota in the European works guide.
A Comparison with Law No. 2954
| Concept | Law No. 2954 (1983) | Law No. 6112 (2011) |
|---|---|---|
| Broadcaster | Only TRT - the monopoly in Art. 4/a | Media service provider |
| Broadcast on demand | Not defined | On-demand broadcasting service |
| Child protection tool | Not defined | The protective symbol |
| Focus | Radio receiver, television receiver, video, combined device | Focused on the service, not the device |
We cover the definitions of Law No. 2954 in the TRT definitions guide.
Summary
Art. 3 of Law No. 6112 establishes the conceptual map of the broadcasting regime. The central concept is the media service provider: the legal person having editorial responsibility in the selection of broadcast content and deciding on the manner of presentation. The Law also defines concepts such as the on-demand broadcasting service, the protective symbol, surreptitious commercial communication, European works and the independent producer.