The short answer is no, it is not free. The Law settles the point in a single phrase. Article 16/1: holders of exclusive broadcasting rights must provide other broadcasters with a short reporting right “on a fair, reasonable and equitable basis against payment”.
An obligation to provide, but not for nothing
The provision cuts both ways and both are binding.
| Direction | Rule | Burden on |
|---|---|---|
| Duty of access | The holder of exclusive rights must provide a short reporting right | The rights-holding broadcaster |
| Payment | The right is provided against payment | The requesting broadcaster |
| Character of the payment | Set on a fair, reasonable and equitable basis | The rights-holding broadcaster |
The rights holder cannot therefore refuse, and the requester cannot demand it free.
What “fair, reasonable and equitable” means
The three adjectives carry three separate tests and apply together.
- Fair: the payment should correspond to the right provided and must not be set at a level that makes access impossible in practice.
- Reasonable: it should be proportionate and explicable by market conditions.
- Equitable: different broadcasters requesting the same right should not face different prices; there must be no discrimination.
Payment does not remove the other limits
Paying does not confer freedom to use the footage as you wish. The three limits in Article 16/3 apply irrespective of payment:
| Limit | Rule | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Duration | At most 90 seconds | Art. 16/3 |
| Placement | Only within news programmes | Art. 16/3 |
| Attribution | The source must be stated | Art. 16/3 |
| On-demand services | Only where the same programme is transmitted on a recorded basis by the same provider | Art. 16/3 |
Selection belongs to the requester
Article 16/2: “Other television broadcasters requesting a right of access to events subject to exclusive broadcasting rights shall be granted the right to select the short reports freely.” Because payment is made, the rights holder does not acquire the power to choose the footage; selection belongs to the requester.
The contrast with Article 17: there, no payment
The short reporting right is often confused with public access to major events. Article 17 is an entirely different regime and there free access exists — but for the viewer.
Under Article 17/1 RTUK prepares and announces a list of major events, taking the views of other relevant institutions, in order to secure the live or recorded broadcasting of national and international events of major importance for society on television channels broadcasting unencrypted and free of charge throughout the country. Under Article 17/2 broadcasters showing those events must ensure they are broadcast unencrypted and free of charge nationwide.
| Art. 16 Short reporting | Art. 17 Access to major events | |
|---|---|---|
| Right for whom | Other broadcasters | The public |
| Payment | Against payment | Free for the viewer |
| Scope | Up to 90 seconds, within a news programme | Broadcast of the event |
| Who determines | The parties; the test is fair, reasonable, equitable | RTUK, through the list of major events |
The cross-border dimension
Article 17/3 imposes a further duty: television broadcasters may not exercise their exclusive rights in relation to major events on the list of another state party to the European Convention on Transfrontier Television in a way that prevents a substantial proportion of the citizens of that state from watching them.
The detail sits in regulation
Under Article 16/4 the procedures and principles concerning the application of the short reporting right are determined by RTUK regulation, and under Article 17/4 so are those concerning public access to major events. How the payment is calculated, how a request is made and how disputes are resolved are read from that secondary regulation.
The ninety-second limit is covered in the duration guide and the unencrypted list in the major events guide.