A series of significant amendments have been introduced to the legislation of the Radio and Television Supreme Council (Radyo Televizyon Üst Kurulu, "RTÜK") as published in the Official Gazette no. 32428 dated January 13, 20241, and entered into force on the same date.

The amended regulations are as follows:

  • The Regulation on Administrative and Financial Conditions to be Abided by Media Service Providers and Platform and Infrastructure Operators
  • The Regulation on Presentation of Radio, Television and On-Demand Broadcasts via Internet
  • Radio and Television Supreme Council's Regulation on Broadcasting via Satellite
  • Radio and Television Supreme Council's Regulation on Broadcasting via Cable Networks

Within this framework, please kindly find below the noteworthy amendments introduced to each regulation, together with their legal context.

I. The Regulation on Administrative and Financial Conditions to be Abided by Media Service Providers and Platform and Infrastructure Operators

In subparagraph (e) of Article 3 titled "Definitions" of the Regulation which defines the platform operator as an enterprise that transforms its multiple media services into one or more signals and transmits them through satellite, cable and similar media in an encrypted and/or unencrypted form so that viewers can receive them directly, the word "internet" is added to come after the word "cable". Thus, enterprises providing broadcasting services via internet to viewers are also covered by the definition of platform operator.

In sub-paragraph (i) of the aforementioned article which defines the broadcasting licence as a permit granted by RTÜK separately for each type, technique and media of broadcasting to media service providers to broadcast via cable, satellite, terrestrial and similar media by means of any kind of technology, provided that they meet the conditions stipulated in the regulations and other provisions based on the Law No. 6112 on the Establishment and Broadcasting Services of Radio and Televisions (the "Law"), the word "internet" is added to follow the word "territorial" and thus, the permits granted by RTÜK for online broadcasting is included within the scope of the "broadcasting licence" defined in the Regulation.

In sub-paragraph (i) added to the third paragraph of Article 4 titled "Conditions for Establishment and Share Structure" of the relevant Regulation, it is stated that the minimum paid capital of media service providers applying for a broadcasting licence to provide radio, television and on-demand broadcasting services shall not be less than TRY 50,000 for an "Online Radio and Television".

By new paragraphs added to Articles 13 and 14 of the Regulation, it is stipulated that application forms for broadcasting licence and application forms for authorisation of broadcast transmission will be published on RTÜK's website.

The subclause (3) added to sub-paragraph (b) of the second paragraph of Article 16 of the relevant Regulation, which provides for the procedures and principles regarding the transfer of broadcasting licences, states that media service providers which takes over the broadcasting licence are obliged to provide RTÜK with a cash guarantee or a letter of guarantee for a term corresponding to the licence period and in the amount of the licence fee corresponding to the remaining licence period in cases where the fee for the transferred broadcasting licence is paid in instalments.

The previous version of Article 17, which contains provisions concerning loss of the required conditions, cancellation of the licence as well as administrative and judicial sanctions, stipulates that the broadcasting licence will be cancelled if the media service provider is declared bankrupt, whereas, in the amended version, the condition regarding bankruptcy is removed from the conditions for the cancellation of the broadcasting licence. Thus, upon this amendment, the broadcasting licence of a media service provider for whom a bankruptcy decision is made will not be cancelled.

Article 19 titled "Identification Information of Media Service Providers" of the Regulation is repealed and replaced with a new article titled "Notification and Broadcasting Obligation". The new version of the article stipulates that, within the scope of the fifth paragraph of Article 6 of the Law, media service providers are obliged to notify RTÜK of their company, contact and address details, registered electronic mail address and the name and contact details of the viewer representative, and to publish those details on their corporate websites.

Accordingly, the company information of media service providers shall include:

  1. trade name of the company,
  2. broadcasting licence details and broadcast media,
  3. name, surname and contact details of the manager in charge,
  4. electronic notification address suitable for notification as included in the National Electronic Notification System,
  5. platforms through which the broadcasting service is transmitted and websites on which the online broadcasting service is provided other than the corporate website.

In addition, media service providers are also obliged to ensure that such information is kept up to date and to notify RTÜK of the board resolutions passed with respect to any changes therein. In case of failure to fulfil those obligations, RTÜK shall apply the sixth paragraph of Article 32 of the Law.

II. The Regulation on Presentation of Radio, Television and On-Demand Media Services via Internet

Significant amendments have been introduced to this Regulation, which is also a key part of the relevant legislation.

The new sixth paragraph added to Article 7 titled "Application for Online Broadcasting Licence" of the Regulation stipulates that, if enterprises applying for an online broadcasting licence declare during their application that they have started to provide online broadcasting services, they are obliged to provide a letter of undertaking to complete the application procedures, and pay three months' fee for broadcasting licence. In the event that the enterprise:

  1. fails to submit the mentioned letter of undertaking within seventy-two hours as of the date of application and to pay in advance the three months' fee for broadcasting licence,
  2. fails to pay the fee for broadcasting licence corresponding to a further period of three months in case the procedures for online broadcasting licence cannot be completed within the initial three months' period,
  3. fails to submit the information and documents requested by RTÜK and to complete the procedures for broadcasting licence application in due time, and carries on its broadcasting activities,

RTÜK will request, for the relevant broadcast, from the judge of the criminal court of peace to remove the content from the broadcast and/or to block access thereto as per the second paragraph of Article 29/A of the Law, and will file a criminal complaint against the broadcasting real persons, and the board members and general manager of the broadcasting legal entities pursuant to Article 33 of the Law. The period from the date when the procedures under this paragraph are completed and the enterprises to which online broadcasting licence is granted declare that they have started to provide broadcasting services until the date of the issuance of the broadcasting licence shall be deducted from the term of the online broadcasting licence.

Likewise, the new fourth paragraph added to Article 8 titled "Application for Authorisation of Online Broadcast Transmission" of the relevant Regulation stipulates that, if enterprises applying for an authorisation of online broadcast transmission declare during their application that they have started to transmit broadcasting services via internet, they are obliged to provide a letter of undertaking to complete the application procedures, and pay three months' fee for the authorisation of broadcast transmission. In the event that the enterprise:

  1. fails to submit the mentioned letter of undertaking within seventy-two hours as of the date of application and to pay in advance the three months' fee for authorisation of transmission,
  2. fails to pay the fee for authorisation of broadcast transmission corresponding to a further period of three months in case the procedures for authorisation of online broadcast transmission cannot be completed within the initial three months' period,
  3. fails to submit the information and documents requested by RTÜK and to complete the application procedures for authorisation of broadcast transmission,

RTÜK will, with respect to the relevant broadcast, request from the judge of the criminal court of peace to remove the content from the broadcast and/or to block access thereto as per the second paragraph of article 29/A of the Law. The period from the date when the procedures under this paragraph are completed and the enterprises to which authorisation of online broadcast transmission is granted declare that they have started to provide services of broadcast transmission until the date of the granting of the authorisation of transmission shall be deducted from the term of the authorisation of broadcast transmission.

In sub-paragraph (b) of the third paragraph of Article 10 of the Regulation, which contains provisions concerning provision of broadcasting services without obtaining an online broadcasting licence, the expression "fails to submit the information and documents required for the issuance of the broadcasting licence and to complete the application procedures in due time and carries on broadcasting without permission" is added to come after the phrase "fails to make any application for acquiring the online broadcasting licence". Thus, if, upon the notice delivered by RTÜK, real persons and legal entities providing broadcasting services without a broadcasting licence fail to submit the information and documents required for the authorisation of broadcast transmission and complete the application procedures in due time, and carry on the broadcast transmission without authorisation, then RTÜK:

(i) will be entitled to request, with respect to the relevant broadcast, from the judge of the criminal of peace to remove the content from the broadcast and/or to block access thereto as per the second paragraph of article 29/A of the Law, and

(ii) will file a criminal complaint against the broadcasting real persons, and the board members and general manager of the broadcasting legal entities pursuant to Article 33 of the Law.

In the third paragraph of Article 12 titled "Online Broadcasting Licence Fee and Financial Liabilities" of the Regulation, the word "April" is amended as "July". As such, media service providers providing broadcasting services to subscribers and/or users for a fee and through conditional access will pay RTÜK five per thousand of their annual net sales until the end of July of the following year. According to a new sentence added to the same paragraph, commercial communication incomes declared for the relevant year, save for programme support revenues, will be deducted from the net sales amount by RTÜK.

In the first paragraph of Article 15 titled "Authorisation Fee for Online Broadcast Transmission" of the Regulation, the word "April" is amended as "July". As such, in addition to the annual fee of 100,000.00 Turkish Liras for broadcast transmission, online broadcasting platform operators offering conditional access will pay RTÜK five per thousand of their annual net sales until the end of January of the following year. As per the fifth and sixth paragraphs added to the same article:

  • Online platform operators will continue to be charged with the fee for authorisation of broadcast transmission until their authorisation of broadcast transmission is cancelled; and
  • Any fees collected upon the application to RTÜK from online broadcasting platform operators whose authorisation of broadcast transmission is cancelled will be returned to those operators upon their written request on the basis of the calculation of the term of authorisation of broadcast transmission remaining as of the date of notification of RTÜK's decision.

In this extent, the words "April" in sub-paragraph (k) of the first paragraph of article 16 of the Regulation and sub-paragraph (ğ) of the first paragraph of article 17 of the Regulation is amended as "July". Accordingly:

  1. media service providers to which an online broadcasting licence is granted shall pay RTÜK five per thousand of their annual net sales if they offer broadcasting services to subscribers and/or users for a fee and through conditional access, and
  2. in addition to the fee for authorisation of broadcast transmission, they shall pay RTÜK five per thousand of their annual net sales if they offer conditional access

until the end of July of the following year.

III. Radio and Television Supreme Council's Regulation on Broadcasting via Satellite

According to the amendment to the third paragraph of Article 9 of the Regulation which contains the procedures and principles regarding the term of satellite broadcasting licence and renewal of the broadcasting licence, the term of the broadcasting licence of media service providers whose broadcasting licence expires shall be renewed by RTÜK for a period of ten years upon their request, provided that they submit the information and documents required by RTÜK and fulfil the obligations laid down in article 8 and 15 concerning the licence fee and the letter of guarantee. Prior to such amendment, there was no obligation regarding the letter of guarantee in the relevant paragraph.

Article 15 titled "Evaluation, Granting of Licence or Authorisation of Broadcast Transmission" of the Regulation is amended. Accordingly:

  • The request for satellite broadcasting licence or for authorisation of broadcast transmission of an enterprise which submits to RTÜK the information and documents concerning the administrative and financial matters and the broadcasting service specified in the Regulation on Administrative and Financial Conditions to be Abided by Media Service Providers and Platform and Infrastructure Operators shall be evaluated by RTÜK. The enterprises whose evaluation has resulted positively are obliged to file a request for a technical inspection within six months as of the notification of RTÜK's decision on this matter.
  • Enterprises found to be technically competent shall fulfil their financial obligations regarding the fees for licence and for authorisation of broadcast transmission as well as the letter of guarantee within one year following the technical inspection. The enterprises which fulfil those obligations will be granted by RTÜK a satellite broadcasting licence or an authorisation for broadcast transmission.
  • In case of a request for payment of the licence fee in instalments as per Article 42 of the Law, at least one instalment of the broadcasting licence fee shall be paid prior to the granting of the licence, and a cash guarantee in the current Turkish currency or a bank letter of guarantee with a term of 10 years, which is addressed to RTÜK and is in line with the template determined by the Council, shall be provided in the amount of the remaining licence fee. In this extent, the amount of the bank letter of guarantee to be submitted to RTÜK can also be provided through multiple bank letters of guarantee obtained from more than one bank.
  • Upon the request of the enterprise, the letters of guarantee submitted to RTÜK can be replaced with a new letter of guarantee. Letters of guarantee may be replaced on the condition that three years have elapsed since the broadcasting licence was granted, the letter of guarantee provided covers the full amount of the remaining licence fee and its validity period corresponds to the expiry date of the licence. Enterprises may ask for replacement for utmost two times, provided that there is at least three years between the replacements, no replacement is made within the last two years prior to the expiry date of the licence period and there are no outstanding debts to RTÜK.

IV. Radio and Television Supreme Council's Regulation on Broadcasting via Cable Networks

According to the amendment to the third paragraph of Article 9 of the Regulation which contains the procedures and principles regarding the term of cable broadcasting licence and renewal of the broadcasting licence, the term of the broadcasting licence of media service providers whose broadcasting licence expires shall be renewed by RTÜK for a period of ten years upon their request, provided that they submit the information and documents required by RTÜK and fulfil the obligations laid down in article 8 and 15 concerning the licence fee and the letter of guarantee. Prior to such amendment, there was no obligation regarding the letter of guarantee in the relevant paragraph.

The phrase "at the beginning of December" in sub-paragraph (d) of the first paragraph of Article 12 of the Regulation which provides for the obligations of cable broadcasting platform operators and the sanctions, is amended as "in the first week of January", thus stating that cable broadcasting platform operators are obliged to notify RTÜK of the number of their subscribers in the first week of January every year.

Article 15 titled "Evaluation, Granting of Licence or Authorisation Certificate for Broadcast Transmission" of the Regulation is amended. Accordingly:

  • The request for cable broadcasting licence or for authorisation of broadcast transmission of an enterprise which submits to RTÜK the information and documents concerning the administrative and financial matters and the broadcasting service specified in the Regulation on Administrative and Financial Conditions to be Abided by Media Service Providers and Platform and Infrastructure Operators shall be evaluated by RTÜK. The enterprises evaluation on which has resulted positively are obliged to file a request for a technical inspection within six months as of the notification of RTÜK's decision on this matter.
  • Enterprises found to be technically competent shall fulfil their financial obligations regarding the fees for licence and for authorisation of broadcast transmission as well as the letter of guarantee within one year following the technical inspection. The enterprises which fulfil those obligations will be granted by RTÜK a cable broadcasting licence or an authorisation of broadcast transmission.
  • In case of a request for payment of the licence fee in instalments as per Article 42 of the Law, at least one instalment of the broadcasting licence fee shall be paid prior to the granting of the licence, and a cash guarantee in the current Turkish currency or a bank letter of guarantee with a term of 10 years, which is addressed to RTÜK and is in line with the template determined by the Board, shall be provided in the amount of the remaining licence fee. In this extent, the amount of the bank letter of guarantee to be submitted to RTÜK can also be provided through multiple bank letters of guarantee obtained from more than one bank.
  • Upon the request of the enterprise, the letters of guarantee submitted to RTÜK can be replaced with a new letter of guarantee. Letters of guarantee may be replaced on the condition that three years have elapsed since the broadcasting licence was granted, the letter of guarantee provided covers the full amount of the remaining licence fee and its validity period corresponds to the expiry date of the licence. Enterprises may ask for replacement for utmost two times, provided that there is at least three years between the replacements, no replacement is made within the last two years prior to the expiry date of the licence period and there are no outstanding debts to RTÜK.

Footnote

1 You may access the relevant amendments to the legislation through the links below:

The Regulation on Administrative and Financial Conditions to be Abided by Media Service Providers and Platform and Infrastructure Operators

The Regulation on Provision of Radio, Television and On-Demand Media Services via Internet

Radio and Television Supreme Council's Regulation on Broadcasting via Satellite

Radio and Television Supreme Council's Regulation on Broadcasting via Cable Networks

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.