Memorandum On The Amendments Introduced To The Legislation Of The Radio And Television Supreme Council

A series of 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. 32567 dated June 5, 2024¹, and entered into force on the same date.

The amended regulations are as follows:

• The Regulation on the Presentation of Radio, Television and On-Demand Broadcasts via Internet
• Radio and Television Supreme Council's Regulation on Broadcasting via Cable Networks
• Radio and Television Supreme Council's Regulation on Broadcasting via Satellite

Within this framework, please kindly find below the amendments introduced to each of the above regulations.

1. The Regulation on the Presentation of Radio, Television and On-Demand Broadcasts via Internet

The definition of "Net sales" in subparagraph (ş) of Article 4 titled "Definitions" of the Regulation has been amended as "The amount remaining after the deduction of the sale discounts from the gross sales".

The third paragraph of Article 12 of the Regulation titled "Internet broadcasting license fee and financial obligations" which stipulates that "Media service providers offering broadcasting services to subscribers and/or users against a fee and through conditional access shall pay five per thousand of their annual net sales to the Supreme Council until the end of the following year. Commercial communication revenues declared for the relevant year, except the program support revenues, shall be deducted from the net sales amount by the Supreme Council.", has been abolished.

The second sentence of the first paragraph of Article 15 of the Regulation titled "Internet broadcasting and tim authorization fee", which stipulates that "In addition to this fee, internet broadcasting platform operators providing conditional access shall pay five per thousand of their annual net sales to the Supreme Council until the end of July the following year.", has been abolished.

The following Article 15/A has been added following Article 15 of the Regulation:

Subparagraph (k) of the first paragraph of Article 16 titled "Obligations of media service provider organizations" of the Regulation has been amended as "In case they offer broadcasting services through conditional access, to pay one and one half percent of their annual net sales to the Supreme Council by the end of July of the following year."

Similarly, the phrase "five per thousand" in subparagraph (ğ) of the first paragraph of Article 17 of the Regulation titled "Obligations of Internet broadcasting platform operators" has been amended as "one and one half percent".

An overall analysis of the amendments made to the Regulation reveals that the most noteworthy change is that the fees to be paid to the Supreme Council by undertakings offering broadcasting services through conditional access are increased from "five per thousand" to "one and one half percent" and the definition of "net sales" which is used for the calculation of this rate is changed.

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

The definition of "Conditional access" in subparagraph (l) of Article 4 titled "Definitions" of the Regulation has been amended as "Any technical measures and arrangements that provide conditional access to broadcasting services by means of subscription or other prior authorization". Also the following definition has been added to the same article as subparagraph (t) "Net sales: The amount remaining after the deduction of the sales discounts from the gross sales".

A subparagraph "ğ) In case they offer broadcasting services through conditional access, to pay one and one half percent of their annual net sales to the Supreme Council by the end of the following July" has been added to the first paragraph of Article 6 of the Regulation titled "Obligations and sanctions of media service provider organizations".

After Article 8 of the Regulation, the following Article 8/A with title "Broadcasting license fees for cable broadcasts" has been added:

In parallel with the amendments made to the Regulation on the Presentation of Radio, Television and On-Demand Broadcasts via the Internet, when the amendments made to the Radio and Television Supreme Council's Regulation on Broadcasting via Cable Networks are considered overall, it is seen that the fees to be paid to the Supreme Council for conditional access are increased from "five per thousand" to "one and a half percent" and the definition of "net sales" which is used for the calculation of this rate has been changed.

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

The definition of "Conditional access" in subparagraph (h) of Article 4 titled "Definitions" of the Regulation has been amended as "Any technical measures and arrangements that provide conditional access to broadcasting services by means of subscription or other prior authorization". Also the following definition has been added to the same article as subparagraph (v) "Net sales: The amount remaining after the deduction of the sales discounts from the gross sales".

The subparagraph "ğ) In case they offer broadcasting services by means conditional access, to pay one and one half percent of their annual net sales to the Supreme Council by the end of the following July" has been added to the first paragraph of Article 6 of the Regulation titled "Obligations and sanctions of media service provider organizations".

The following Article 8/A titled "Satellite license fees" has been added After Article 8 of the Regulation:

In parallel with the amendments made in other regulations, the fees to be paid to the Supreme Council for conditional access have been increased from "five per thousand" to "one and one half percent" and the definition of "net sales" which is used for the calculation of this rate has been changed.

This information note is for general information purposes only and does not constitute a legal opinion. Before taking any action based on the information contained in this note, an independent legal opinion should be obtained for each specific case.

Footnotes

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

Radyo, Televizyon ve İsteğe Bağlı Yayınların İnternet Ortamından Sunumu Hakkında Yönetmelikte Değişiklik Yapılmasına Dair Yönetmelik

Radyo ve Televizyon Üst Kurulu Kablolu Yayın Yönetmeliğinde Değişiklik Yapılmasına Dair Yönetmelik

Radyo ve Televizyon Üst Kurulu Uydu Yayın Yönetmeliğinde Değişiklik Yapılmasına Dair Yönetmelik

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.