Legislative Overhaul: Major Changes Introduced by the Radio and Television Supreme Council

The regulatory changes implemented by the Radio and Television Supreme Council were published in the Official Gazette dated 13 January 2024, with issue number 32428.

On January 13, 2024, significant amendments to the regulations were published in the Official Gazette with issue number 32428 by the Radio and Television Supreme Council (“RTSC”). The amended regulations include:

• Regulation Amending the Satellite Broadcasting Regulation of the Radio and Television Supreme Council (“Amendment Regulation on Satellite Broadcasting”)
• Regulation Amending the Cable Broadcasting Regulation of the Radio and Television Supreme Council (“Amendment Regulation on Cable Broadcasting”)
• Regulation Amending the Regulation on the Presentation of Radio, Television, and On-Demand Broadcasts on the Internet (“Amendment Regulation on Internet”)
• Regulation Amending the Regulation on Administrative and Financial Conditions to be Complied with by Media Service Providers, Platforms, and Infrastructure Operators (“Amendment Regulation on Administrative and Financial Conditions”)
• Regulation Amending the Regulation on Amendments to the Annual Usage Fees for Television Channels and Radio Frequencies from Radio and Television Organizations Broadcasting in Terrestrial Media (“Amendment Regulation on Annual Usage Fee”)

Detailed explanations regarding the significant changes made in these regulations are provided below.

       i.          Amendment Regulation on Satellite Broadcasting and Amendment Regulation on Cable Broadcasting

• The obligations outlined in Article 15 titled “Evaluation, License, or Broadcast Transmission Authorization” must be fulfilled by media service providers whose broadcast licenses have expired, concerning the evaluation of the broadcast license period and the renewal process.
• If media service providers fail to report their profile, communication and address information, registered email address, and the name and contact information of the viewer representative to RTSC, and do not publish them on their websites, the satellite broadcast license may be canceled if deficiencies are not rectified within a 20-day period provided to meet the conditions.
• The due installments of the license fee must become due and must be collected in full upon the notification of the satellite broadcast license cancellation decision to the organization.
• Satellite platform operators are now required to report their subscriber numbers in the first week of January instead of the beginning of December.
• Platform operators, including those providing cable broadcasts, must inform RTSC in writing at least 3 business days before changing the satellite broadcast frequency, polarization, symbol rate (SR), forward error correction (FEC), video packet identifier (V-PID), audio packet identifier (A-PID), and service identifier (SID) information of the broadcasts they transmit.
• Changes have been made to the broadcast transmission authorization fees to be collected from satellite platform and satellite infrastructure operators, as well as cable broadcasting platform and infrastructure operators.
• Organizations with a positive evaluation result from RTSC must request technical inspection within six months from the notification date of the RTSC’s decision. Organizations deemed technically competent must fulfill their financial obligations related to license and broadcast transmission authorization fees and guarantee letters within one year from the start of technical inspection to obtain a satellite broadcast license or broadcast transmission authorization. Additionally, new provisions regarding the installment payment of license fees and guarantee letters have been introduced.

      ii.          Internet Amendment Regulation

• Organizations applying for an internet broadcast license or broadcast transmission authorization must declare, during their applications, that they have started providing broadcast services or transmissions over the internet. Within 72 hours, they must submit a commitment letter confirming their completion of the application process and pay the three-month equivalent broadcast license fee in advance.
• If the procedures for granting internet broadcast licenses/transmission authorizations are not completed within three months, additional broadcast license/broadcast transmission authorization fees corresponding to an additional three months must not be paid, and the required information and documents requested by RTSC must be submitted within the specified timeframe. Otherwise, RTSC may request the removal of content and/or blocking of access to the broadcast through a reconciliation judge. Moreover, criminal complaints may be filed against the board members and general manager of individuals and legal entities who do not complete the license application procedures but continue broadcasting. The same sanctions will be applied if unauthorized broadcasts continue over the internet without obtaining broadcast transmission authorization.
• Changes have been made to the payment of the broadcast license fee and related financial obligations. With these changes, media service providers offering broadcast services to subscribers and/or users for a fee and via conditional access must pay RTSC an amount equivalent to one thousandth of their annual net sales by the end of July, not April, each year. Commercial communication revenues declared for the relevant year, excluding program support revenues, will be offset by RTSC against the net sales amount.
• New provisions have been introduced regarding the installment payment of the license fee and the guarantee letter. If the license fee is to be paid in installments, a ten-year bank guarantee letter must be submitted, covering the remaining license fee amount (calculated based on the entire remaining amount, not the amount of 9 installments) before the license document is issued, provided that at least one installment amount is paid. Additionally, the submitted guarantee letters can be replaced with a new guarantee letter at the organization’s request. Guarantee letters can be changed if three years have passed since the issuance of the broadcast license, the submitted guarantee letter covers the entire remaining license fee amount, and its validity period corresponds to the end date of the license period. Organizations can request a maximum of two changes as long as there is a minimum of three years between changes, no changes are made within the last 2 years of the license period, and there are no unpaid debts to RTSC.
• Internet broadcast platform operators providing conditional access must now pay to RTSC an amount equivalent to one thousandth of their annual net sales by the end of July, not April, each year.
• Internet platform operators continues to accrue broadcast transmission authorization fees until the cancellation of their broadcast transmission authorizations. The broadcast transmission authorization fees collected from internet broadcast platform operators whose broadcast transmission authorizations are canceled as a result of their application to RTSC is refunded as a lump sum based on the remaining broadcast transmission authorization period calculated from the date of notification of the RTSC’s decision.

    iii.          Amendment Regulation on Administrative and Financial Conditions

• The term “internet” has been added to the definitions of broadcast license and broadcast medium within the regulation, indicating that internet broadcasts will be evaluated within the scope of relevant processes.
• Media service provider organizations applying for a broadcast license with the aim of providing internet radio and television broadcasting services are now required to have a minimum paid-up capital of TRY 50,000.
• It is specified that company partners and authorized individuals responsible for the administration and representation of legal entities must not have been convicted of money laundering, terrorism financing attempts, or participation in such crimes.
• Media service providers, under the condition that it is stated in the board decision, can appoint individuals with titles and responsibilities such as the general broadcasting director as the responsible manager.
• The forms provided in the Broadcasting License Application Form (Appendix-1), and the forms arranged for platform operators and infrastructure operators (Appendix-2 and Appendix-3) will be used in place of the ones previously submitted with the Administrative and Financial Conditions Amendment Regulation. These forms can be found on RTSC ‘s official website.
• In cases where the fee for the transferred broadcast license is paid in installments, the remaining license fee amount corresponding to the remaining license period, as well as a cash guarantee or guarantee letter for the duration of the license, must be submitted to RTSC.
• It is emphasized that applications for the registration of logos and call signs identical to or indistinguishably similar to those used by media service providers whose broadcast licenses have been canceled as a result of administrative sanctions imposed by RTSC is rejected.
• The title of Article 19, previously named “Media Service Provider Identity Information,” has been changed to “Notification and Broadcasting Obligation”. Accordingly, media service provider organizations are required to inform the RTSC about their profile, contact and address information, the name and contact information of the viewer representative, and publish this information on their corporate websites. Moreover, media providers’ profile information should include the company name and broadcast license details, as well as the name, surname, and contact information of the responsible manager, the electronic notification address available in the National Electronic Notification System, and the internet sites where internet broadcasting services, other than the corporate website, are provided. The provisions introduces the obligation to ensure the accuracy of this information and to report changes, with non-compliance subject to administrative sanctions stipulated in Law on the Establishment and Broadcasting Services of Radio and Television numbered 6112 (“Law”).

    iv.          Amendment Regulation on Annual Usage Fee

• The definition section of the regulation has been expanded to include the term “Media service provider,” defined as a legal entity with editorial responsibility for the selection of content for radio, television, and optional broadcast services, and the authority to regulate and decide the form of publication.
• Article 10, previously titled “Sanctions to be Applied to Organizations Using Unauthorized Channels/Frequencies or Non-Standard Transmitters,” has been changed to “Sanctions to be Applied Against Unauthorized Broadcasting Activities and Technical Regulation Violations”.  The first paragraph of the article now regulates that radio and television broadcasters cannot continue their broadcasts from a channel and frequency provided by RTSC without abandoning their current usage. Failure to comply shall result in a 15-day warning period given by RTSC. If the violation is not rectified after the warning, an administrative fine ranging from one percent to three percent of the gross commercial communication revenue for the month preceding the month in which the violation was detected will be imposed, taking into account the severity of the violation, the broadcast environment, and the area.
• Radio and television broadcasting organizations are given a 15-day warning period for violations such as broadcasting on channels and frequencies not compliant with the technical regulations determined by RTSC, changing their broadcast emission points without permission from RTSC, not relocating their broadcast transmitter systems to RTSC-designated emission points, unauthorized establishment of transmitters, failure to bring their transmitter systems in line with technical regulations, relocating them to RTSC-designated points, closing unauthorized transmitters, and making other necessary technical adjustments. However, if the violation is not rectified despite the warning, an administrative fine is imposed, ranging from one to three percent of the gross commercial communication revenue for the month preceding the month in which the violation was detected, taking into account the severity of the violation, the broadcasting environment, and the area of influence.
• The annual discount amount from the channel and frequency annual usage fee is applied each year by increasing, effective from the beginning of the calendar year, in accordance with the annually determined and announced revaluation rate for the previous year.
• A new Article 11/A titled “Calculation of Channel/Frequency Usage Fee Quota” has been added. According to this new article, in cases of granting, returning, or canceling broadcasting rights, the channel/frequency annual usage fees shall be determined based on the period during which the relevant channel/frequency remains under the control of the media service provider organization. Additionally, if RTSC grants broadcasting rights to certain settlement areas, the channel/frequency is considered to be under the control of the media service provider organizations as of the date when the relevant RTSC decision is notified to the organizations. The channel/frequency usage fee will be calculated and invoiced for the period from the date the channel/frequency is considered to be under the control of the media service provider organization until the end of the relevant year. When a media service provider organization submits a written notification that RTSC has accepted the return of broadcast rights or canceled broadcasting rights, the channel/frequency for the channels or frequencies subject to the cancellation or return will be deemed to be taken over by RTSC on the date of notification. For canceled or returned channels or frequencies, the portion of the channel/frequency annual usage fee that has been invoiced for the period until the end of the relevant year will be canceled upon the organization’s request.

You can access the Amendment Regulation on Satellite Broadcast through this link; the Amendment Regulation on Cable Broadcast through this link; the Internet Amendment Regulation through this link; the Amendment Regulation on Administrative and Financial Terms through this link; and the Amendment Regulation on Annual Usage Fee through this link.