ABSTRACT
F ew things have b ecom e so se lf-ev ident now adays as the p ossib ility o f w atch-
ing foreign te lev ision channels. It w as, however, not until 1989 that a com -
m on legal fram ework necessary to ensure cross-border broadcasting w as
created w hen the C ouncil o f M inisters adopted D irective 89 /552 , com m only
referred to as the “T elevision W ithout Frontiers D irective” .1 That D irective
has established2 the principle o f free flow o f te lev ision program m es w ithin
the Com m unity, w h ile harm onizing the broadcasting law s o f the M em ber
States in a num ber o f crucial areas. H ow ever, like other h igh tech n ology
industries, the broadcasting sector is being revolutionized by the digital com -
pression technology. C onsequently, since 1989 the audiovisual landscape has
undergone som e profound changes.
