Resumen de Netherlands: : Court rejects broadcaster’s appeal over European works quota
On 13 January 2015, the District Court of Amsterdam declared the appeal by the broadcaster Sapphire against a decision refusing to grant it exemption from the European works quota for the years 2008-2012 inadmissible, as exemptions cannot be granted retrospectively.
The Audiovisual Media Services Directive mandates that broadcasters are required to include a certain percentage of European works in their programming schedules. TV channels in the Netherlands should reserve more than half of their transmission time for European works, on the basis of Article 3.20 of the Dutch Media Act (Mediawet). Under paragraph 2 of that Article, the Dutch Media Authority (Commissariaat voor de Media - CvdM) may grant temporary partial exemption from the obligation to fulfil the European works quota in special circumstances.
