ATVOD announces lower fees, introduces price cap

The UK’s video-on-demand regulator ATVOD has reduced the average fees for its members by 5.5%.

The regulator had intended to charge a flat rate fee of £2,900 (€3,228) for all registered VOD providers in the UK. However, following concerns that smaller operators would struggle to pay that amount ATVOD carried out a public consultation that has resulted in a new fees structure.

Non-commercial operators will be charged a concessionary fee of £100 which can be paid in four instalments. Commercial providers with turnover below £50,000 will pay £150 and those with a turnover below £100,000 will be levied a £200 fee. There are an additional three tariff bands of £800, £5,175 and £10,350 depending on turnover. Operators can also be charged up to £800 for each additional service launched. ATVOD has determined a cap of £25,000 for total payments required by a single operator.

ATVOD CEO Pete Johnson said, “We entered the consultation with a completely open mind and our decision reflects the balance and strength of arguments made by our stakeholders in response to the available options. The new tariff addresses two of the biggest concerns expressed to us about fees during our first year: the impact on smaller providers, and the impact on providers with large numbers of services. Under the new tariff, we expect that at least 45% of service providers will pay no more than £800 and the smallest providers will pay £200 or less. At the other end of the scale, companies operating large numbers of services will pay just £800 for each extra service and will not pay more than £25,000 however many services they provide.”