In parallel to the broad reformist agenda that has been rolling forward in Brazil, less-publicized—yet vital—sectoral overhauls aim to modernize Brazilian legislation and foster a better business environment. After the new Telecoms Law finally passed in Congress, senators are now scrambling to update the so-called Pay-TV Law—a fight that is set to be just as fierce as its predecessor.
Established in 2011, Brazil’s pay-TV legislation, as it is known, forbids cross-ownership between telecom service providers (such as cable and satellite operators) and content producers, such as TV channels or studios. Also, operators are not allowed to use Brazilian artists’ images for any purpose other than their own advertising, restricting any form of content production. The new bill analyzed in the Senate aims to scrap those prohibitions, allowing a verticalization of services in Brazil.
The proposed goal is to make Brazil’s media market less concentrated. However, data provided by Teleco, a Brazil-based telecoms consultancy, shows that not only does the market remain highly concentrated between America Movil’s Claro—the owner of pay-TV service NET, which has over half of the market—and Sky, but these companies have also been suffering customer losses over time.
As pointed out by Senator Arolde de Oliveira, the rapporteur of the bill, projections estimated Brazil would reach 30 million pay-TV subscribers...
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