YOUR ONLINE SUBSCRIPTIONS will now travel with you as new EU rules kicked in this week.
From last Sunday, Irish people will be able to access their online subscriptions such as Netflix, Spotify and Sky Sports wherever they are in the EU. Previously online subscriptions were not widely available in different countries due to varying national regulations.
Under the European Commission’s Digital Single Market rules, Europeans who buy or subscribe to films, sports broadcasts, music, e-books and games in their home Member State are able to access this content when they travel or stay temporarily in another EU country.
Under the rules, providers of paid-for online content services (such as online movie, TV or music streaming services) have to provide their subscribers with the same service wherever the subscriber is in the EU. The service needs to be provided in the same way in other member states, as in the member state of residence. So for Netflix for example, you will have access to the same selection (or catalogue) anywhere in the EU, if you are temporarily abroad, just as if you were at home.
Ireland South MEP Deirdre Clune welcomed the new European-wide measures, saying that they would work for users.
“Removing the boundaries that prevent Europeans from travelling with digital media and content subscriptions is yet another success of the Digital Single Market for European citizens, following the effective abolition of roaming charges that consumers all over Europe have enjoyed since June 2017.
“So wherever you are in Europe, you will never miss out on your favourite Irish sports broadcasts, TV series, films, games or e-books, that you have digitally subscribed to at home.”
Consumer spending on video subscription services rose by 113% per year between 2010 and 2014, and the number of users by 56% between 2014 and 2015. It is also estimated that at least 29 million people, or 5.7% of consumers in the EU, could make use of cross-border portability and many more in the future – up to 72 million people by 2020.
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