Brazilian National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) has officially established that linear TV channels offered via streaming is not considered a pay TV offer, but rather a value-added service. For this reason, they should be excluded from the rules established by the SeAC Law (N°. 12,485; 2011), which regulates Pay TV offers in Brazil.

‘Linearity in content offerings over the Internet has become a convenience for users, who can go back to watch programs or choose different consumption options through catch-up or interactive tools. This way, regulation cannot be intrusive or an obstacle to innovation’, reported Leonardo Euler, President at Anatel. Similarly, Emmanoel Campelo, member of the Board of Directors of Anatel, expressed that, if there is a need to hire a telecommunications offer to access linear channels via OTT, these ‘must be excluded from the SeAC Law’.

Anatel’s decision comes after more than two years, when Claro made a formal presentation at Anatel, in which it questioned the direct-to-consumer sales models that Fox and Turner were developing with Fox + and Esporte Interativo Plus. According to what Anatel reported at that time, the products would violate the Audiovisual Content Law in Brazil. In that country, vertical integration in pay TV is banned, that is, a content generator cannot participate in its distribution process.