You need to apply for an activity licence if you wish to provide the following media services:
- a radio service that uses a radio frequency belonging to the Estonian radio frequency plan;
- a regional, national or international television service;
- a television or radio service for the temporary transmission of a programme for up to 3 months.
The activity licence is issued for a specified period and is not extended. If you wish to continue providing media services after the expiry of your licence, you need to apply for a new one.
Legal basis
Offering of media services is regulated by:
- Media Services Act
- General Part of the Economic Activities Code Act
- Audiovisual Media Services Directive 2018/1808/EL
You need to apply for activity licence to offer radio or television service.
You do not need an activity licence to offer on-demand audiovisual media service as stated in Media Services Act § 4 (1) p. 2. On-demand audiovisual media service provider has a notification obligation and has to submit a notification of economic activity.
Requirements for applicants
To obtain a licence, you must meet the following requirements:
- you are a person subject to the Media Services Act;
- the information you provide in the application demonstrates your ability to comply with the legal requirements. In order to obtain an activity licence, you must submit the application in accordance with the provisions of Section 39 of the Media Services Act. The application must demonstrate your ability to comply with the legal requirements and (in the case of a radio licence, except for a temporary licence) the terms and conditions of the competition for the issue of a radio licence by means of a business plan and an investment programme;
- applications for a radio licence can only be submitted as part of a competition. If you have a radio licence, you also need to apply for a frequency licence;
- the radio licence is given to the applicant who submitted the best offer in the competition.
Cross-border operation
A television programme that has an active licence of any European Union Member State or a country that has joined the European Convention on Transfrontier Television does not need a licence to be issued in Estonia.
Reception and retransmition of a television programme from another state is not restricted unless in the cases provided for in § 51 of Media Services Act.
There are basic principles coming from Audiovisual Media Services Directive that are valid in all European Union Member States and EEA (European Economic Area) Member States, but every state can provide more strict or detailed rules. Thus can the regulation vary in different states.
Filling in and submitting the application
To obtain a television or radio licence, please submit an application to the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority. The following must be included with the application:
- an investment programme and a business plan;
- for an application for a television licence, an accessibility action plan that includes a description of the activities for improving access to services for persons with disabilities planned for the current calendar year and the subsequent 3 years and the time of implementation;
- if the applicant is a legal entity, a document certifying the legal powers of the applicant’s representative, unless this authority is granted by law or the legal entity’s articles of association;
- the annual report for the year preceding the submission of the application if the applicant is a legal entity that is not required to submit the annual report to the Business Register.
You can only apply for a radio licence via a competition.
PS! A state fee shall be paid before submitting the application.
Application can be submitted:
- by entering the Register of Economic Activities (authentication is required);
- by e-mail: [email protected];
- by sending a mail to Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority, Endla 10a, 10142 Tallinn;
- personally.
Payment of the state fee
A state fee for examining the application must be paid to the bank account of the Ministry of Finance:
- SEB – EE891010220034796011
- Swedbank – EE932200221023778606
- Luminor Bank – EE701700017001577198
- LHV Pank – EE777700771003813400
When making the payment, please provide the reference number 2900080050 and the description: riigilõiv meediateenuse loaga seotud toimingu eest [state fee for an operation relating to a media service licence].
State fee rates:
- review of an application for a radio licence EUR 640;
- review of an application for a regional or national television licence EUR 510;
- review of an application for a temporary television or radio licence EUR 75;
- review of an application for an international television licence EUR 960.
Proceeding the application
Submitted applications are processed as follows:
- the decision on whether to issue a regional or national television licence / temporary radio or television licence, to refuse to issue a licence, or to refuse to review the application, is made within 1 month of receiving the application;
- the decision on an application submitted as part of a radio licence competition is made within 3 months of the deadline for submitting the application;
- the decision on an international television licence is made within 6 months of the submission of the application.
The applicant is notified by email of the issue of the licence, the refusal to issue it or the refusal to review the application.
The activity licence is entered into the Register of Economic Activities.
If the information in the application is incomplete, the applicant will be contacted by email after submitting the application, and given a deadline for rectifying the deficiencies in the application.
The activity licence is valid during the period indicated on the decree concerning the issue of the licence.
The maximum validity periods of activity licences as are follows:
- regional and national television licence – 10 years;
- international television licence – 5 years;
- regional, national and international radio licence – 7 years;
- temporary television or radio licence – 3 months (for the purpose of covering a specific event).
Changing the conditions of a licence
If you wish to amend the terms and conditions of your activity licence, you must submit an application, in accordance with the rules governing the amendment of activity licences provided for in Sections 32 and 33 of the General Part of the Economic Activities Code Act. A state fee of EUR 75 must be paid for reviewing the amended application.
Temporary renouncement and commencement of economic activities
The Director General of the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority may, upon the request of the holder, suspend the activity licence for transmission of the programme service for up to one month if material obstacles have become evident in the technical transmission of the programme service.
If you wish to commence the activity of providing media services, please submit notice on renouncement of economic activities (majandustegevusest loobumise teade) to the Register of Economic Activities through Estonian state portal or directly to the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (e-mail: [email protected]).
Revocation of activity licence
The activity licence is being revocated in case:
- intentional submission of incorrect information by an undertaking upon application for an activity licence, which affected the grant of a licence, provided that if such information had not been submitted, the grant of an activity licence would have been denied
- renouncement of economic activities by an undertaking
- validity of a relevant prohibition on economic activities imposed by a court judgment or arising from law in a relevant area of activity in respect of an undertaking
- if the person set out on the activity licence has not transmitted the programme service that is in compliance with the conditions or secondary conditions of the activity licence for over one month
The activity licence could be revocated in case of:
- material violation of an economic activity requirement in the subject of review of the activity licence or a secondary condition of the activity licence
- a significant damage or danger caused to public order by the activity permitted by the activity licence, which did not exist or was not known at the time of grant of the activity licence and which overrides the interest of the undertaking in continuing the activity and which cannot be eliminated by amendment of the activity licence.
Supervision
State supervision is performed by the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority.
Contact details
Substantive information
Peeter Sookruus, Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority, tel: +372 667 2082, e-mail: [email protected]
Helin Pertelson, Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority, tel: +372 667 2040, e-mail: [email protected]
Registry information and technical questions
Register of Economic Activities, tel: +372 668 7080, e-mail: [email protected]