Open Source "TV Browser" project drops 16 channel listings in face of usage fees

December 22, 2007

The electronic programme guide, TV-Browser, announced their intention to remove 16 private tv-channels on January 1st, 2008. These include the German channels ProSieben, RTL Television and Sat.1.

According to a press release by the TV-Browser team, the collecting society VG Media plans to collect a usage fee for channel-program-data in EPGs beginning next year. Users will be charged between 0.02 and 0.04 € cents per page-view with a minimum fixed fee of at least 2000€.

The Open-Source-project can not and does not wish to pay this fee; developers are considering showing certain programme highlights from the channels in question.

A petition has been started to convince VG Media to abandon this charge fee.