Audiovisual services have long been a sensitive issue in the WTO, where key members have traditionally held very divergent views. It is not surprising therefore that this sector has failed to attract either a significant number of commitments under the GATS or offers in the Doha Round. Indeed, only twenty-nine members have commitments, while only eight had made offers by the end of 2007. In comparison, preferential trade agreements have provided for significant advances: audiovisual is one of the sectors in which the contrast between multilateral and preferential commitments is the greatest, especially in bilateral agreements where the United States is involved.

The audiovisual commitments undertaken in PTAs have a number of significant characteristics, which may result, on the one hand, from the lesser polarization that this topic attracts in bilateral negotiations compared to the WTO context and, on the other hand, from market and technological advances that have transformed the way in which audiovisual services are delivered and consumed. First, while GATS commitments tend to reflect an “all or nothing” approach whereby a number of members seek full discretion across the whole sector because of its cultural characteristics, PTA commitments have often been crafted so as to take into account policy objectives and sensitivities of both an economic and cultural nature; certain areas remain protected, but guarantees of access are given in other parts of the market.