Levira: Brexit might open the door for Estonia to export TV services

Digital services provider for international broadcasters, IT companies and media service providers Levira sees Estonia as an ideal destination for international TV broadcasters to acquire operating licences for the EU market, once Brexit will take effect and UK-based licences will become void. Estonia’s advantages include an open economy and high penetration of e-services.

According to Martti Kinkar, Development and Project Manager of Levira, the companies currently operating under the British Ofcom licences to broadcast television channels in the EU market might be at risk after the UK will leave the EU. Ofcom is currently the leading issuer of broadcasting licences in the EU and according to analysts, over 1,000 stations will have to acquire a new EU licence.

“Estonia’s advantages lie in its open economy, expansion of electronic services and favourable licence fees. We are running a state-of-the-art play-out centre and have the necessary regulatory framework in place. We are working closely with the Estonian government to start offering licence agreements to international companies in the coming years,” said Kinkar.

Expert Media Partners Ltd evaluated the prospects of different countries in offering licenses, considering regulations, simplicity of doing business, legal framework and language barriers. Although the Netherlands holds the strongest position (80 points out of 100) according to the research after Ireland (78 points) Estonia will come as next (76).

According to Tiit Tammiste, Chairman of the Board of Levira, licencing television stations in Estonia represents a new opportunity for e-residency, as it allows companies to manage business documentation via remote channels.

“Estonia is a country that offers a progressive business environment with efficient infrastructure. Our e-services and mobile communication and internet applications are among the most advanced in the world. Estonia’s attractiveness is demonstrated by the large number of foreign investors doing business here,” stated Tammiste.

Estonia is the first country to offer e-Residency, a government-issued digital ID available to anyone in the world. E-residency does not grant citizenship but allows one to make business transactions in Estonia online. Having an e-Residency, it only takes 15 minutes to establish an Estonian company, all over the Internet, and a digital signature is legally equal to a normal signature when using chip-set based ID-card, in online banking, licence application, tax declarations, etc.

Companies registered in Estonia do not have to pay income tax for re-invested profits.

Levira

Levira is a provider of cloud, media and broadcast transmission services. Headquartered in Tallinn, Estonia, it operates one of the largest data centres in the Baltics, which complies with the highest security and reliability standards. We offer mission-critical infrastructure services that require the highest level of service and security. Our solutions focus on customers’ needs and are integrated with their service chains.

Levira is the largest provider of TV play-out and media services in Northern Europe and the main TV and radio broadcast transmission provider in Estonia. Levira has 3 HD OB trucks and UAVs (drones) to shoot live broadcasts. Levira’s customers include multinational and regional IT companies and broadcasters like Turner, Sony, MTG, EBU, ERR, Discovery, ATEA, Telia, Tele2, Elisa, Starman, TV3.