Press Release Strasbourg, 23 March 2007 New publication - IRIS Special: The Public Service Broadcasting Culture		More information on the IRIS publications
		Link to IRIS Merlin legal database
		Website of the Institute of European Media Law (EMR)
		Website of the Institute for Information Law (IViR )

The recent announcement by ARTE France of a budget increase of 3,4% and a contract linking the French arm of the Franco-German cultural channel to the French state for the period 2007 until the end of 2011 has recently placed renewed emphasis on the theme of cultural programming by public service broadcasters.

The European Audiovisual Observatory, part of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, has chosen to focus its latest IRIS Special publication on this very subject:

This brand new report looks at the development of public service broadcasting culture, its definition nowadays and the reasons why it continues to exist in a marketplace in which the notion of public service broadcasting is constantly called into question by commercial market forces.

The report then goes on to examine the contribution of public service broadcasting to cultural diversity. It also asks whether or not this form of broadcasting serves the requirements of a broad spectrum of groups within society in terms of their social and cultural needs.

These two major questions are dealt with in the context of broadcasting regulation. In other words, this new IRIS Special looks at the extent to which the role of public service broadcasting is defined by broadcasting legislation. It also looks specifically at the provisions made in this legislation to ensure that culture is promoted by public service broadcasters.

This information contained in this new report is presented in the form of 14 different country profiles, the countries in question having been chosen because of the particularity of their public broadcasting systems and in order to document different regulatory models. The first part of each profile looks at the regulatory framework in each country which defines the mission of its public broadcaster as well as analysing the economic and financing model of its structure. The second part of each country profile looks at the influence of national or cultural aspects on the respective public service broadcaster as well as examining the way in which each country's cultural diversity is reflected in its public broadcaster's structure.

It becomes clear from this country-by-country structure that the definition and development of public service broadcasting is mainly in  the hands of national legislators. However, this report does present a short introductory overview of some of the questions related to public service broadcasting which are dealt with at a European level.

The introduction also features an article on the particular challenge presented to Europe's new democracies for which the establishing of a public service broadcaster is a relatively recent achievement. This special introduction alludes to the specific difficulties which had to be overcome in the process of the replacement of state by public service broadcasters in former communist countries.

IRIS Special, 2007 Edition,
"The Public Service Broadcasting Culture", EUR 62,50
ISBN : 978-92-871-6188-8
European Audiovisual Observatory, Strasbourg, 2007.

For further press information and a free press copy for review, please contact:
Alison Hindhaugh, Information and Press Officer, tel.: +33 (0) 3 88 14 44 10 -E-mail: alison.hindhaugh@coe.int

To order a copy of this IRIS Special or take out a subscription to IRIS monthly legal review with its IRIS plus supplement, click here or contact: Markus.BOOMS@coe.int

For further information on the content of our IRIS products, please contact our legal department:
Susanne.NIKOLTCHEV@coe.int - Francisco.CABRERA@coe.int

---

The European Audiovisual Observatory Set up in December 1992, the European Audiovisual Observatory's mission is to gather and distribute information on the audiovisual industry in Europe. The Observatory is a European public service body comprised of 37 member states and the European Union, represented by the European Commission. It operates within the legal framework of the Council of Europe and works alongside a number of partner and professional organisations from within the industry and with a network of correspondents. In addition to contributions to conferences, other major activities are the publication of a Yearbook, newsletters and reports, the compilation and management of databases and the provision of information through the Observatory’s Internet site (http://www.obs.coe.int).