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European Commission

Directorate-General Communication   

Press Release

Strasbourg, 1st April 2008

Launch of MAVISE -
a new database on television channels and television companies in the European Union

  

On 9 April 2008, the European Commission (DG Communication) and the European Audiovisual Observatory will launch at MIPTV the public version of MAVISE, a new TV database set up to provide basic data on all the television channels accessible in the European Union and the two candidate countries (Croatia and Turkey). It will be accessible free of charge from 9 April 2008 at http://mavise.obs.coe.int and via the Europa website (http://ec.europa.eu/), the portal of the Commission’s audiovisual service (http://ec.europa.eu/avservices/home/index_en.cfm).

A new tool for the professionals

“The European Commission needed a tool that would enable it to understand the world of television in all its complexity”, said Thierry Vissol, an adviser to the European Commission’s DG Communication. “The European Audiovisual Observatory has developed a database for us that takes this complexity into account. The public version of the MAVISE database that we are presenting today only contains some of the information gathered by the Observatory. In the context of intellectual property rights, it was not possible to make information on the audiences and financial situation of companies available to the public free of charge”.

“The MAVISE project, which will last five years, will enable the Observatory to strengthen its expertise and services in the field of television”, explained Wolfgang Closs, Executive Director of the European Audiovisual Observatory. “It is mainly a project forming part of a service contract for the European Commission but we are pleased that it will also result in an additional service, which we hope will be useful for both professionals and the public at large”.

“MAVISE already contains key information on more than 2,500 companies, over 2,700 television channels and the line-up of more than a hundred distributors”, said André Lange, a Head of Department at the Observatory. “The aim is to compile a list of the 6,000 to 7,000 channels in Europe by the end of the year. In its present state, the database is far from being complete but the most important channels in audience terms and the main special-interest channels are included and the database is already proving very useful”.

The suppliers of information for the MAVISE database include Eurodata TV Worldwide, Bureau van Dijk Electronic Publishing, and Lyngemark. The database has been developed by the company Easter Eggs, and project management assistance has been provided by Altran.

The contents of the database

For each country, the MAVISE database contains:

  • a general description of the television landscape and a list of sources of information,
  • the names of the bodies that grant licences for television channels or produce a directory of existing channels,
  • basic data on the population, the number of TV households and the digital television penetration rate,
  • a list of the channels established in the country,
  • a list of the channels received in the country,
  • a list of the operators (broadcasters, package providers) and technical transmitters (analogue or digital terrestrial, cable, satellite, IPTV or television to mobile).

For each broadcaster, the database contains:

  • the contact details,
  • the address of the website,
  • the media group of which the company is part,
  • a list of the channels broadcast.

For each television channel the following information is provided:

  • the name of the broadcasting company,
  • the channel’s concept and genre,
  • specific categories of public targeted by the channels,
  • the countries targeted by the channel,
  • the number of hours broadcast,
  • the access arrangements (free, subscription),
  • the availability, if any, of a high definition version,
  • any language versions available,
  • the availability, if any, of services for people with disabilities,
  • the availability, if any, of webcasting and catch-up services
  • the channels’ websites (general site, sales houses, etc),
  • in the case of local and regional television channels, the region targeted,
  • the type of licence and, where available, the licence commencement and expiry dates,
  • in each country where the channel is broadcast, the names of the main technical distributors that provide the channel (operators of analogue and digital terrestrial networks, cable operators, IPTV operators, mobile television service operators), the name(s) of the satellite(s) on which the channel is broadcast,
  • the packages as part of which the channel is available,
  • the technical penetration (number of TV households able to receive the channel).

For the channel package operators and the main television channels distributors, the database also provides a line-up of the channels broadcast.

The database has advanced search tools which, for example, make it possible to identify channels of a given type in a given country or channels targeted at specific population categories.

Launch workshop: TOWARDS GREATER TRANSPARENCY OF THE EUROPEAN TELEVISION MARKET

On the occasion of the launch of the database, the European Commission’s DG Communication and the European Audiovisual Observatory are organising a workshop on the subject of the transparency of the television market (see programme and registration form here).

For further information about this workshop, contact:

The Directorate-General Communication of the European Commission

The mission of the Directorate-General Communication is to :
  • provide the citizens of the 27 countries of the European Union with information on EU policy and their direct implications for the citizens, by using all appropriate means (e.g. the web portal Europa, EuTube and the Europe Direct network)
  • promote the increase of media coverage of European questions – in all editorial independence – in particular by the audiovisual media in order to contribute to the development of a European public sphere for democratic debate. In order to achieve this, the Commission provides broadcasters with sound and image elements, both live or from the archives, as well as technical means thanks to the following resources: “Europe by Satellite”, a web portal, thematic collections of images on current topics, audiovisual archives on Europe (www.ec.europa.eu/avservices), and a calendar of EU events. Furthermore, it contributes, via financial support, to the development of European radio and TV networks by initiating programmes which cover European issues.
The European Commission supports media pluralism and editorial independence.
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).