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Press Release

Strasbourg, 16 October 2009

More than 700 on-demand audiovisual services available in Europe

  

Video-on-Demand in Europe
(Edition October 2009)

The European Audiovisual Observatory and the Direction du développement des médias (France) are publishing a new study entitled Video on Demand and Catch-Up Television in Europe. This work offers professionals an up-to-date overview of recent developments and examines the various business models and strategies of the different types of player in both Europe and the United States.

A first survey of on-demand audiovisual services in Europe

The study provides a survey of the on-demand audiovisual services existing in Europe and is based on the criteria established in the new European Audiovisual Media Services Directive, which was adopted in November 2007 and is currently being transposed into national law by the EU member states. According to the directive, the main criterion when defining a service is editorial control rather than the management of a distribution platform capable of providing users with various services.

Applying this criterion, the European Audiovisual Observatory has identified 696 services from 366 different providers that were operational at the end of December 2008. The United Kingdom had the most services (145), followed by France (106) and Italy (93). More than half these services were delivered via the internet, 30% on a DSL network (in the IPTV mode), 7% on cable and less than 3% by satellite. At the moment, the only on-demand services delivered by digital terrestrial television are available on the Top Up TV platform in the United Kingdom,.

The Observatory’s survey does not take account of services distributed on mobile telephones (which have proliferated thanks to the success of the Apple iPhone) or websites devoted solely to the provision of information, trailers or adult programmes. Nor does it consider the channels set up by commercial undertakings in the context of video sharing sites such as YouTube or Dailymotion. Despite some significant service closures (especially those caused by the shutdown of the Tiscali Italia platform on 31 December 2008), the number of new services has not stopped growing in 2009, so it is justified to assume that there are currently more than 700 services operating in Europe.

Number of on-demand audiovisual media services in Europe by country of reception and type of network (December 2008)


Not included: services on mobile telephones, adult services, video sharing services and company chains within video sharing services, and services that only offer information videos, trailers and highlights.
Source: European Audiovisual Observatory

Number of on-demand audiovisual services in Europe by type of network (December 2008)


Source: European Audiovisual Observatory

A wide range of service providers

On-demand audiovisual services are provided by many different players. The traditional audiovisual players (television channel providers, film companies, satellite package operators, cable operators) have been joined by two powerful categories: the telecommunications network operators and the manufacturers (of games consoles, mobile telephones and other multimedia devices).

Breakdown of on-demand audiovisual service providers in Europe by original business field (December 2008)


Source: European Audiovisual Observatory

 

Video on demand and catch-up television in Europe. A study by the European Audiovisual Observatory and the Direction du développement des médias (France), 404 pages, 66 tables, 88 graphics. Press contacts:

At the European Audiovisual Observatory:
     Alison Hindhaugh, Press Officer, tel.:+ 33 (0)3 90 21 60 10, alison.hindhaugh@coe.int
At the Direction du développement des médias:
     Cloé Korman, Chargée d’études, Sous-direction du développement de la société de l’information,
      tel.: +33 (0)1 42 75 56 76, cloe.korman@pm.gouv.fr
The Direction du développement des médias (France)

The Direction du développement des médias (Directorate for Media Development) is a department answerable to the French Prime Minister placed at the disposal of the Minister for Culture and Communication in charge of the development of all the media, ranging from the written press and traditional audiovisual services to new forms of online communication. It is the preferred interlocutor of professionals working in this sector and has three main roles:
  • modernization of the administrative supervision of public broadcasting services;
  • adaptation of the national public support of the press;
  • follow-up of the necessary legislation evolutions regarding freedom of the press, communications and on-line services.

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).