List of countries

The objective of PERSKY - Directory of Television Channels in Europe is to provide a comprehensive and organised database of links to the web-sites of television channels in the 35 Members States of the European Audiovisual Observatory and in the European Community. The directory also provides links to other organisations relevant for information on the national television markets:

• broadcasting regulatory authorities
• television channel packagers (satellite packagers, main cable-operators, digital terrestrial television operators)
• terrestrial transmission companies
• information on licence fees
• information on the advertising market
• television programme guides
• audience measurement companies
• broadcasters' and cable-operators' professional organisations
• television addresses
• directories of Live-TV services on the web
• bibliography
• other web-sites of interest

Our lists are established from a variety of sources, mainly the lists supplied by the licence-granting regulatory bodies (for a list of these see the web site of the European Platform of Regulatory Authorities - EPRA: http://www.epra.org). These lists are, however, problematic for a number of reasons; where licences are granted but channels are not in operation; where channels are in operation but do not, for diverse legal reasons, hold licences; and, in a few marginal cases, where pirate channels operate outside any specific legal framework. To complete this information we use various directories available on the Internet. The Lyngsat site (http://www.lyngsat.com) and the associated satellite address site (http://www.sat-address.com) are worthy of special mention in relation to channels transmitted via satellite. These sites supply detailed and up-dated daily line-ups of all the radio and television services carried by the global fleet of satellites, and thus constitute an indispensable source for observers not only of the European television market, but also of the market for television worldwide. Digital package providers and television channels themselves were also consulted as sources. In the case of local television, our lists are based on those of the regulatory bodies, on those of local television associations and on various specialised Internet web sites.

Our classification does not necessarily follows the regulatory definitions used by the national - and some times sub-national - legal criteria. For official lists following national - or sub-national - legal criteria, we invite the reader to consult on the web-sites of the regulatory authorities (listed on the website of EPRA - European Platform of Regulatory Authorities).

The television channels are presented in a way as harmonious as possible, with the following categories:

Public service
Private

Satellite packagers
Main cable operators
Operators of digital terrestrial television

Channels made available by public companies
Channels made available by private companies

Regional channels (public)
Regional channels (private)
Regional windows in national channels (public)
Regional windows in national channels (private)
Local stations and open channels

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