New 2022 European TV data just published in MAVISE, the European Audiovisual Observatory’s database on audiovisual services and their jurisdiction in Europe, shows that the TV channel exodus from the UK has dwindled to pre-Brexit levels.

MAVISE is freely accessible here and is updated every month based on changes recorded in the national registries of the audiovisual regulatory authorities or ministries of the 27 EU Member States (plus the UK) as well as 13 other European countries and Morocco.

The two main insights from the most recent MAVISE update show that:

• The dynamics generated between 2019 and 2020 on the supply market of TV channels were marked by a wave of migrations regarding broadcasting registrations amid Brexit and the transposition of the revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD). This exodus from the UK finally settled down and returned to pre-Brexit levels in 2021, with levels remaining stable during the first half of 2022. Many traditionally UK-based cross-border TV channels had to relocate or rely on their satellite uplink or capacity usage in a quest to secure continuity in their distribution outside the United Kingdom which fell-back on the Council of Europe’s European Convention on Transfrontier Television (ECTT) post-Brexit. Spain, The Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and The Czech Republic were the main destinations for networks that chose to relocate, while Luxembourg was first choice for broadcasters relying on satellite up-link or capacity usage to register under the jurisdiction of an AVMSD country. These cross-border channels were mainly represented by transnational networks such as Warner Bros. Discovery, Disney, Viaplay, NBC, Paramount, Antenna, SPI International, versions of Sky and BBC targeting foreign markets and international channels aimed at pan-European audiences in general.
• Video sharing platforms (VSPs) started to gain better coverage in the national registries in 2021 and continued to do so during the first half of 2022. The regulation of VSPs, the growing scope of competences of regulatory authorities and the nearing completion of the AVMSD transposition, are all leading to higher transparency in the European audiovisual sector.

MAVISE is a free access database on audiovisual services in 41 European countries and Morocco. It allows interactive searches of the registries of the European audiovisual regulatory authorities and/or ministries and the exporting of results. Moreover, MAVISE serves as a centralized database providing information on the country of jurisdiction of television channels, on-demand services and video sharing platforms available in the European Economic Area, pursuant to the Audiovisual Media Services Directive 2018/1808.

The MAVISE database, managed by the European Audiovisual Observatory, is supported by the CREATIVE EUROPE programme of the European Union.