The following findings come from the European Audiovisual Observatory’s MAVISE TV and VOD database which has just been up-dated with new 2019 data freely accessible on line:
Our 2019 MAVISE snapshot of the audiovisual market in Europe shows that:
- The UK saw the market share of TV channels based there drop by 5% year on year (down to 22% in 2019). The UK remains the biggest contributor to the overall supply of TV channels in the EU28.
- The downslide was mainly led by the migration of localised versions but also of standalone TV channels addressing foreign markets, as international TV networks seeking to maintain distribution after Brexit applied for broadcasting licences outside the UK (i.e. Discovery, Viacom, Sony, SPI International portfolio brands and others). This relocation saw the share of channels based in the UK and targeting markets beyond national borders drop to 57% in 2019 (down by 5% year on year).
- Half of the TV channels targeting foreign EU markets were UK-based in 2018, as opposed to just over one third at the end of 2019. This decentralisation recorded at EU level was the result both of channel migration and a prominent trend towards diversification of the international TV channels in their new host territories. Last year saw the launch of additional localised versions (in terms of language and geographical scope) of international brand networks represented mainly by Discovery Inc and Viacom Inc portfolios.
- The main destination for the relocation and specialisation of broadcasting licences in 2019 was the Netherlands, followed by Spain. This generated a repositioning of the main hubs for channels targeting other EU countries and a fragmentation of the supply. The top three hubs for international networks, still accounting for a cumulative 69% in 2019 of all TV channels targeting other EU28 were represented by the UK (36%), the Netherlands (22%) and Spain (11%) as opposed to 2018 ranking positions occupied by the UK (52%), the Czech Republic (9%) and Luxembourg (8%) at the end of 2018.
- The vast majority (over 95%) of TV channels available in the 41 European countries covered by the Observatory are still established in Europe with only 8% of them being publicly owned.
MAVISE is a free access database on television channels and on-demand services and licences in 41 European countries and Morocco.
Managed by the European Audiovisual Observatory and supported by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union, the MAVISE database is up-dated every year with new facts and figures. It provides individual data for TV channels and video-on-demand services available in Europe including detailed information as regards targeting, ownership and licensing. The customized result lists can be downloaded for free in EXCEL tables.