Broadcasters adapt to the techno-revolution

Date: 22/04/1999

By Simon Coss

DESPITE their fears for the future of their industry, Europe's public service broadcasters appear to be embracing the 'convergence revolution' with open arms.

Last summer, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), whose members include all the EU's major state-backed television companies, announced that it had 'digitalised' its entire transmission network.

The move from analogue broadcast technology to new digital techniques will allow viewers to receive hundreds of TV programmes instead of the present handful available via traditional roof-mounted television aerials.

EBU member organisations have also been quick to grasp other opportunities offered by the convergence phenomenon. Many now run extensive Internet websites with regularly updated news bulletins, articles and interactive pages linked to their programmes plus information on forthcoming schedules.

State-backed broadcasters are also branching out into new areas such as pay-per-view services, 'niche' TV channels which concentrate on a single topic such as 24-hour news or sports, and online delivery of programme content.

The EBU argues that it is entirely right and proper that its members should move into new areas. It says public service broadcasters "continue to be entitled, and indeed are obliged, to make their programme offer available to the public in the most appropriate manner suggested by the changing viewing and listening habits of the public in an evolving audio-visual environment".

But not everyone agrees. Many commercial television stations claim their state-funded rivals have an unfair advantage when it comes to meeting the challenges posed by new broadcasting technologies.

The Association of Commercial Television in Europe (ACT), which represents 21 private TV companies in the EU, complains that their publicly funded competitors often use state hand-outs to gain a competitive advantage in new broadcasting markets.

The ACT also claims that the public service aspects of their competitors' programming is becoming increasingly hard to spot. "Developments in recent years in several countries show that publicly funded broadcasters are increasingly neglecting their public service remit by duplicating those services already successfully provided by commercial broadcasters," it argues. "This leads to publicly funded broadcasters distorting the markets and diversifying into new markets with the help of public funding."

Article forms part of a survey 'Converging technologies', p13-20.