Television Across Europe: Industry Is Grappling with These Dynamic Processes
usa-utan-1016-c-printphoto:Layout 1 10/27/2008 1:54 PM Page 1 MONITORING REPORT MONITORING REPORT Today’s pace of change in television has reached breakneck speed, affecting produc- tion, transmission, consumption, marketing, financing and ownership. Audiences fragment, owners consolidate, and technology converges: Europe’s audiovisual less independence channels, more Europe: across Television industry is grappling with these dynamic processes. To take the measure of these changes, the Open Society Institute has mapped the tel- TELEVISION ACROSS EUROPE evision landscape in nine countries: Albania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Italy, Lithuania, the Republic of Macedonia, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. TV across Europe 2008 is the result. MORE CHANNELS, LESS INDEPENDENCE The proliferation of content has increased the viewers’ freedom of choice. This is a real achievement, but is the public getting more quality or diversity? Editorial inde- pendence has deteriorated in most of the countries monitored. Governments still refuse to let public service broadcasters be independent, and have even clawed back the control that they ceded a few years ago. The studies also highlight that as digital switchover draws closer, established broadcasters have largely managed to exclude fresh competitors. Meanwhile, broadcast regulators have faced the new challenges by sticking their heads in the sand. OVERVIEW An Overview chapter points out the main trends that emerge from the country reports, and proposes feasible measures to tackle the problems identified. COUNTRY REPORTS: In 2005, the Open Society Institute published Television across Europe: regulation, policy and independence, which monitored broadcasting in 20 countries. It was ALBANIA widely acclaimed as unique in its range and rigour.
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