CUADERNOS.INFO Nº 45 ISSN 0719-3661 Versión electrónica: ISSN 0719-367x http://www.cuadernos.info https://doi.org/10.7764/cdi.45.1350 Received: 09-03-2018 / Accepted: 19-03-2019 The innovation of European public service media in digital communication and user communities La innovación de las radiotelevisiones públicas europeas en la comunicación digital y las comunidades de usuarios A inovação das radiotelevisões públicas europeias na comunicação digital e as comunidades de usuários MÓNICA LÓPEZ-GOLÁN, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Ibarra, Ecuador ([email protected]) MARTA RODRÍGUEZ-CASTRO, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, España ([email protected]) FRANCISCO CAMPOS FREIRE, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, España ([email protected]) ABSTRACT RESUMEN RESUMO This research analyzes the innovation Esta investigación analiza las estrategias Esta pesquisa analisa as estratégias and social interaction strategies of de innovación e interacción social de las de inovação e interação social das European public service media (PSM) radiotelevisiones públicas europeas como radiotelevisões públicas europeias como in response to the transformation and respuesta a los retos de transformación resposta aos desafios de transformação e adaptation challenges entailed by the y adaptación a la nueva ecología de la adaptação à nova ecologia da comunicação new digital communication ecology. comunicación digital. Metodológicamente, digital. Metodologicamente, se faz The research methodology was based se realiza una exploración de las memorias uma exploração das memórias das in the study of the corporations’ annual de las corporaciones, un mapeo de la corporações, um mapeamento da reports, a mapping of the structure of estructura de sus plataformas en Internet y estrutura de suas plataformas na Internet their Internet platforms and a selective una observación selectiva de la gestión de las e uma observação seletiva da gestão das observation of the websites and the webs y sus comunidades de usuarios de los webs e suas comunidades de usuários dos users communities of the PSM of the entes públicos de los cinco países europeos con entes públicos dos cinco países europeus five European countries with greater mayor población (Alemania, Reino Unido, com maior população (Alemanha, Reino population (Germany, the United Francia, España e Italia). Los resultados Unido, Franca, Espanha e Itália). Os Kingdom, France, Spain and Italy). The muestran que la participación y gestión de resultados mostram que a participação results show that both participation and estas comunidades es todavía incipiente, e gestão destas comunidades é ainda the management of such communities poco proactiva y bastante condicionada por incipiente, pouco proativa, bastante is still incipient, not very proactive and las exigencias de sus organizaciones públicas condicionada pelas exigências de suas quite conditioned by the requirements of matrices. organizações públicas matrizes. their parent public service organizations. Keywords: european public service Palabras clave: radiotelevisiones públicas Palavras-chave: radiotelevisões media; innovation; social interaction; europeas; innovación; interacción social; públicas europeias; inovação; interação user communities; digital platforms; comunidades de usuarios; plataformas social; comunidades de usuários; participation. digitales; participación. plataformas digitais; participação. How to cite: López-Golán, M., Rodríguez-Castro, M., & Campos-Freire, F. (2019). La innovación de las radiotelevisiones públicas europeas en la comunicación digital y las comunidades de usuarios. Cuadernos.info, (45), 241-255. https://doi.org/10.7764/cdi.45.1350 241 LÓPEZ-GOLÁN, M. et al. The innovation of European public service media in digital communication (...) INTRODUCTION increased by only two more and in 2018, it dropped to Public television in Europe has been hegemonic and 32 channels. In 2016 there were 218 regional public a monopoly for several decades, until the seventies or channels, in 2017, 61 and in 2018 similar figures were eighties depending on the different countries; however, maintained, with 62 active channels. Similarly, in 2016 it currently loses presence, audience, penetration and there were 71 public channels broadcasting abroad funding, which are now being gathered by traditional and the following year only 55 remained. This number private operators and the new converging platforms increased slightly in 2018, reaching 62 (EAO, 2018). of audiovisual, telecommunications and the Internet. Adjustments in broadcasting technology systems and In the last decades of transit between the two last in emission costs –due to funding difficulties– are the centuries, the public audiovisual service –in Europe cause of this restructuring in broadcasting systems. and in other parts of the world– faces competition The European Union officially ended the and the challenges of neo-television (Eco, 1986), of technological transition from the analogue to the digital hypertelevision (Scolari, 2008) and of the metamedia terrestrial television system in April 2012, except for audiovisual hybridization (Manovich, 2005), trying to only half a dozen countries that obtained a delay until preserve its legitimacy and fulfill its mission. 2015. The EU countries are currently, with a deadline In the new current situation of hyper fragmentation until 2020-2022, in the second phase of the digital of consumption –starring the multiple accesses of users, blackout and the release of the frequency band above and the mega concentration of content distribution 700 megahertz to auction them so that they can be (Evans, 2015; Miguel de Bustos & Casado del Río, 2016; used by telephone operators for the operation of 5G Echraghi, 2017), increasingly monopolized by GAFAN and mobile communications platforms (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Netflix)– Digital terrestrial television has the exclusivity of public service broadcasting (PSB) has to transform the frequency band below 700 megahertz until 2030, itself (Tambini, 2015; Burri, 2015; Bustamante, 2015; after the intervention of a High Level Group led by Martin, 2016; Tremblay, 2016) into a public service a European Union mediator, the Frenchman Pascal media (PSM) adapted and necessary for the diversity Lamy (2014), who achieved a consensus between the of the new ecology of the digital society (Fuchs, 2014). audiovisual and mobile operators to distribute the use of the radio spectrum in the next decade of 2020-2030, and a hard confrontation with the telephone companies THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK at the World Radiocommunication Conference in CURRENT RADIOGRAPHY OF EUROPEAN PUBLIC Geneva 2015 (WRC15). SERVICE BROADCASTING The WRC15 Geneva debate put on the table the The quantitative evolution of the European strategic importance of the use of the terrestrial radio audiovisual landscape reflects the trend described spectrum for both television –especially to provide the above, as shown by the reduction of public channels principle of universality of the public broadcasting service between 2016 and 2017, years in which it went from (Ala-Fossi & Lax, 2016; Ala-Fossi & Bonet, 2018)– and 10.6% to 7.3% of the total number of televisions in for telephone operators that are increasingly expanding the European Union; i.e., of a total of 4,703 channels their mobile communications services. In the middle in 2016, of which 502 were publicly owned and 4,201 of both competitive positions are the governments, private, in 2017 the numbers fell to 309 public and which yearn for the availability of spectrum to auction, 3,899 private, totaling 4,208, according to the data to increase their tight fiscal revenues. of the European Audiovisual Observatory (EAO) Regardless of this dispute for a greater or total (2018). In 2018, the decline was barely noticeable in privatization of the spectrum, after 2030 we could find the public sector, with 308 channels, while the private ourselves facing the last decade of DTT open television ones increased to 4,105 (EAO, 2018). in Europe and the migration to fiber optic broadband In 2016, the European Audiovisual Observatory and Internet protocol. Until 2030, broadcasts are accounted for 156 national terrestrial television guaranteed in DTT, and in 2025 their future will be channels. A year later, that number was reduced to discussed again. In any case, this is another challenge 134, increasing again to 150 in 2018. In other broadcast for open, private or public television, and especially technologies (by satellite and cable) there were about for the latter, because its principle of universality and 57 national channels in 2016; a year later, that number free access is at stake. Northern European countries, CUADERNOS.INFO Nº 45 / DICIEMBRE 2019 / ISSN 0719-3661 / Versión electrónica: www.cuadernos.info / ISSN 0719-367x 242 LÓPEZ-GOLÁN, M. et al. The innovation of European public service media in digital communication (...) such as Finland, are advancing the new digital blackout Audiences dropped in all cases –the highest in Spain, and closing traditional broadcast television channels with a 49% decrease, Greece with 74%, Ireland with to migrate them to Internet platforms. 34%, Portugal with 75%, Poland with 38%– except in The broadcasting systems via satellite (DTH) and the Czech Republic, where they increased 9%, Hungary, digital terrestrial television (DTT) are the ones that 23%, Denmark, 17%, Germany, 4%, and Sweden, 2%. connect the