Television represents the largest segment of the European audiovisual sector and in 2005

there were nearly 4000 TV channels which constituted the primary source of information for
most people. The remarkable development of analogue television during the second half of
the twentieth century led to widespread penetration and today nearly 99 per cent of the 176
million European households in the EU 25 own at least one TV set. Digital television is also
developing at a steady pace. In the end of 2004 there were more than two thousand digital
channels, up from eight hundred in the end of 2000.

Public television can play an essential role in safeguarding a pluralist society and meeting its
cultural and social needs and it is therefore at the centre of the democratic systems. Through
its mass reach and influence public broadcasting has the capacity both to enrich people’s
lives as individuals and improve the quality of life in society. In Europe public TV occupies an
important part of the television sector. However, in the USA its role and influence is minimal.

Today US public TV stations are independent and serve community needs. However, all
public TV organisations are linked on a national level through three organisations: the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), created by Congress in 1967 to channel Federal
government funding to stations and independent producers. The CPB does not produce or
distribute programmes; the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), formed in 1969, responsible
for distributing programming to about 348 public TV stations across the country. The PBS is
a private, non-profit enterprise owned and operated by the member stations; and the
Association of Public Television Stations (APTS) which assists member public TV stations
with research and planning.

In Europe television is not considered merely an economic activity, as it is in the USA, but
rather a social and political tool, accessible to all and contributing to pluralism, diversity and
democratic expression. In the USA, television developed in an intensely competitive
environment from its very inception and public service media have minimal impact in cultural,
social and political terms. In stark contrast, the European model has been characterised by
state intervention and occupies an important part of the whole TV industry. Historically,
monopolies in television (and radio) were justified on technical grounds (spectrum scarcity),
but a raft of political and social arguments were added to these technical reasons, as it was
believed that broadcast media could exert powerful influence and had to therefore be heavily
regulated.

However, the organisation and functioning of public channels are not the same across
Europe, for they vary in the way they are funded and structured, their political independence,
and so on.

The mission of public television

The large variations among the broadcasting systems stem from the different traditions,
political cultures as well as regulatory systems that exist across Europe. It follows therefore
that it is difficult to identify a single public television model and/or accurately define public
television. In general terms, however, there are some common obligations bestowed upon
public TV by society which define the remit of its activities. These obligations can be
summarised as follows:
• Universality of content and access.
• Provision of programmes which contribute to social cohesion and democratic process.
• Setting of high quality3 standards in the areas of entertainment, education and information.
• Contribution to political pluralism and cultural diversity.
• Enriching the lives of individuals through history, the arts and science.
• Preservation and promotion of national culture and heritage.
• Editorial independence and accountability.
• Serving the needs of an increasingly multi-cultural society (new obligation).

Technological changes

The introduction of new technologies – more specifically the development of cable and
satellite transmission systems in the 1980s, as well as the introduction of digital technology
and the rapid development of the Internet in the 1990s – has resulted in an unprecedented
proliferation of commercially driven channels and intensified competition between public and
private media. Digitalisation of information has multiplied the means of communication and
prompted the appearance of thematic channels that focus on specific issues. There has
been a ten-fold increase in the number of television channels since 1990.