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Recommendation 1878 (2009)
Funding of public service broadcasting
1. The Parliamentary
Assembly notes that public service broadcasters exist today in an
environment which is marked by the simultaneous offer of a multitude
of private channels that are free of charge, on-demand media services
and the rapid increase of audiovisual content accessible on the
Internet. This increased competition in the audiovisual media sector
has led to political debates on the funding of public service broadcasting
in Europe.
2. While the establishment and maintenance of broadcasting services
were very costly and depended on the scarce infrastructural resource
of radio-frequency spectrum, technological progress in the transmission
of audiovisual content via cable, satellite and analogue or digital
terrestrial means, including fixed and mobile telephony, has considerably
changed the environment of audiovisual media.
3. Business models for commercial broadcasters, audiovisual content
providers and the audiovisual advertising industry are also changing:
advertising revenue is spread out over a wider range of media; pay-per-view
broadcasting is challenged by growing thematic content on the Internet;
the downloading of music from the Internet might also extend to
audiovisual content.
4. Audience behaviour and user demands are changing accordingly,
indicating a future trend away from linear broadcasting programmes
to thematic channels and interactive or on-demand services also
using the Internet as another platform for providing such services.
5. Public service broadcasters must be an important public source
of unbiased information and diverse political opinions; they must
function under high editorial standards of objectivity, fairness
and independence from party political or economic interference;
they should be subject to higher public scrutiny and accountability for
their programming than commercial broadcasters; they should contribute
decisively to the production of audiovisual works of high quality;
they should provide a wide audience with free access to informal
educational and cultural programmes; they have the possibility and
obligation also to serve minority viewers and people with special
needs who would not be served in a purely commercial market; they
should therefore support non-commercial objectives, such as social
progress, public interest in democratic processes, intercultural understanding
and societal integration. When they fulfil these functions, public
service broadcasters constitute an important public asset which
should not be diminished or abandoned.
6. Recalling its Recommendation
1641 (2004) on public service broadcasting, the Assembly reaffirms
that public service broadcasting remains an essential element for
member governments in meeting the needs of individuals and society
as a whole with regard to information, education and culture. Such
needs may be different among states in Europe depending on the national
or regional circumstances, including the national or regional media
landscape, the cultural diversity of a given society and geographical
and infrastructural characteristics.
7. Therefore, the Assembly strongly supports the commitments
made fifteen years ago at the 4th European Ministerial Conference
on Mass Media Policy (Prague, 7-8 December 1994) in the resolution
on the future of public service broadcasting, in particular to:
7.1. guarantee at least one comprehensive
wide-range service comprising information, education, culture and
entertainment which is accessible to all members of the public,
while acknowledging that public service broadcasters must also be
permitted to provide, where appropriate, additional programme services
such as thematic services;
7.2. define clearly the role, missions and responsibilities
of public service broadcasters and to ensure their editorial independence
against political and economic interference;
7.3. guarantee public service broadcasters secure and appropriate
means necessary for the fulfilment of their missions.
8. The Assembly recalls the further standards on public service
media set by its Resolution
1636 (2008) on indicators for media in a democracy, its Recommendation 1855 (2009) on the regulation of audiovisual media services, as
well as Committee of Ministers Recommendations
Nos. R (96) 10 on the guarantee of the independence of public service
broadcasting, CM/Rec(2007)3 on the remit of public service media in the information
society and CM/Rec(2007)16 on measures to promote the public service value of the
Internet as well as the Committee of Ministers’ declaration on the
guarantee of the independence of public service broadcasting in
the member states of 27 September 2006 and its declaration on the
allocation and management of the digital dividend and the public
interest of 20 February 2008.
9. As media markets converge further, and users’ demands change,
public service broadcasters should diversify their services through
thematic channels, on-demand media, recorded media and Internet-based media
services in order to offer a comprehensive and competitive range
of media services to the public at large in accordance with their
public service mission. Technological progress in the field of audiovisual
media and electronic communications means that public service broadcasters
should also make use of new technologies.
10. Representing national parliaments in Europe, the Assembly
emphasises the power and responsibility of national legislators
to decide on the specific mission, structure and funding of their
public service broadcasters in accordance with national or regional
circumstances and requirements. The Assembly is concerned by tendencies
within the European Union to restrict those national powers under
internal market regulations and the growing number of complaints
against European Union member states brought by private operators
before the European Commission. The application of European Union
law should not restrict member states’ powers to adapt the public
service broadcasting remit to their own national needs. In this
respect, the Assembly recalls that the 1997 Amsterdam Protocol to
the Treaty establishing the European Union clearly favours subsidiarity and
national competencies for European Union member states in this field.
11. The Assembly recalls the UNESCO Convention on the Protection
and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions of 2005,
which recognises that, within the framework of its cultural policies
and measures and taking into account its own particular circumstances
and needs, each party to that convention may adopt measures aimed
at protecting and promoting the diversity of cultural expressions
within its territory, in particular measures aimed at providing
public financial assistance and enhancing diversity of the media,
including through public service broadcasting (Article 6, paragraph
2.d and h of
the convention). The UNESCO convention has also been signed by the
European Union.
12. Member states have developed different rules for the funding
of their public service broadcasters in accordance with their national
traditions and circumstances. Smaller countries, countries with
several languages and countries where the pluralism of commercial
broadcasters is less developed may need specific funding for their
public service broadcasting. However, public acceptance of funding
public service broadcasting is decreasing in view of the increasing
audiovisual content available through converging media platforms
and the Internet.
13. Recalling that public service broadcasters must be independent
from the government and be able to function without its political
interference, the Assembly emphasises that their funding model should
reflect this independence.
14. The funding of public service media may be ensured, through
a flat broadcasting licence fee, taxation, state subsidies, subscription
fees, advertising and sponsoring revenue, specialised pay-per-view
or on-demand services, the sale of related products such as books,
videos or films, and the exploitation of their audiovisual archives.
In this regard, public service media may have mixed funding similar
to other public cultural institutions such as orchestras, theatres
or museums. Each of these forms of funding must enable public service
broadcasters to meet the public service requirement of accessibility
and affordability for the public at large.
15. While the funding of public service broadcasting is in the
public interest, public service broadcasters must meet quality standards
concerning audiovisual content and services. This requires that
legislators and regulatory bodies define the public service mission
as well as general policy guidelines for such quality standards,
but leave daily editorial and managerial independence to public
service broadcasters. Therefore, public accountability mechanisms
for quality control should be established, including evaluations
by users. However, audience share should not be a decisive factor.
16. The Assembly notes with interest the discussions currently
being held in national parliaments on the mission and funding of
their public service broadcasters and calls on parliaments of all
member states to:
16.1. ensure that
their public service broadcasters have a clear mission and adequate
long-term funding possibilities for fulfilling this mission in accordance
with the resolution on the future of public service broadcasting
of the 4th European Ministerial Conference on Mass Media Policy;
16.2. ensure a sustainable structure of their public service
broadcasters, which provides for adequate safeguards for their editorial
and managerial independence in accordance with Committee of Ministers Recommendation
No. R (96) 10 on the guarantee of the independence of public service
broadcasting;
16.3. ensure the accountability of public service broadcasters
including regular reviews of their public service mission and their
meeting public service objectives and user demands;
16.4. ensure the allocation of an adequate radio-frequency spectrum
for public service broadcasters during the digital switch-over and
after analogue radio frequencies have been switched off, in accordance
with the Committee of Ministers’ declaration on the allocation and
management of the digital dividend and the public interest;
16.5. analyse possibilities for commercial media to fulfil public
service missions, for instance by providing specific audiovisual
works, programmes, channels or services, and thus to receive public financial
support;
16.6. ask their governments to sign and ratify the European
Convention for the Protection of the Audiovisual Heritage (ETS No.
183), if they have not yet done so, and analyse possibilities for
preserving the audiovisual archives of their public service broadcasters
as part of cultural heritage in accordance with this convention.
17. The Assembly welcomes the Action Plan on public service media
adopted by the ministers participating in the Council of Europe’s
Conference of Ministers responsible for Media and New Communication
Services (Reykjavik, 28-29 May 2009) and invites the ministers to
reaffirm at national level:
17.1. the
importance of public service media responding to their national
or regional requirements through a clear mission, a sustainable
structure and adequate long-term funding determined at national level;
17.2. that public service broadcasters should, in accordance
with changing user demands, utilise new technologies to increase
the accessibility of their services and offer new services including
interactive and on-demand media services on all available platforms
so as to reach all audiences, and in particular young people;
17.3. the importance of co-ordinating Europe-wide their national
policies for public service broadcasting through regular ministerial
meetings at the level of the Council of Europe as well as its Steering
Committee for the Media and New Communication Services.
18. The Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers:
18.1. forward this recommendation
to competent ministries, regulatory bodies for broadcasting and public
service broadcasters in their country;
18.2. ask the European Audiovisual Observatory to collect information
about the funding of public service media in Europe;
18.3. analyse, together with the European Broadcasting Union,
possibilities for cross-border co-operation of national public service
broadcasters, for example in the joint production of audiovisual
works and programmes, the joint use of archives, technical equipment
and human resources and the joint acquisition of transmission rights;
18.4. call on member states’ governments as well as the European
Community to sign and ratify the European Convention for the Protection
of the Audiovisual Heritage, if they have not yet done so.