08/01/2003

Three distinct phases can be seen in the evolution of the institutional framework with regard to television broadcasting in Europe. At first, the public broadcasting monopolies were under the direct control of the governments. They were then granted statutes which gave them greater independence vis a vis the political authorities. Later, the sector was opened up to competition within the framework of a dual broadcasting system which included public and private operators. This meant that the public channels fulfilled their vocation as providers of public service broadcasting. These three phases may be clearly distinguished in Spain, France, Italy and Greece.
In some other European countries, the television monopolies were to benefit from measures which made them independent from the political authorities right from the beginning. This was the case in Germany and Belgium, as a result of their federalist structure, and in Portugal, where broadcasting was in the hands of a private production company. It was also the case in Austria and Ireland, as a result of the competition they had to face from British and German television services – respectively – whose broadcasts could be picked up within their territories. When television networks were first set up in Holland, structures were put into place with a view to making it easier to take the expectations of the public into account. This also happened, to a certain extent, in Sweden,Finland and Denmark - and in Great Britain from 1954, when a duopoly was introduced.