Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Ex Ante Test as a Sign of the Evolution of the European Commission Decision Making in the Field of Public Service Media

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Information Technology and Systems (ICITS 2019)

Part of the book series: Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing ((AISC,volume 918))

Included in the following conference series:

Abstract

Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) was born and shaped within the national boundaries of each European country. However, as the audiovisual market started to become more transnational and interconnected, the European Union began to play a role in the regulation of such public service. During the past two decades, the main issue concerning European public service broadcasting policy was -and still is- how to regulate the expansion of PSB towards new media. This transition was mostly regulated through the decision-making of the European Commission regarding the State aid granted to PSB by their respective Member States. This paper depicts the evolution of the European Commission’s approach to the regulation of PSB, taking the ex ante test for the inclusion of new media services within the public service remit as a sign of the turn towards a new paradigm in media policy where the market perspective prevails over the public interest approach.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Donders, K., Moe, H.: Exporting the Public Value Test. The Regulation of Public Broadcasters’ New Media Services across Europe. Nordicom, Gothemburg, Sweden (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Raats, T., Pauwels, C.: In search of the holy grail? Comparative analysis in public broadcasting. In: Donders, K., Moe, H. (eds.) Exporting the Public Value Test. The Regulation of Public Broadcasters’ New Media Services across Europe, pp. 17–28. Nordicom, Gothemburg, Sweden (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  3. European Commission: Communication from the Commission on the application of State aid rules to public service broadcasting (2009/C 257/01) (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Karppinen, K., Moe, H.: What we talk about when we talk about document analysis. In: Just, N., Puppis, M. (eds.) Trends in Communication Policy Research, pp. 175–193. Intellect, Bristol (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  5. Van Cuilenburg, J., McQuail, D.: Media policy paradigm shifts: towards a new communications policy paradigm. Int. J. Commun. 17(2), 181–207 (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Jakubowicz, K.: A square peg in a round hole: the EU’s policy on public service broadcasting. In: Bondebjerg, I., Golding, P. (eds.) European Culture and the Media, pp. 227–301. Intellect, Bristol (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  7. Michalis, M.: EU broadcasting governance and PSB: between a rock and a hard place. In: Iosifidis, P. (ed.) Reinventing Public Service Communication: European Broadcasters and Beyond, pp. 36–48. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke (2010)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  8. Coppetiers, S.: The financing of public service broadcasting. In: Biondi, A., Eeckhout, P., Flynn, J. (eds.) The Law of State Aid in the European Union, pp. 265–279. Oxford University Press, Oxford (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Elstein, D.: How to fund public service content in the digital age. In: Gardam, T., Levy, D.A. (eds.) The Price of Plurality: Choice, Diversity and Broadcasting Institutions in the Digital Age, pp. 86–90. Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Oxford (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Cave, M.: Competition and the exercise of market power in broadcasting: a review of recent UK experience. Info 7(5), 20–28 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Armstron, M., Weeds, H.: Public service broadcasting in the digital world. In: Seabright, P., von Hagen, J. (eds.) The Economic Regulation of Broadcasting Markets: Evolving Technology and Challenges for Policy, pp. 81–149. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (2007)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  12. Lowe, G.F., Bardoel, J.: From Public Service Broadcasting to Public Service Media. Nordicom, Gothemburg (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Treaty of Amsterdam amending the Treaty on the European Union, the Treaties establishing the European Communities and certain related acts (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  14. European Commission: Communication from the Commission on the application of State aid rules to public service broadcasting (2001/C 320/04) (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Brevini, B.: European Commission media policy and its pro-market inclination: the revised 2009 Communication on State Aid to PSB and its restraining effect on PSB online. Europ. J. Commun. 28(2), 183–197 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Michalis, M.: Governing European Communications. Lexington Books, Lanham (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  17. Michalis, M.: Balancing public and private interests in online media: the case of BBC digital curriculum. Media Cult. Soc. 34(8), 944–960 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. European Commission: Review of the Broadcasting Communication. Summary of the replies to the public consultation (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  19. European Commission: Case E3/2005, Financing of Public Service Broadcasters in Germany. JOCE C/185/2007 (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  20. European Commission: Case E4/2005 State financing of RTÉ and TNAG (TG4). JOCE C/121/2008 (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  21. European Commission: Case E8/2006 State funding for Flemish public broadcaster VRT. JOCE C/143/2008 (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  22. EBU: EBU reply to the Commission’s questionnaire (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  23. Donders, K.: The public value test. a reasoned response or a panic reaction? In: Donders, K., Moe, H. (eds.) Exporting the Public Value Test: The Regulation of Public Broadcasters’ New Media Services across Europe, pp. 29–37. Nordicom, Gothemburg (2011)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The results of this paper correspond to the project “Indicators of governance, funding, accountability, innovation, quality and public service of European PSM applicable to Spain in the digital context” (Reference CSO2015-66543-P), from the State programme “Fomento de la Investigación Científica y Técnica de Excelencia”, State Subprogram of “Generación de Conocimiento” from the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad de España, cofounded by the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) of the European Union. It is also funded by the activity of Red Internacional de la Investigación de Gestión de la Comunicación (REDES 2016 G-1641 XESCOM), supported by the Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Ordenación Universitaria of the Xunta de Galicia (reference ED341D R2016/019). The author Marta Rodríguez Castro benefits from an FPU Contract (FPU16/05234) from the Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Communication Sciences, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782, Santiago de Compostela, Spain

    Marta Rodríguez-Castro & Francisco Campos-Freire

Authors
  1. Marta Rodríguez-Castro
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Francisco Campos-Freire
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marta Rodríguez-Castro .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. DEI/FCT, Universidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

    Álvaro Rocha

  2. Facultad de Geografía, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago Compostela, La Coruña, Spain

    Carlos Ferrás

  3. Departamento de Eléctrica, Electrónica y Telecomunicaciones, Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas “ESPE”, Sangolqui, Ecuador

    Manolo Paredes

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Rodríguez-Castro, M., Campos-Freire, F. (2019). The Ex Ante Test as a Sign of the Evolution of the European Commission Decision Making in the Field of Public Service Media. In: Rocha, Á., Ferrás, C., Paredes, M. (eds) Information Technology and Systems. ICITS 2019. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 918. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11890-7_85

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation