European institutions such as the European Parliament and the European Council have repeatedly asserted the importance for public service broadcasters (PSBs) to develop online media services. The crucial necessity for PSBs to expand their new media activities has been emphasized by the Council of Europe in numerous Recommendations. The European Commission reaffirmed the opportunity for PSBs to expand online in the 2001 Communication on the application of state aid to public service broadcasters. However, the place and the weight of each European PSB in the online context differ from country to country since the determination of a PSB’s remit is still a prerogative of the member states. This article investigates how the public service broadcasting ethos has been applied to online media in three different European countries: Spain, Italy and Britain. It investigates the main policies adopted by the governments of these three nations to regulate the evolution of PSBs on the internet and the policies and practices adopted by the broadcasters: TVE (Spain), RAI (Italy) and the BBC (UK). It concludes by arguing that a new policy toolkit (PSB 2.0) is needed to infuse the online world with the same public service ethos that has characterized traditional broadcasting.
Arthur WB ( 1989) Competing technologies, increasing returns, and lock-in by historical events. Economic Journal97: 642-665.
2.
Audiweb-Nielsen Online. (2008) Top Web Parent Companies. Italy.
3.
Barnett S. ( 2006) Public service broadcasting: A manifesto for survival in the multimedia age (a case study of the BBC’s new charter). Paper presented at the RIPE conference, Amsterdam , November.
4.
BBC. (2000) Annual Report and Accounts, 2000-2001. London: BBC .
5.
BBC. (2008) Annual Report and Accounts 2007-2008. London: BBC .
6.
BBC Agreement. (2006) An Agreement between Her Majesty’s Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and the British Broadcasting Corporation. July.
7.
BBC Trust. (2007) bbc.co.uk Service Licence. 30 April. London: BBC Trust.
8.
BBC Trust. (2008 ) Service Review of bbc.co.uk. London: BBC Trust.
9.
Born G. and Prosser T. ( 2001) Culture and consumerism: Citizenship, public service broadcasting and the BBC’s fair trading obligations. Modern Law Review64(5): 657-687.
10.
Brevini B. ( 2008) European public service ethos and the Internet: The idea of PSB 2.0. Paper presented at the Ecrea Conference , Barcelona, 25-29 November.
11.
Bustamante E. ( 1989) TV and public service in Spain: A difficult encounter. Media, Culture and Society11(1): 67-87.
12.
Cave M., Collins R. and Crowther P. ( 2004) Regulating the BBC. Telecommunications Policy28: 249-272.
13.
Constitutional Court. (1988) Sentenza 826/1988. Giur. Cost., 1, p. 3894
Council of Europe. (1994) Resolution n.1 on the future of PSB adopted at the 4th European Ministerial Conference on Mass Media Policy. Prague, December.
16.
Council of Europe. (1996) Recommendation n.10 of the Committee of Ministers to Member States on the Guarantee of Independence of PSB, R (96)10.
17.
Council of Europe. (1999) Resolution of the Council and Representatives of the Governments of the Member States concerning PSB, OJ, C30/1.
18.
Council of Europe. (2007a) Recommendation n.3 of the Committee of Ministers to Member States on the remit of PSM in the information society. 31 January.
19.
Council of Europe. (2007b) Recommendation n.16 of the Committee of Ministers to Member States on measures to promote the public service value of the Internet. 7 November.
20.
Council of Europe. (2009) Recommendation n.1878 of the Parliamentary Assembly on the funding of PSB. 25 June.
21.
Craufurd Smith R. ( 2001) State support for public service broadcasting: The position under European Community law. Legal Issues of Economic Integration28(1): 3-22.
22.
Curran J. ( 1991) Mass media and democracy: A reappraisal. In: Curran J and Gurevitch M (eds) Mass Media and Society. London : Edward Arnold.
23.
Diarios (2004) Congreso de los Diputados, Año 2004 VIII Legislatura Num. 172.
24.
EC (European Commission). (1997) Protocol on the System of Public Broadcasting in the Member States, OJ C340, 10 November.
25.
EC (European Commission). (2001) Communication 2001 on State Aid to PSB, OJ C320, pp. 5-11.
26.
EC (European Commission). (2009) New Communication on State Aid to PSB. 2 July.
27.
European Parliament. (2004) Resolution on the risks of violation, in the EU and especially in Italy, of freedom of expression and information (Article 11(2) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights), (2003/2237(INI)) adopted 22 April.
28.
Eurostat. (2009a) Internet usage in 2009 - households and individuals. No. 46/ 2009.
29.
Eurostat. (2009b) Percentage of individuals doing specific online activities in the previous 3 months. 8 December.
30.
Garnham N. ( 1990) Capitalism and Communication Global Culture and the Economics of Information. London: Sage.
31.
Graf P. ( 2004) Report of the Independent Review of BBC Online . London: Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
32.
Hallin DC(2009) State size as a variable in comparative analysis. International Communication Gazette71(1-2): 101-103.
33.
Hallin DC and Mancini P. ( 2004) Comparing Media Systems: Three Models of Media and Politics . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
34.
Harrison J. and Wessels B. ( 2005) A new public service communication environment? Public service broadcasting values in the reconfiguring media. New Media and Society7(6): 834-853.
35.
HM Government. (2209) Digital Britain: The Final Report. 16 June. London: HMSO.
36.
Humphreys P. ( 1996) Mass Media and Media Policy in Western Europe. Manchester: Manchester University Press .
37.
Informe de los Sabios. (2005) Informe para la reforma de los medios de comunicación de titularidad del Estado. Madrid.
38.
Jakubowicz K. ( 2007) Public service broadcasting: A pawn on an ideological chessboard. In: de Bens E, Hamelink C and Jakubowicz K (eds) Media between Culture and Commerce. Bristol: Intellect.
39.
Krugman P. ( 1991) Increasing returns and economic geography. Journal of Political Economy99: 483-499.
40.
Levy D. ( 1997) Regulating digital broadcasting in Europe: The limits of policy convergence. West European Politics20(4): 24-42.
41.
Levy D. ( 1999) Europe’s Digital Revolution: Broadcasting Regulation, the EU and the Nation State. London: Routledge.
42.
López-Escobar E. ( 1992) Spanish media law: Changes in the landscape. European Journal of Communication7(3): 241.
43.
McChesney R. ( 2000) Rich Media, Poor Democracy: Communications Politics in Dubious Times. New York: New Press .
44.
Mazzoleni G. and Vigevani GE ( 2005) TV across Europe: Regulation, policies and independence: Italy. TV across Europe: Regulation, Policies and Independence, Budapest: Open Society Institute.
45.
Nielsen NetRatings. (2008a) Report on the Usage of the Internet in Italian Households and Offices. Italy.
46.
Nielsen NetRatings. (2008b) Top Web Parent Companies. UK.
47.
Ofcom. (2008) Second Public Service Broadcasting Review Phase One: The Digital Opportunity. London: Ofcom.
48.
Ofcom. (2009) Second Public Service Broadcasting Review: Putting Viewers First. London: Ofcom.
49.
OJD Interactiva. (2008) Ranking of web companies in Spain. Madrid.
50.
Rodriguez-Pardo J. ( 2006) Facing challenges through a new legal framework for DTT: Towards are definition of the role of TVE in the Spanish market?Paper presented at the RIPE conference, Amsterdam , November.
51.
Rtve. (2005) Informe Anual 2005 . Madrid: RTVE.
52.
Scannell P. ( 1989) Public service broadcasting and modern public life. Media , Culture and Society11(2): 135-166.
53.
Scott A. ( 2007) Puttnam weighs in on BBC Jam. Available at: lsemediapal.blogspot.com/search?q=jam.
54.
Siebert FS, Peterson T. and Schramm W. ( 1956) Four Theories of the Press. Urbana : University of Illinois Press.
55.
Smith P. ( 2006) The politics of UK television policy: The making of Ofcom. Media, Culture and Society28(6): 929-940.
56.
Syvertsen T. ( 2003) Challenges to public television in the era of convergence and commercialization. Television and New Media4(2): 135-175.
57.
Varney M. ( 2004) European controls on member state promotion and regulation of public service broadcasting and broadcasting standards. European Public Law10(3): 503-530.
