Globalisation of the media industry and possible threats to cultural diversity : final study.
Date: 2018-03-02
Institutions: Directorate-General for Parliamentary Research Services
Subjects: Internet, audiovisual production, communications industry, competitiveness, cultural pluralism, cultural policy, digital technology, globalisation, new technology

DIRECTORATE GENERAL FOR RESEARCH

Directorate A
Division for Industry, Research and Energy

STOA

Scientific and Technological Options Assessment

GLOBALISATION OF THE MEDIA
INDUSTRY AND POSSIBLE THREATS
TO CULTURAL DIVERSITY

Final Study

Working document for the STOA Panel

Brussels, July 2001

 PE 296.704/ Fin. St.

Directorate General for Research

 EN

    EN

QA-48-02-513-EN-N

Cataloguing data:

Title:

GLOBALISATION  OF  THE  MEDIA  INDUSTRY  AND
POSSIBLE THREATS TO CULTURAL DIVERSITY

Workplan Ref.:

EP/IV/A/STOA/2000/13/01

Publisher:

Author:

European Parliament
Directorate General for Research
Directorate A
The STOA Programme

Dr Maria Teresa LA PORTE ALFARO
together with Dr. Teresa SÁBADA
University of Navarra
School of Communication
Navarra, Spain

Editor:

Anthony COMFORT, DG IV

Project Manager:

Cristina HELLARA HERNANDEZ, STOA, DG IV

Date:

July 2001

PE number:

PE 296.704 /Fin. St.

This  document  is  a  working  Document  for  the  'STOA  Panel'.  It  is  not  an  official
publication of STOA.
This document does not necessarily represent the views of the European Parliament

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Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

Table of Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................ ................................ ................................ .................. 5

POLICY OPTIONS ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................... 11

CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION ................................ ................................ ................................ ..... 15

CHAPTER 2 – CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF REFERENCE................................ ............... 17

2.1 GLOBALISATION: ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTIC OF THE CONTEXT OF ACTION ................................ . 17
2.2 CONCEPT OF CULTURE AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY ................................ ................................ ....... 19
2.3 CULTURAL INCIDENCE OF THE MEDIA: SPECIFIC ACTION OF THE AUDIOVISUAL MEDIA ................... 20
2.4 CATEGORIES WHICH PERMIT THE EVALUATION OF CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN MEDIA CONTENTS ....... 21

CHAPTER 3 – EVALUATION OF THE ACTION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION.
CHALLENGES POSED BY THE PRESENT SITUATION ................................ ............................ 23

3.1 THEORETICAL BASIS OF EUROPEAN CULTURAL POLICY................................ ................................ . 23
3.2 SELECTION OF LEGISLATIVE MEASURES DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE DEFENCE OF CULTURAL
DIVERSITY IN THE AUDIOVISUAL SECTOR ................................ ................................ ........................... 23
3.3 PROGRAMMES CURRENTLY IN FORCE: STATE OF THE QUESTION AND PLAN OF FUTURE ACTION ....... 26
3.4 PUBLIC TELEVISION AS AN INSTRUMENT FOR THE DEFENCE OF CULTURAL DIVERSITY.................... 30

CHAPTER 4 – GLOBALISATION, COMPETITIVENESS AND CONCENTRATION IN THE
EUROPEAN MEDIA INDUSTRY................................ ................................ ................................ .... 33

4.1 THE MEDIA IN EUROPE AND THE UNITED STATES ................................ ................................ ......... 34
4.2 GLOBALISATION AND CONCENTRATION IN THE COMMUNICATIONS SECTOR ................................ ... 37
4.3 “DOMINATION”  IN THE GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS MARKET: EUROPE AND THE UNITED STATES ... 38
4.4 THE COMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY IN THE MEMBER STATES: PRESENCE OF FOREIGN CAPITAL IN THE
LEADING COMPANIES OF EACH SECTOR................................ ................................ .............................. 43

CHAPTER 5 – CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN EUROPEAN AUDIOVISUAL PRODUCTION...... 55

5.1 ANALYSIS OF CULTURAL VALUES TRANSMITTED IN HIGH AUDIENCE PROGRAMMES........................ 56
5.2 SELECTION OF CULTURAL PROGRAMMES WHICH REPRESENT SUCCESSFUL FORMULAS IN EUROPEAN
TELEVISION STATIONS................................ ................................ ................................ ....................... 64

CHAPTER VI – THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES: TENDENCIES AND
POSSIBLE EFFECTS ON CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN THE EUROPEAN UNION................... 71

6.1 DIGITAL TELEVISION................................ ................................ ................................ ................... 71
6.2 INTERNET................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ... 74
6.3 IMPLANTATION OF DVD ................................ ................................ ................................ ............. 76

APPENDIX 1................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 79

APPENDIX 2................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 80

APPENDIX 3................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 81

APPENDIX 4................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 82

APPENDIX 5................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 83

APPENDIX 6................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 85

APPENDIX 7................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 88

APPENDIX 8................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 92

APPENDIX 9................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 98

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Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

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Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The  objective  of  this  report  is  to  assess  if  the  new  circumstances  produced  by
globalisation in the media industry represent a threat for cultural diversity and, if this is
the case, to determine the areas affected and evaluate the consequences for the content
distributed  by  the  media.  This  work  also  advises  on  the  measures  which  should  be
adopted by the European institutions in order to reduce the risks and benefit effectively
from the advantages of a globalized society.

As is to be expected from  a  contribution  made  from  the university  arena, the  research
has gathered updated information which has allowed us to present a thorough analysis
of the issue and an evaluation of the risks and opportunities of the situation reflected on
by experts. It concludes with a description of the tendencies which appear to dominate
the  international  market  of  the  media  in  general  and  the  audiovisual  in  particular  and
advice on the measures considered necessary to promote or implement.

  Cultural diversity in the global context

Ø  Globalisation is a phenomenon generated simultaneously by the application of new
technologies, which overcome barriers of time and space, and the generalisation of
the  principles  of  free  trade  in  a  market  of  world  dimensions.  In  itself,  this
phenomenon  does  not  necessarily  imply  the  homogenisation  of  contents  which
threatens cultural diversity.

Ø  However,  it  has  a  negative  effect  on  the  media  industry  through  two  main

the  promotion  of  the  concentration  of  companies  as  a  means  to  reach  the

conditioning factors:
-
necessary competitiveness in the international market;
-
more particular tastes, placing commercial success before a quality product.

the  elaboration  of  contents  which  satisfy  general  interests  to  the  detriment  of

Ø  These  risks  are  revealed  by  the  predominance  of  North  American  companies  and
capital in the market and the global spread of their products. In the intra-European
area  that  imbalance  is  translated  into  the  competitive  advantage  held  by  the
countries  with  a  greater  production  and  investment  capacity  over  those  whose
resources  are  limited,  whose  geographical  area  is  small  or  who  speak  a  minority
language.

  Opportunity to adopt measures in defence of cultural diversity

Ø  The political-social context itself, which plainly requires recognition on the part of
cultural minorities, recommends the adoption of measures favouring and facilitating
the expression of the different social groups through the media.

Ø  The  rapid  expansion  of  the  new  technologies,  especially  the  digitalization  of  the
audiovisual  media  and  Internet,  offers  opportunities  for  production,  distribution,
access and participation of the media products which must be urgently exploited.
Ø  The present situation of the process  of  European  integration, with the prospects of
the expansion of the number of its members and the widening of the competencies
of the Union, seems an especially opportune moment to bring together the measures
which  promote  diversity,  a  real  characteristic  of  the  European  culture,  with  the
necessary strengthening of identity.

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Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

  Concentration and fragmentation of the media industry in the European Union

Ø  From  the  point  of  view  of  concentration  and  competitiveness,  the  communication

market in Europe poses three types of basic problems:
the  situation  of  domination  of  the  leading  companies  in  pay  television,  the  music
industry  and  film  distribution:  in  these  areas,  the  main  companies  obtain  high
market quotas in the greater part of the Community countries. In contrast, in other
sectors,  such  as  the  daily  press,  radio  or  open  television,  audience  leadership  is
always in the hands of the companies of their own country, with the exception of the
French-speaking  area  of  Belgium.  The  economic  press,  magazines  and  the
publishing  industry  are  found  to  be  in  an  intermediate  position  as  far  as  the
existence  of  large  companies  with  a  dominant  position  on  a  European  scale  are
concerned;
-
the  dominant  presence  of  North  American  capital  in  some  sectors:  such  is  the
case in advertising (through the European subsidiaries of the large multinationals),
film  distribution  (concentrated  in  companies  which  are  the  property  of  the  great
“majors”  of Hollywood), pay television (if we consider that a large part of Vivendi’s
capital  is  in  the  hands  of  pension  funds  in  the  United  States,  and  that  Rupert
Murdoch,  the  principal  owner  of  the  second  largest  operator  –  BSkyB-,  has  North
American citizenship) and the music industry;
-
the excessive fragmentation in several markets which hinders competitiveness of
European companies at a worldwide level. The small average size of the European
companies  produces  a  decisive  disadvantage,  for  example,  in  the  production  of
audiovisual works;
-
the  audiovisual  sector  is  subject  to  particular  ground  rules,  which  limit  the  full
development  of  a  market  of  free  competition.  In  the  first  place,  the  tendency  to
vertical  concentration,  which  is  leading  many  television  networks  to  create  their
own production companies or buy others, increases the risk of a lack of pluralism in
content.  This  tendency  also  means  that  the  broadcasting  companies  consolidate  an
excessively dominant position with regard to the production companies, limiting the
international exploitation of the broadcasting rights of the programmes.

  Cultural diversity in the audiovisual area

Ø  The  figures  on  the  trade  balance  of  the  audiovisual  sector  show  that  in  the
programme  planning  of  European  general  television  stations  as  a  whole  –  which
until  now  capture  the  highest  audiences  -,  there  is  a  significant  presence  of  North
American  programmes,  which  implies  a  risk  that  these  cultural  values  become
dominant. However, both the figures on the percentage of fiction programmes and
the  study  on  the  type  of  cultural  values  that  are  present  in  the  highest  audience
spaces,  reveal  that  nationally  produced  programmes  manage  to  draw  a  greater
number of viewers. This fact implies that, although the North American presence is
important,  and  has  even  significantly  increased  in  latter  years,  the  national
production  of  each  country  is  mostly  found  at  prime  time  and  its  cultural  values,
therefore, reach more people.

Ø  Of  the  study  of  the  cultural  values  present  in  the  highest  audience  programmes
between 1995 and 2000 it can be seen that the impact of globalisation on the cultural
diversity  of  the  television  programmes  with  the  highest  audience  is  not  very
significant, since the programmes produced in their own country and broadcast

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Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

their  own 

in 
language  predominate.  The  highest  audience  programmes
fundamentally uphold national cultural values from each country (as opposed to the
North American values or those of third parties). The genres with programmes with
the highest audiences analysed are sports (32.5%), fiction series (16%), feature films
(8.92%),  news  (7.5%)  and  music  (5.11%).  In  the  main,  sports,  fiction  series  and
news promote national cultural values.

Ø  The  study  of  a  selection  of  cultural  programmes  has  allowed  us  to  describe  some
successful  formulas: Imprint,  (RTE  1,  Ireland);  Walking  with  Dinosaurs, (BBC  1,
Great Britain), Un livre, un jour,  (FR3, France),  Horizontes  da  Memória,  (RTP  2,
Portugal),  Superquark,  (RAI  1,  Italy),  La  España  salvaje,  (TVE  1,  Spain)  and
Soirées  thématiques,  (ARTE,  France-Germany).  The  analysis  of  these  cultural
programmes helps with the identification of various criteria for quality: the adoption
of  innovatory  approaches  in  the  treatment  of  cultural  subjects,  the  communicative
ability of the presenters and the high production values. These characteristics favour
the programmes’  lasting popularity, as well as critical success.

Ø  The cultural programmes which represent successful formulas highlight the key role
played  by  public  television  in  the  distribution  of  specifically  cultural  high  quality
contents.  Public  television  maintains  an  uneasy  balance  between  the  functions  of
providing  entertainment  and  providing  culture  in  the  whole  of  its  programme
planning.  The  characteristics  of  quality  of  the  cultural  programmes  pointed  out
previously  could  be  used  as  a  reference  for  the  promotion  of  programming  of  this
type in European television.

  Evaluation of the measures adopted by the European Union

Ø  In this area, the European Union is faced with the phenomenon of globalisation with

the aim of achieving two apparently contradictory objectives:
to  strengthen  European  production  in  order  to  increase  its  presence  in  the
-
international  market  and  thus  be  able  to  compete  with  North  American  products
which also penetrate the domestic market;
to  guarantee  cultural  diversity,  which  is  one  of  the  characteristics  which  best
-
defines  the  European  identity,  backing  the  production  of  those  nations  with  a  low
capacity and helping them to become profitable.

Ø  Both  aims  are  found  in  the  legislative  texts  although  not  in  the  same  way.  Even
though the considerations place the same importance on the two aims, the practical
measures show that the objective of reaching international competitiveness is given
priority  over  the  defence  of  cultural  diversity.  The  evaluation  of  the  impact  of  the
Media  Programmes  on  the  European  Union  shows  that  most  of  the  aid  has  been
awarded  to  the  countries  with  the  largest  audiovisual  industry  in  Europe  (United
Kingdom,  Germany,  France,  Italy  and  Spain)  in  detriment  to  those  which  have  a
smaller production capacity.

Ø  This fact also demonstrates that Community legislation attaches greater importance
to the views of the Commission rather than to those of Parliament. The documents
which  contain  the  considerations  prior  to  the  approval  of  the  Media-Training
Programme  and  the  Media-Plus  indicate  that  the  Commission  gives  priority  to  the
strengthening of the industrial fabric of the countries with the aim of promoting the
development  of  competitive  companies.  The  European  Parliament,  without
disregarding  that  first  objective,  makes  greater  insistence  on  the  importance  of  the
protection, aid and encouragement of the industry in the markets of countries with
less production capacity as a means of guaranteeing cultural diversity.

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Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

Ø  The  risks  of  fragmentation  and  concentration  of  the  market  are  identified  and  the
measures  suggested  by  the  Community  institutions  seem,  in  general  terms,  to  be
opportune  and  sufficient.  For  example,  the  quotas  on  independent  audiovisual
production  are  a  reasonable  measure  for  the  prevention  of  an  excessive  vertical
integration  of  the  industry  and  to  encourage  the  development  of  independent
production in Europe.

Ø  However, it would be useful to put forward the following aspects:

-  Establish  a  way  which  prevents  the  search  for  international  competitiveness
negatively affecting cultural diversity. As was advised in the European Conference
of  the  Audiovisual  Sector  in  Birmingham,  the  system  could  involve  sharing  out
competencies  between  the  European  institutions,  which  would  promote  the
industrial  and  structural  objectives,  and  the  national  authorities  would  concentrate
on the cultural objectives.
-
Increase aid to audiovisual production in new technologies, where it seems that,
according  to  the  results  of  Media  II,  the  countries  with  a  reduced  production  and
investment capacity have fewer possibilities for development.
- Continue  the  effort  to  contribute  to  the  training  of  professionals  in  the  sector,
both in creative and business aspects. Training plans must consider as a priority the
elements  of  production  and  commercialisation  of  the  European  contents  in
international markets.
- Assume a  wider  concept  of  cultural  diversity.  To  consider  cultural  diversity  in
terms  of  language  or  to  relate  it  to  the  production  or  capacity  of  the  national
industries  seems  to  be  restricted.  Although  it  is  a  practical  criterion  for  resource
distribution, it diminishes the richness and variety of the cultural manifestations.
- Broaden  the  actions  in  defence  of  diversity  in  regional  and  local  geographical
areas.  Although  it  is  not  the  Union’s  competence  to  intervene  at  these  levels,  it
would  be  useful  to  establish  incentives  for  the  member  countries’  governments  to
take  action  in  this  direction.  In  these  areas,  diversity  is  expressed  with  greater
richness  and  it  does  not  seem  consistent  to  limit  the  defence  of  diversity  to  some
national borders overcome by the effects of globalisation.
- Promote  the  creation  of  national  organisms,  or  their  consolidation  in  those
countries where they already exist, in order to promote the broadcasting of quality
programmes. These organisms should carry out a follow up of contents of television
programmes  in  their  respective  areas  of  competence,  in  order  to  determine  up  to
what point programme scheduling follows the criteria for quality and distribution of
cultural  values  previously  established.  At  the  same  time,  the  functioning  of  TV
viewers'  organisations  should  be  encouraged,  since  they  can  fulfil  an  important
function in the formation of public opinion and in the denunciation of irregularities
committed by programmers.

  Special mission of public television

Public television represents the perfect instrument for promoting cultural diversity and
identity and for serving as a reference point for private production.
Ø  In  this  sense,  the  national  legislation  of  each  Member  State  should  promote  the
broadcasting of quality programmes with solid cultural values, although they are not
profitable  in  the  short  term.  Legislative  measures  could  include  conditions  for  the
funding  of  programmes  with  public  money,  limitations  on  time  and  income  from
advertising and the direct promotion of a certain type of contents. It is important to

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Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

consider  the  effect  of  attraction  that  public  television  can  exercise  on  private
television.

Ø  In this way, it can influence audience tastes and demands so that companies obtain
profitability in the mid and long term, with programmes of a greater cultural value;
in this way, the current tendency towards the increasingly marked predominance of
programmes  with  little  cultural  value  or  with  non-European  values  will  be
counteracted.

Ø  A  new  legislative  framework  must  be  formed  which,  taking  into  account  the  new
situation  of  the  markets,  guarantees  sufficient  and  lasting  funding.  In  several
European  countries,  the  public  television  companies  continue  acting  as  distorting
factors  for  competition  in  the  markets.  They  must  hold  a  relevant  position  in  their
national markets to favour cultural diversity if they act with the coherence and logic
of  a  public  service  which  distinguishes  itself  from  the  programme  planning  of
commercial networks.

Ø  Lastly,  the  possibility  of  indirect  action  on  the  production  of  private  television
should  not  be  forgotten.  In  this  sense,  national  legislation  should  influence
programme  planning,  for  example,  by  foreseeing  the  possibility  of  criteria  for
quality  in  the  contents  in  the  awarding  of  licences.  Some  organisms  such  as  those
established  in  the  United  Kingdom  (Independent  Television  Commission)  and
France (Conseil Superieur de L’Audiovisuel) seem to work, as they do not only keep
watch over the fulfilment of the conditions in which the licences were granted but
also enjoy the power to sanction.

  Impact of the new technologies

Ø  Despite  the  fact  that,  in  the  mid  term,  traditional  media  will  probably  continue  to
have the greatest incidence in the spreading of cultural values, the digitalization of
the media opens up perspectives for the distribution of contents which will mean an
increase in the cultural diversity of the media. However, there is a tendency towards
the  implantation  of  pay  media  which  could  mean  that  access  to  the  contents  is
restricted for a great part of the society, who do not have sufficient resources. This
tendency must be counteracted especially by the public ownership media.

Ø  The  digitalization  and  convergence  of  the  media  offer  new  possibilities  for
increasing cultural diversity, such as the number of channels, the user’s direct access
to the contents, the greater possibility for subtitling or dubbing and the new routes
for the distribution of contents.

  The  Internet  is  an  especially  appropriate  medium  for  the  transmission  of  cultural
contents,  including  that  for  even  the  smallest  minority,  given  that  it  notably
increases the possibilities for choice for the public and offers immediate access. The
Internet  can  facilitate  the  presence  in  society  of  universities,  cultural  associations
and  other  organisations  of  diverse  nature,  which  develop  interesting  cultural
activities.

Ø  In the area of multimedia contents (Internet, DVD and videogames), as well as the
digital television channels, the present situation of dependency of European markets
with  respect  to  North  American  and  Japanese  production,  is  a  serious  risk  for  the
restriction  of  cultural  diversity  in  Europe.  In  order  to  confront  this  situation,  the
European  audiovisual  sector  must  be  involved  as  a  priority  in  the  development  of
contents for this medium, especially of those which include interactive applications
based on connection to the Internet.

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Ø  European leadership in the area of digital television offers favourable ground for the
development of home-grown cultural contents which enjoy public preference. This
situation can also encourage the development of multimedia contents related to the
most successful television programmes.

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Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

POLICY OPTIONS

  Globalisation of media industry

Concentration operations: the continuation of a policy favouring the consolidation of
big  European  communication  companies  –  like  the  recent  merger  of  Vivendi  and
Universal or the alliance between Pearson, Ufa and CLT -, provided that this does not
produce dominant positions in the market.
Control  over  mergers  and  takeovers:  maintain  the  “single  authority”  system  in  the
review  of  these  operations  (the  Commission  of  the  European  Union  or  each  country’s
government).
Vertical  integration  of  the  audiovisual  industry:  it  is  important  the  Commission
continue its endeavours to prevent the distribution control systems from interfering with
the  contents  producers’  access  to  the  public.  The  “must  carry”  rules  of  the  cable
operators and regulation on compatible decodifiers are good examples of this policy.
Consideration  of  the  “Community  dimension”  of  mergers  and  takeovers:  the
threshold of minimum turnover could be lowered to € 2000 million, so as to broaden the
Commission’s capacity to ban concentration operations. This measure would require a
revision of Council Regulation 4064/89, of 21 December, on Control of concentrations.
Cinema film distribution : suggest to the Member States that they revise the efficiency
of  existing  protective  measures  for  trade  in  the  area  of  cinema  films  in  order  to  avoid
North American predominance. For example:
- prevent block sales of films,
- prevent control of cinemas by large production companies.
Transparency  in  communications  markets: legislation  would  be  worthwhile  in  this
area  in  order  to  facilitate  free  trade.  This  decision  is  one  of  the  three  proposed  in  the
Green Paper on concentration and information pluralism published by the Commission
in 1992.

  Audiovisual sector and cultural diversity

Aid  distribution  to  the  sector:  adjust  the  criteria  related  to  the  market  response  to
products  (automatic  aid,  support  of  commercially  viable  projects,  etc.),  with  other
priority criteria:

- high quality cultural products,
- proposal of innovative approaches and formats,
- successful combination of culture and entertainment.

Position  of  national  production:  put  forward  the  aim  of  concentrating  national
production  at  prime  time  on  the  networks  so  that  one  country's  production  can
successfully  compete  in  other  timetable  bands  for  television  in  other  countries.  To
achieve  this,  pacts,  agreements  and  co-productions  between  companies  from  different
European  countries  must  continue  to  be  encouraged,  especially  efforts  to  involve
companies from countries with low production capacity.
Presence  in  other  markets:  aid  in  the  carrying  out  of  co-productions  of  European
companies  with  North  American  companies  in  order  to  facilitate  the  production  of
contents which can compete in that market.
Independent production companies: encourage the broadcasting of programmes made
by  independent  production  companies  in  order  to  mitigate  the  effects  of  vertical

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concentration and achieve a wider range of values in programme planning. To achieve
this:

- establish quotas for independent production where they do not exist,
- revise the efficiency of those which are in effect in some countries.

Quality programme scheduling : establish some objective criteria for quality, one of
which should be the promotion of one’s own culture. The said criteria should be taken
into  account  –  as  happens  in  some  countries  –  when  concessions  to  broadcasting
companies are awarded or renewed.
Public  television:  the  public  sector  of  television  should  undergo  modification  and
should include, among other issues, the following measures:

- definition of “public service”  contents,
- decision on the sources for public funding
-  imposition  of  advertising  limits,  always  more  severe  than  those  referring  to
private channels

  Impact of the new technologies

Multimedia  communication:  contents  of  national  or  regional  interest  should  be
promoted  and  produced  with  a  level  of  quality  comparable  to  that  of  the  most
competitive products. Governments should offer aid to small multimedia companies in
order to produce quality prototypes which develop home-produced contents.
Countries  with  a  limited  production  capacity:  encourage  companies  to  develop
global  strategies,  to  favour  production  and  distribution  of  contents  for  the  different
platforms  (digital  television,  Internet,  DVD,  mobile  telephones,  etc.)  This  action  is
especially relevant in countries such as Ireland, Greece, Austria or Portugal, where the
media are subject to a growing influence of contents not only from the United States but
also  from  neighbouring  countries.  The  combination  of  attractive  contents,  packaging
and  distribution  in  many  platforms  will  give  a  competitive  advantage  to  European
companies, when they are supported by successful contents for television.
Training  and  meetings  of  professionals  in  the  sector:  promote  the  presence  of
cultural contents in the media through:

-
training networks of screenwriters and producers of multimedia works of
a  cultural  nature  to  encourage  production  and  promote  creative  talent  in  each
country;
organisation of professional meetings and festivals which bring together
-
authors  of  audiovisual  works  with  cultural  content,  especially  those  that
successfully combine cultural values and entertainment.

Public media: the function carried out by some radio and television bodies – especially
the promotion of cultural production and the influence of quality standards – should be
boosted  by  online  services.  The  public  media  of  each  country  should  provide  on  the
Internet  a  wide  range  of  programmes  and  information  which  includes  the  cultural
expression relevant to small communities.
Cultural  bodies:  The  presence  of  contents  produced  by  different  cultural  bodies
(associations, universities, local and regional bodies, etc.) should be encouraged thereby
facilitating:

-
-

the technical training of its communicators,
access to the necessary technological media.

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  Future courses for action

-
Analyse  what  could  be  the  most  appropriate  legal  framework  for  the  Internet,
and  for  other  new  ways  of  distributing  and  commercialising  audiovisual  contents,  as
well as studying the way of adequately protecting author rights in the new media.
-
Explore the situation of competition and cultural diversity in the regional setting.
It  is  not  enough  to  protect  the  diversity  of  European  countries  without  taking  into
account the regional differences present in the Member States.
-
as religious, ethnic and linguistic minorities.

Examine the impact on the media of the minority groups present in Europe such

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Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

Chapter 1 - INTRODUCTION

The defence of cultural diversity in the European Community must be a central aim in
the  action  which  the  Union  has  proposed  to  develop  at  the  start  of  the  twenty-first
century.  Some  significant  facts  of  the  contemporary  political  and  social  context
corroborate the importance of taking that course in the measures adopted:

  The claims of different nationalist movements (in Spain, Belgium, United Kingdom)
demonstrate the need to make the process of European integration compatible with
upholding the cultural idiosyncrasies of the different social groups.

  That requirement will become greater with the incorporation of the new states from
Central and Eastern Europe, many of which have a long history of conflicts of this
nature.

  On the other hand, the recent Nice Summit (December, 2000) has demonstrated the
inevitable difference in the power of decision existing between the Member States.
It is essential to avoid that this situation, reflected in all areas of Community policy,
could  give  rise  to  the  risk  –  or  perceived  risk–  of  a  cultural  hegemony  of  some
States over others.

  Lastly, European cultural heritage, which must be consolidated, defended and made
present  in  the  international  arena,  has  as  an  inherent  and  defining  characteristic
which is precisely that very diversity which partakes of a common origin.

Cultural diversity is expressed through a multitude of forms. In the information society
one  of  the  main  channels  is  through  the  public  media.  In  them,  the  different  social
groups find a voice and a way of relating to other individuals of the same environment
or those alien to it. Especially throughout the nineties the European Union, aware of this
reality, has stressed the importance of preserving those forms, guaranteeing their access
and presence to the media in general and the audiovisual in particular.

This interest of the European Community survives in an international context dominated
by the laws and principles of a globalized market which have a very significant effect
on the audiovisual industry and the new media and are apparently incompatible with the
interests of the defence of cultural minorities.

At  the  same  time,  however,  with  the  possibilities  opened  up  by  the  new  technologies,
globalisation means that it is made easier for linguistic and social communities, which
had hitherto been unknown, to be present in the international information flux and thus
to ensure their public manifestation, external recognition and their survival in time.

The  objective  of  this  work  lies  in  evaluating  the  new  circumstances  generated  by  the
globalisation in the mass media industry and the extent to which they present a threat to cultural
diversity;  in  which  areas  and  with  what  consequences  can  it  be  considered  such  a  threat  and
which measures should be adopted by the European institutions to counter it.

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The limits of the area of research have been fixed according to the following criteria:

  Analysis material. The study has focused on those media which have a greater social
impact, either because of the scope of their audience and consumption – audiovisual
media,  especially  television  -,  or  because  of  the  new  possibilities  of  production,
distribution and participation offered by digital television, DVD and the Internet.
  Level of analysis. The extra-European area and intra-European area are combined;
in the former, the relationship of competition between the United States and Europe
is  looked  at,  and  in  the  latter,  the  relationship  between  countries  with  greater
production and investment capacity in the audiovisual industry and those with lesser
capacity is considered.

  Approaches.  A  study  of  the  impact  of  the  globalisation  of  the  media  industry  on
cultural  diversity  requires  the  simultaneous  examination  of  the ownership  of  the
media  and  the  commercial  strategies  and  objectives;  of  the  type  of  products  and
contents transmitted; and the channels by which they are distributed.

With these postulates the following issues will be dealt with:

  In  chapter  II,  the  theoretical  framework  is  established  and  the  concepts  implied  in
the  study  from  the  scientific  area  of  public  communication  and  the  particular
approach adopted by the European Union are defined.

  In  chapter  III,  a  review  of  the  legislation  carried  out  by  the  European  Union  from
1989  regarding  the  audiovisual  industry  is  made  and  the  measures  adopted  for  the
guarantee of diversity are highlighted and evaluated.

  In chapter IV, a study is made of the tendencies of concentration affecting the media
industry in Europe and an overview is given of the challenges which globalisation
presents to the whole of the mass media, print and audiovisual.

  In chapter V, the research focuses on television contents and evaluates the presence
of  cultural  diversity  in  the  programmes  with  highest  audiences  and  the  quality  of
avowedly cultural audiovisual programmes.

  In  chapter  VI,  a  valuation  is  given  of  the  possibilities  offered  by  the  new
technologies relating to the promotion of national cultural values and the access of
linguistic minorities.

  The Executive Summary brings together the conclusions of greatest interest, which
are expressed in concrete terms as policy options to guide the European Union in its
future action.

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Chapter 2 – CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF REFERENCE

2.1 Globalisation: essential characteristic of the context of action

The globalisation phenomenon does not have a precise definition. Even though some of
its  causes  can  be  determined  and  an  assessment  of  its  possible  consequences  can  be
ventured,  its  ongoing  evolution  and  the  lack  of  historical  perspective  means  that  a
precise  statement  is  difficult  to  make.  In  any  case,  with  the  aim  of  demarcating  the
theoretical  framework  on  which  this  work  has  its  basis,  a  selection  of  the  main
characteristics describing globalisation has been made, highlighting those which have a
special effect on cultural diversity1.

It  refers  to  a  global-wide  phenomenon,  originating  in  the  development  of  new
technologies  which  tend  towards  the  elimination  of  the  traditional  coordinates  of  time
and  space.  Parallel  to  the  technological  revolution,  an  inter-dependent  economy  has
evolved  whose  field  of  action  is  a  marketplace  of  worldwide  proportions.  In  this  new
space, competition has given rise to a tendency towards both the horizontal and vertical
concentration  of  companies,  whilst  also  reducing  the  limits  and  controls  of  political
power.

With  reference  to  contents,  globalisation  implies  worldwide  distribution  but  not
necessarily homogenization. The reviled cultural imperialism is produced when there
is  only  one  actor  dominating  all  areas  –  technology,  production  and  market,  but
globalisation  in  itself  not  only  does  not  hinder  a  diversity  of  forms  but,  in  a  certain
sense, facilitates it. The concentration of ownership can pose a threat to pluralism and
cultural  diversity  but,  at  the  same  time,  the  new  technologies  appear  to  open  up
possibilities,  at  least  potential  ones,  for  a  freer  and  more  independent  management  of
communication.

Globalisation, therefore, poses risks and offers advantages. The main risks detected  in
the area being dealt with are the following:

  Presence in the international marketplace requires the creation of large media groups
fostering the horizontal and vertical concentration of companies and putting at risk
the distribution of plural contents.

  The  United  States  holds  a  dominant  position  in  the  world  and  European  markets,
forcing the defence of European products against North American ones to be given
priority, in detriment to the effort to guarantee cultural diversity.

  The 

fragmentation  of 

international
competitiveness  is  not  dealt  with:  the  increase  in  the  channels  of  distribution

the  European  market  means 

that 

1For this, the chief scientific output dealing with the subject has been taken into account, among others:
Sinclair; J., Televisión: comunicación global y regionalización,  Gedisa,  Barcelona,  2000;  Beck,  Ulrich,
Was  is  Globalisierung?,  Suhrkamp  Verlag,  1997;  Castels,  M.,  La  era  de  la  información,  Alianza
Editorial,  Madrid,  1998;  Robertson,  R., Globalisation,    SAGE,  1992  ;  Mattelart,  A.,  La  comunicación-
mundo,  Fundesco,  Madrid,  1993.  With  regard  to  its  specific  impact  on  the  media  industry:  Ginneken,
Understanding  Global  News,  SAGE,  London,  1998;  Boyd-Barret,  and  Rantanen,  The  Globalisation  of
News, SAGE, London, 1998; Mohammadi A. , International Communication and Globalisation, SAGE,
London,  1997;  Mowlana,  H.,  Global  Communication  in  Transition.  The  End  of  Diversity?,  SAGE,
London, 1996.

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reduces companies’  financing capacity, the works’  profitability  and  the  capacity
for investment in future productions.

  A relocation of investment is required: investment in physical distribution must be

reduced and more needs to be channelled into advertising and marketing.

  In  dealing  with  the  above  risks  there  is  the  danger  of  concentrating  resources  on
programmes  with  high  audience  ratings  such  as  live  sports  events,  in  detriment  to
new production.

  With  regard  to  contents,  the  continued  presence  of  North-American  products  has
created  habits  and  tastes  in  the  audience  which  leads  to  some  purely  European
products  not  being  well  received,  forcing  them  to  overcome  a  certain  cultural
barrier.

From  the  point  of  view  of  international  legislation,  the  clause  of  cultural  exception
which  allows  for  the  intervention  of  the  Community  in  the  promotion  of  cultural
products  will  no  longer  be  in  force,  according  to  the  General  Agreement  on  Trade  in
Services (GATS), in the year 2005.

The advantages of globalisation would stem from the possibilities offered by the new
technologies which are especially interesting where cultural diversity is concerned. The
new technologies allow,

  Increased supply of information.
  Easier inter-group communication.
  Greater margin of choice of contents for the audience.
  Users are enabled to have a direct contribution in content output.

That is to say, if we only appraise their potential effects, it can be stated that they grant
more  opportunities  for  any  citizen  or  group  to  have  access  to,  choose,  generate  and
distribute contents.

In this setting, the European Union faces the globalisation phenomenon with the aim of
achieving two apparently contradictory objectives:
a)  Strengthening  European  production  with  the  aim  of  increasing  its  presence  in  the
international  marketplace  and  thus  competing  with  the  North-American  products
which also invade its domestic market;

b)  Guaranteeing  cultural  diversity,  which  is  one  of  the  characteristics  which  best
defines the European identity, providing support for the production of those nations
with less capacity and helping it to become profitable.

The first objective requires the existence of strong communication groups which act on
an equal basis as the North American groups, with the latest technology, with the know-
how of exploiting it, with distribution channels and with money-making products. This
effort compels the promotion of the setting up of large media groups, which appears to
imply certain risks for plurality and the cultural diversity of contents.

The second objective – the defence of the cultural diversity of the Member States of the
European  Union  –  requires  the  adoption  of  support  measures  for  those  countries  with
low  production  capacity  in  order  to,  at  least,  facilitate  the  presence  of  their  cultural
expression  in  the  internal  market  of  the  European  Union.  The  beneficiaries  are  small
companies,  independent  producers,  whose  products  do  not  usually  meet  the  necessary

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conditions to compete in an international market.

The following study will attempt to demarcate up to what point it is possible to combine
these two actions and in what conditions they can be effective, always in relation to the
defence of cultural diversity which is the chief object of this work.

2.2 Concept of culture and cultural diversity

As stated by Guy Rocher, culture is “the group linked by more or less formalized ways
of thinking, feeling and acting which, learnt and shared by a plurality of persons, serve
in  both  an  objective  and  symbolic  way,  to  constitute  those  persons  in  a  particular  and
distinct collective”2.

  Culture singularizes human groups and merges identities together, but, at the same
time,  it  places  these  groups  in  relation  to  the  rest  of  society.  The  public  nature  of
culture  is  expressed  in  manifestations  such  as  the  arts,  customs,  the  social  system,
language or religion.

  Also in the context of the European Community, culture is a factor for unification
and relation, since it is defined as “an essential element of European integration and
it contributes both to the affirmation and vitality of the European model of society
and to the projection of the European Community on the world stage”3.

  With  this  approach,  the  Treaty  of  the  Union  (art.  151)  shows  its  concern  to  find  a
balance between economic and cultural aspects, so that they mutually complement
and reinforce each other.

Culture  in  the  European  Union  is  fundamentally  characterised  by  the  coexistence  of  values
common to its members with others particular to each region. As Eliot sensed, “for the health of
Europe’s  culture  two  conditions  are  required:  that  the  culture  of  each  country  be  unique,  and
that the different cultures recognize their mutual relationship, so that each one be sensitive to the
influence of the others”4

The European Union recognizes and promotes, together with a same cultural tradition,
the  development  of  different  identities  as  an  element  inherent  to  the  European
Community;  without  renouncing  the  aspiration  of  creating  a  common  socio-political
space, regional actors are encouraged to contribute their own identities, giving rise to a
great richness in languages and cultures.

Cultural  diversity  is  recognized  externally  and  internally,  both  by  the  prevailing
institutions of civil society and by the awareness of the group itself as different to the
whole  in  some  expressions.  The  preservation  of  this  diversity  is  one  of  the  challenges
confronting  the  European  Union  faced  with  the  homogenizing  risk  of  a  globalized
world, where uniform cultural patterns are present.

However, the concept of cultural diversity does not appear to be properly defined. Even
though language is a diversifying element of special importance, a unanimous appraisal

2 ROCHER, Guy (1990) Introducción a la sociología general, Herder, Barcelona, pages 111 – 112.
3  CULTURE  2000  programme.  Decision  no.  508/2000/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  Council.
14/II/2000. These statements are also found in the Commission’s Proposal (DO C 211 of 7.7.1998)  and
in the Committee of the Regions Report (DO C 51 of 22.2.1999).
4 Eliot, T.S. (1952) Notas para la definición de la cultura, Emecé Editores, Buenos Aires, p. 181.

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of  other  elements  which  distinguish  one  culture  from  another  is  not  to  be  found.5.  In
accordance with the objectives of this report, some criteria will be adopted in order to
measure  cultural  diversity,  exclusively  devised  for  the  observation  of  the  area  of
audiovisual media.

2.3 Cultural incidence of the media: specific action of the audiovisual media

The media have become the chief transmitters of culture6. The traditional showcases of
culture  –  museums,  theatres,  art  galleries  or  libraries  –  have  handed  over  part  of  their
functions  to  the  cinema  screens,  television  or  computers;  media  where  culture  has
greater distribution and scope, since the images reach broader, more heterogeneous and
widespread audiences.

The  cultural  function  of  the  audiovisual  industry  is  not  only  developed  by  the
broadcasting  of  eminently  cultural  issues;  news  programmes,  fiction  series  and  films,
video  games  or  game  programmes,  for  example,  also  display  cultural  manifestations
that reinforce identities, show diversity in social situations and distinguish the ways of
thinking and feeling of the social groups included in a community.

The  analysis  carried  out  takes  into  account  that  the  media  have  at  least  two  different  ways  of
transmitting  culture.  On  the  one  hand,  a  programme  scheduling  with  manifestly  cultural
contents.  On  the  other  hand,  in  any  audiovisual  content  the  transmission  of  cultural  identities
and values is implicit.

The audiovisual sector is, therefore, one more source of cultural creativity. This aspect
is recognized in the Treaty of the Union, when the audiovisual sector is seen as closely
linked  to  other  cultural  activities,  such  as  literature  or  art.  The  express  mention  of
audiovisual  production  in  art.151.2.  is  significant:  it  underlines  how  the  audiovisual
sector is a cultural manifestation, distancing itself from a purely commercial approach7.

The  preservation  of  the  audiovisual  sector’s  cultural  perspective  is  of  the  greatest  importance
both  for  safeguarding  the  “general  interest”  within  a  context  of  a  competitive  market  and  for
including the sector within the framework of “cultural exception”8.

The  leading  role  which  will  be  played  by  cinema,  television  and  multimedia
communication in spreading cultural values in the next decades is undeniable, especially
in the context of the international market9. Audiovisual productions, and their different
display outlets, seem to be the media contents with greatest reach and scope.
For  this  reason,  this  work  centres  its  analysis  on  this  market  which  in  1998  was
calculated at 64.6 billions of euros and employed around 485.000 people10.

5 See Drijvers, Jan (1992). “Community broadcasting: a manifesto for the media policy of small European
countries”.  Media, Culture and Society, 14, pp. 193-201. See Findhal, O. (1989) “Language in the Age of
Television”, European Journal of Communication, 4(2), pp. 133-159
6 Jakubowicz, Karol (1990) “Media and culture in the information society”,  Gazette  45,  pp.  71-88.  See
Marchetti, P. (1997) La Production d’oevres audiovisuelles dan l’Union européene, Economica, Paris.
7  The  audiovisual  sector  understood  as  part  of  the  European  Community  cultural  policy,  where  the
European Union’s competencies are scarce, only support measures are possible.
8 See Communication on the new transatlantic market. COM(98)125, letter i) from point 10 of section D.
9 See “Principles and Guidelines of European Community policy in the audiovisual sector in the digital
era”. COM (1999) 657end, 12.1999.
10 European Audiovisual Observatory.

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  Film distribution in cinemas involves a market of € 4.2 billions. Cinema, an industry

aimed  at  entertainment  and  with  also  an  influence  on  culture,  offers  values
underlying  diversity:  production  in  different  languages,  with  different  approaches
and world views. The number of films produced in Europe has increased (while in
1995  around  460  were  produced,  in  1999  the  estimated  figure  was  put  at  630),
however, they still show the characteristic of a fragmented market11.

  Regarding the incidence of television, it should be highlighted that currently in 98%
of  homes  in  the  European  Union  there  is  a  television  set  and  that  the  average
viewing time is around three hours a day12. The massive television audience, which
includes  all  social  and  cultural  strata,  and  the  capacity  of  different  formats  for
television to integrate cultural values allows for a more inclusive assessment for the
purposes of this work. The role of television goes beyond that of a mere transmitter
of contents since it contributes to the reinforcement of cultural ties and belonging to
a social group.

  The emergence of the multimedia communications sector has brought about a new
development in audiovisual products and although, for the moment, consumption is
not high, they are perceived as the immediate future of communications. At the end
of  the  year  2000,  420  million  people  were  estimated  to  have  access  to  Internet
worldwide,  with  a  quarterly  growth  of  14.1%.  Digital  television  throws  up  more
decisive data since it is forecast that by the end of 2001, 30 million homes will have
access to interactive digital television services and of these, 62% will be European
households, as opposed to 18% North-American, 10% from Asia and Oceania and
1% Latin American13. As a consequence, the new technologies will be an essential
factor for achieving competitive audiovisual products in the global market whilst, at
the  same  time,  offering  a  host  of  possibilities  for  production,  distribution  and
conservation of the cultural heritage.

At the present time, television continues to be the medium that draws the largest audiences, with
the greatest volume of business and with a consumption time much higher than the rest of the
media (the average European watches three hours of television a day whilst the average viewing
time in cinemas is four hours per annum14).

2.4 Categories which permit the evaluation of cultural diversity in media contents

The production and distribution of audiovisual contents which reflect European cultural
diversity  poses  significant  challenges  in  a  globalized  world.  A  concept  of  cultural
diversity is required in order to guarantee:

  More contents in the media which give a fair representation of the cultural variety of

Europe;

  The harmonization of the needs of communication companies with public interest;
the  distribution  of  contents  in  the  media  in  all  the  languages  spoken  by  the  social
groups of the European Union;

11 European Audiovisual Observatory.
12 See Screen Digest (1999), “Digital TV fails to boost total viewing”:
13 See Strategy Analytics, “Interactive Digital Television: Worldwide Market Forecasts”, 2001.
14 European Audiovisual Observatory, 2000.

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  The  development  of  news  and  fiction  products  by  authors  who  belong  to  cultural

minorities;

  Access from any place in the European Union to the cultural contents desired.

With this aim, criteria have been adopted which seek to measure the presence of cultural
diversity  in  the  audiovisual  sector.  For  the  "“MEDIA”  programmes  established  by  the
European Union this diversity is measured according to the following criteria:

  Countries with a low audiovisual production capacity15.
  Small geographical and linguistic areas.
  Defence of multilinguism (dubbing, subtitling and multilingual production).

These elements  are of  help for knowing the  diversity of the audiovisual industry, but
are insufficient for distinguishing in what measure a programme defends cultural values
or not.

“The  preservation  of  the  cultural  diversity  of  Europe  means,  among  other  things,
promoting the production and distribution of quality audiovisual contents which reflect
the  different  cultural  and  linguistic  identities”16.  Therefore,  in  those  audiovisual
contents we can determine whether a product is dominated by its own cultural values or
by  alien  ones.  From  here  arises  the  need  to  establish  some  precise  criteria  of
measurement for the contents, and not only for the productive capacity of a country.

In accordance with the categories used by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and
the EBU Statistics Group in their statistical analysis system of the production of public
television broadcasting in Europe and in the coding used by the project Eurofiction,  of
the European Audiovisual Observatory, the cultural indicators chosen are:

  “National identity”, determined by the nationality of the production company of the
programme,  the  nationality  of  the  main  character  and  the  place  where  the  action
takes place.

  The language it is broadcast in and the original language of production.

In the analysis carried out, these indicators have been complemented by others compiled
by this study (see Coding Schedule. Appendix 5).

Exploiting the possibilities offered by the new technologies for the defence of diversity,
as has been stated in the 1997 Green Paper on Convergence, is also a key factor in the
study  of  the  relationship  between  cultural  diversity  and  globalisation  in  the  European
Community17.

15 This low production capacity, according to the BIPE report, does not correspond to the size of the said
countries  but  rather  to  the  geographic  or  linguistic  isolation  of  their  market.  See  Report  of  the
Commission  on  the  results  obtained  in  the  framework  of  the  Media  II  Programme  (period  1996-2000),
COM (1999) 91 end.
16 “Principles and guidelines of European Community policy in the audiovisual sector in the digital era”,
COM (1999) 657 end, 12. 1999, p. 8.
17  See  Green  Paper  on  Convergence  in  the  telecommunications,  media  and  information  technology
sectors,  and  their  consequences  for  regulation.  Towards  an  approach  to  the  information  society.
3.12.1997.  In  this  Green  Paper  the  advantages  of  the  new  technologies  are  highlighted  for  the

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Chapter  3  –  EVALUATION  OF  THE  ACTION  OF  THE  EUROPEAN  UNION.
CHALLENGES POSED BY THE PRESENT SITUATION

3.1 Theoretical basis of European cultural policy

Cultural diversity, considered as one of the essential characteristics defining the greater
unity which is Europe, is present in the Treaty  of  the Union18.  This  issue  is  found  in
the  section  on  “Culture”,  and  makes  reference  to  diversity  always  within  unity:  “The
Community  will  contribute  to  the  flourishing  of  the  cultures  of  the  Member  States,
within  the  respect  for  their national  and  regional  diversity,  emphasising  at  the  same
time the common cultural heritage”19. In undertaking the development of the cultures of
the  Member  States,  the  defence  of  cultural  diversity  is  understood  as  part  of  the
European  idiosyncrasy  and,  therefore,  is  placed  within  one  of  the  first  and  basic
objectives of this Treaty which is the affirmation of the identity of the Union. And this
commitment is assumed not only on the level of principles but also in actions, with the
undertaking to take into account “cultural aspects in their action (...) in particular with
the aim of respecting and promoting the diversity of its cultures20. Nevertheless, it must
be recalled that the European Union acts under the principle of subsidiarity: it involves
itself only when the States do not act21. Moreover, in the aspects found in article 151 the
need for unanimity in its pronouncements is established.

With  the  “Culture  2000”  programme,  cultural  diversity  is  taken  on  as  a  specific
objective: the development of specific provisions of article 151 is proposed “particularly
with a view to respect and promote the diversity of cultures”. The programme has been
approved for the period comprising January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2004, coinciding
with the last dates of the application of the General Agreement on the Trade in Services
(GATS). The first of its objectives is precisely “the promotion of cultural dialogue and
mutual knowledge of the culture and history of the European peoples”  and further on it
also specifies the intention of “emphasising the importance of cultural diversity and the
development of new forms of cultural expression”, as well as “taking into account the
role played by culture in socio-economic development”.

Finally, it should be noted that the Treaties’  cultural  objectives  must  be  understood  in
the light of the aspiration to create a single market in which conditions are guaranteed
for  the  freedom  of  movement  of  commodities,  goods  and  persons.  In  this  context,  the
audiovisual  sector  is  also  regulated  as  an  integral  part  of  the  market,  so  that  both  free
competition and socio-economic development are guaranteed.

3.2  Selection  of  legislative  measures  directly  related  to  the  defence  of  cultural
diversity in the audiovisual sector

The  European  audiovisual 
two  main  challenges:
competitiveness in the international market and the defence of its cultural identity. This

industry  must  deal  with 

achievement of this aim, signalling that the effect of the convergence in the media produced by them is
fundamental for greater choice and cultural diversity.
18 Treaty of the European Union. Section XII (former IX) art. 151 (former 128)
19 Treaty of the European Union. Section XII, art. 151.1.
20 Treaty of the European Union. Section XII, art. 151.4.
21 Art.5 Founding Treaty of the European Community.

23

                                                                                                                                             
Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

situation  explains  the  action  undertaken  by  the  European  Union  from  the  end  of  the
1980s  to  boost  its  own  European  audiovisual  industry,  coordinating  and  reinforcing
national  efforts  with  supplementary  aid.  The  Union’s  activity,  as  has  already  been
pointed out, is made concrete in the definition of a regulatory framework  and  in  the
establishment of measures to promote and boost the sector, specifically in the areas of
distribution and commercialization.

In  the  area  of  regulation,  the  European  Union  has  differentiated  the  legislation  of
technology  to  that  of  contents  –  which  are  regulated  according  to  their  characteristics
and not according to the medium by which they are transmitted. Its action is based on
the principles of proportionality and transparency.

Paying attention to these criteria, from the Guideline of Television without Frontiers of
1989  to  the  present,  it  can  be  affirmed  that  Community  legislation  regarding  the
audiovisual sector has progressed in the defence of cultural diversity.

Indeed,  the  Guideline  of  Television  without  Frontiers,  by  its  establishment  of  the
quota  system  with  its  proposal  to  reserve  10%  of  time  or  programme  scheduling  for
“European productions”, became the first support measure for the European industry22.
The review of this guideline carried out in 1997 contains some observations on what is
considered  as  “European  work”  and  refers  to  the  need  for  the  quota  system  to  be
reserved  for  independent  European  production,  so  indirectly  it  is  referring  to  cultural
diversity23.

In  that  same  year,  the  Green  Paper  on  Convergence  in  the  telecommunications
sectors24  states  that,  thanks  to  the  possibilities  of  convergence  allowed  by  the  new
technologies, a door is opened for users to enjoy greater choice thus the display case of
cultural diversity is also widened. Consultations carried out on this Green Paper point in
the  same  direction  when  they  propose  the  preservation  of  cultural  diversity  in
audiovisual  production,  with  the  aim  of  “helping  people  in  our  pluralist  societies  to
reach opinions and decisions”25.

However,  it  is  with  the  Report  of  the  High  Level  Group  for  Audiovisual  Policy,
headed by the Commissioner Marcelino Oreja, that the Union’s concern is made clearly
manifest26.  The  report  takes  as  its  starting  point  a  cultural  concept  of  the  audiovisual
media which goes beyond a merely economic perspective, so that “the balance between
the heat of market forces and the safeguarding of the general interest can be assured”.
This report confirms the European demand for a national product and, in this way, the
preservation  of  cultural  and  linguistic  diversity  is  presented  as  a  challenge  (a  mission
which is commended to the public authorities, keeping in mind the context offered by
“cultural  exception”)  and  points  to  distribution  as  a  priority  (imitating  the  North-
American  industry  in  this  aspect).  A  series  of  proposals  is  drawn  up  based  on  the

22 Guideline of Television without Frontiers 89/552/EC, OJ L 298/23 of 17.10.89.
23 Review of the Guideline of Television without Frontiers 97/36/EC, OJ L 202/60 of 30.7.97.
24 “Green Paper on the Convergence of telecommunications sectors, media and information technologies,
and  their  consequences  for  regulation.  Towards  an  approach  to  the  information  society”  COM  97/623
end.
25 Parliament Guideline 22 October 1998.
26 “The Digital Age: European Audiovisual Policy”. Report from the High Level Group for Audiovisual
Policy, 1998.

24

                                                
Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

criteria  of  proportionality  and  transparency:  attract  investment  to  the  sector,  create  a
network  of  teaching  institutions,  hold  an  award  ceremony,  reinforce  the  Media
programme  and  facilitate  agreements  between  private  broadcasters  and  public
authorities.  Emphasis  is  also  placed  on  the  quality  of  contents  with  the  promotion  of
creativity and exchange between countries.

Following the Birmingham Conference (6 – 8 April, 1998), the summit’s conclusions
and the recommendations of the Report of the High Level Group will be included, to a
certain point, in the document “Audiovisual Policy. Next Stages”, in which the need for
balancing competition and cultural diversity through the Community aid programmes is
maintained, specifically through the type of aid provided by Media II27. In this way, it is
proposed:

  In  order  to  improve  competition,  to  set  up  measures  to  improve  distribution  with

automatic aid systems linked to commercial success.

  For the defence of cultural diversity: “the Community needs to continue to take into
account the specific needs of countries with a low audiovisual production capacity
or situated in limited geographical or linguistic zones”: The system, then, operates a
“positive  discrimination”  aimed  at  compensating  small  States  that  have  a  low
production capacity.

A  new  text  summarising  all  these  documents  appeared  in  1999, Principles  and
guidelines of the Community policy in the audiovisual sector in the digital era, set
up as the chief legal framework for action for the audiovisual sector in the context of the
application  of  the  new  technologies.  With  this  document  some  support  mechanisms
specifically  designed  for  the  protection  of  cultural  and  linguistic  diversity  were  set  up
including:  the  new  Media  Plus  programme,  the  e-Europe  initiative,  the  exchange
programmes  between  member  countries  and  those  that  help  provide  citizens  with  free
access to information (EPG, API, etc).

Also  worthy  of  mention  is  the  Council’s  position  regarding  this  issue,  reflected  in  the
Conclusions  on  the  role  of  Self-regulation  in  view  of  the  development  of  the  new
services  of  the  Media28.  These  conclusions  reflect  the  Council’s  decided  resolution  to
encourage debate on the self-regulation of different companies and sectors, with the aim
of guaranteeing greater pluralism and strengthening the diverse cultural identities.

At  the  same  time  as  the  defence  of  cultural  diversity  in  the  Community  heritage  has
been  undergoing  a  process  of  self-definition,  one  of  the  factors  which  has  a  direct
influence  on  this  area  within  the  audiovisual  sector  has  come  under  regulation:  the
concentration of companies.

After analysing the problems of a lack of pluralism, the Commission put forward three possible
solutions: approval of specific legislation in order to harmonize national legislations referring to
concentration  of  information:  to  limit  itself  to  the  establishment  of  special  requirements  for
transparency in the sector; finally, not to legislate. For the moment, the option chosen has been
the last one, so that concentration operations are studied in each country, and are only analysed

27 “Audiovisual Policy: next stages”: Communication of the Commission of the European Parliament and
the Council of Ministers. 1998.
28 Conclusions of the Council on the role of Self-regulation in view of the development of new services of
the Media (1999/C283/02)

25

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¨
                                                
Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

by  the  Commission  –  in  accordance  with  the  general  legislation  on  free  competition  –  if  they
have a “Community dimension”29.

Also, a Guideline of the Economic and Social Committee suggests various proposals
to guarantee  pluralism in  the media including:  one of the criteria for regulation be the
audience  levels  reached  by  the  media  owned  by  one  company,  the  Commission
coordinate  the  activity  of  the  national  regulatory  organisms,  the  possibility  be
considered of also applying the previously mentioned regulation for audiovisual media
to digital broadcasting services, “editorial statutes”  be encouraged in order to avoid the
excessive influence of proprietors and shareholders, etc30.

With regard to support actions, Community policy has always been and continues to be
subsidiary  and  complementary  respecting  national  legislation  and  involvement.  The
MEDIA support programmes for the audiovisual industry have reflected, alongside the
evolution in regulations, the growing interest in preserving European cultural diversity.
This was seen in the MEDIA I programme (1991-1995) and was reinforced in MEDIA
II (1995-2000). The latter reforms the organisation of the programme and re-defines the
action  plan  dividing  it  into  two  areas:  Development  and  Distribution31 and Training32.
The  Programme  complements  action  taken  by  the  Member  States,  giving  aid  to  pre-
production  and  commercialisation  and  those  non  national  European  works,  whilst
national aid is invested in the production process and national works.

In the aspects relating to distribution, the aim of the Programme is to boost transnational
circulation  in  the  European  market,  encouraging  producers  to  create  for  an  audience
which  is  not  exclusively  national  and  encouraging  distributors  to  give  priority  to
European works. The defence of cultural diversity is approached from the protection of
countries  with  scant  audiovisual  production  or  with  small  geographical  and  linguistic
areas, and on the same level as small or medium sized businesses. Special attention is
paid to the defence of multilinguisim (dubbing, subtitling and multilingual production)
and  it  proposes  to  encourage  distributors  to  invest  in  promotion  and  distribution  costs
appropriate  for  European  films.  In  the  part  of  the  Programme  regarding  training,
emphasis is placed on having control of economic and commercial management and the
use  of  the  new  technologies  in  the  stages  of  the  conception,  development,  production
and distribution of programmes.

3.3 Programmes currently in force: state of the question and plan of future action

The third edition of the MEDIA programme, divided into two areas as MEDIA-Training
(20001-2005) and MEDIA Plus-Development, Distribution and Promotion (2001-2005)
continues  to  be  the  Community’s  instrument  for  financial  assistance  for  the  European
audiovisual  industry33.  They  have  ten  years  of  experience,  from  when  MEDIA  I  was

29 Pluralism and concentration of media in the internal market. COM (92) 480. Council Ruling 4064/89,
of  21  December,  on  Control  of  concentration  of  companies.  This  Ruling  has  been  modified  by  the
Council  Ruling  13/10//79, establishing  a  new  threshold  for  the  total  business  volume  of  companies
involved so that takeovers or mergers have a Community dimension.
30 Economic and Social Committee Guideline on the subject “Pluralism and concentration in the media”
(2000/C 140/07). Approved in Brussels 29.III.2000
31 Approved in July 1995 by Council Decision, 395DO563
32 Approved in December 1995 by Council Decision, 395DO564
33  On  the  basis  of  subsidiarity,  supporting  and  complementing  the  audiovisual  policies  of  the  Member
States and other participants in MEDIA.

26

                                                
Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

created, and with the positive outlooks which the results of MEDIA II have produced34.
The report provided by the office of MEDIA Desk Spain, highlights the effort carried
out with the following information35:

  5.347  professionals  from  the  whole  of  Europe  have  benefited  from  the  courses

sponsored by MEDIA Training.

  A total of 72 million euros have been invested in MEDIA II-Development assigned

to 1.971 proposals selected from the 11.524 projects presented.
  In MEDIA II-Distribution the figure is over 155 million euros.

However,  the  results  are  still  a  long  way  from  achieving  the  proposed  objectives.  As
will be seen in the following chapters, the commercial imbalance between the U.S. and
Europe  is  still  highly  unfavourable  for  the  old  continent.  A  sustained  growth  of  the
national production has been achieved, but the distribution of North-American products
has also increased parallel to this (in 1999, 55% more than in the five previous years).

On  the  other  hand,  the  evaluation  of  the  distribution  of  these  resources  shows  that
cultural  diversity,  as  it  has  been  previously  defined,  is  not  entirely  guaranteed  either:
those  who  mainly  benefit  are  precisely  those  countries  which  have  the  greatest
production  capacity:  France,  Germany,  United  Kingdom,  Italy  and  Spain.  The  data
justifying this statement are the following:

Table 1

Media II Development

Selected Proposals

464

382

500

450

400

350

300

250

200

150

100

50

0

222

172

155

100

78

70

66

62

48

35

33

29

28

21

6

Francia 
Reino Unido

Alemania

Italia

España

Irlanda

Bélgica

Grecia

Dinamarca

Holanda

Suecia

Austria

Finlandia

Islandia

Noruega

Portugal
Luxemburgo

34 What stands out is the multiplying effect in terms of investment in the sector (1 ecu generated 5.75) and
the number of European professionals who benefited from the Programme (between 30 and 50%): Media
II  evaluation.  Mid-Term  evaluation.  BIPE,  Final  Report.  November,  1998;  Commission  report  on  the
results obtained in the framework of the MEDIA II Programme (period 1996-1998), COM (1999) 91 end.
35 Report compiled by MEDIA Desk Spain, Madrid 2001.

27

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Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

Source: Media Desk Spain, January 2001

  Of  all  the  proposals  selected  by  MEDIA Development  (1.971  proposals),  1395
belonged to these five nations, that is to say 70.7%36 (Table 1); and of the total of
euros awarded, 71.9% was earmarked to finance those projects (Table 2).

  Of the 2595 proposals supported in Distribution for the different media and genres,
1.446 were for the five countries mentioned, which means 55.7% of the total aid37.
Valued  in  euros  awarded,  this  group  obtained  72.2%  for  cinema  (“selective”
scheme) and 62% of the total for cinema (“automatic”  scheme), using cinema as the
representative medium.

Table 2

18000000

16000000

14000000

12000000

10000000

8000000

6000000

4000000

2000000

0

16464343

14173877

9407568

Media II Development

Awarded Euros

5952348

5951267

3252063

2851857

2597788

2169488

1805679

1125000

1889012

1562180

1063500

1086775

583110

284000

Francia 

Reino Unido

Alemania

Italia

España

Irlanda

Dinamarca

Bélgica

Grecia

Suecia

Holanda

Noruega

Finlandia

Austria

Islandia

Portugal

Luxemburgo

Source: Media Desk Spain, January 2001

Some  members  of  the  Commission  confirmed  the  tendency  outlined  stating  that  the
main  objective  of  the  MEDIA  programme  is  to  increase  the  competitiveness  of
European  industry,  with  this  principle  conditioning  the  selection  criteria  of  the
projects38.

However, this conduct does not prove to be at all discriminatory, at least for two reasons: in the
first place because, although not a priority, the production in countries with a low capacity has
increased; secondly, because the established criterion has the acquiescence of all of the Member

36 The proposals presented by the five countries with greater production capacity made up 72.9% of the
total.
37  In  the  specific  case  of  Distribution  of  TV  broadcasting,  it  is  a  conspicuous  fact  that  France  obtained
financing for 155 projects, whilst the country following it, Germany, only obtained it for 43, Belgium for
28 and the remaining 123 were shared between the other 12.
38 Interview with Costa Daskalakis, Deputy Head; MEDIA Unit, Brussels, 6/XII/00; Interview with Jesús
Hernández, MEDIA Desk Spain, Madrid (Spain).

28

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¨
                                                
Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

States (the measure requires unanimity), who agree in considering that the priority goal of the
Programme is to improve the competitiveness of European products in the global market39.

Outside analyses to the  European  Union also agree in  recommending the  continuation
of  measures  which  could  put  at  risk  the  defence  of  cultural  diversity.  Both  the
conclusions  of  the  Birmingham  Conference  (1998)  and  the  High  Level  Group  with
regard  to  distribution,  counsel  the  continuation  of  the  “automatic  support”  system
(linked  to  commercial  success)  rather  than  the  selective  one  as  a  condition  for
increasing competitiveness.

Nevertheless,  with  a  more  careful  analysis  of  the  results  in  the  projects  sponsored  by
MEDIA II in Distribution for programmes carried out with new technologies, it can be
observed  that  in  Video  &  Multimedia,  countries  considered  to  have  a  low  production
capacity are placed first: Holland (27 out of 221) and Sweden (23 out of 221) hold first
and fifth place in the number of proposals selected, followed by Finland (18 out of 221)
which holds the sixth place. This information shows a positive tendency since it is to be
expected  that  production  with  new  technologies  will  increase  over  the  next  years  and
from this area a corrective factor will be introduced helping to redress the balance.

In  fact,  the  recently  approved  MEDIA  programmes  (MEDIA  Training  and  MEDIA
Plus, 2001 – 2005) consolidate that course with the promotion of the new technologies
and understanding that they represent an opportunity for countries or groups which still
have  a  low  production  and  investment  capacity:  because  they  are  not  substitutes  and
represent  a  real  market  expansion,  because  they  produce  a  sizeable  growth  in  the
demand  for  content  and  because  they  generate  the  creation  of  groups  of  digital
networks, the development of Internet, etc.

The MEDIA Plus programme establishes specific measures in development, distribution
and promotion aimed at correcting the imbalance between countries with high and low
production and investment capacity. So, financial aid is assigned to the development of
production  projects  which  are  presented  by  independent  companies,  especially  small
and  medium  sized  companies,  aimed  at  the  European  and  international  market;  it
establishes a grant scheme to finance projects in minority languages and extends up to
60% (50% being the limit for the rest) the percentage of total expenditure that can be
covered by Community loans. MEDIA Training also defines these same objectives for
the professionals of countries and regions with scant audiovisual production and/or from
limited linguistic or geographic areas, encouraging exchanges and associations.

Both show a special interest in establishing networks which allow joint action and the
exchange of experiences between all the member countries.

Although the legislative text reflects a sensitivity for the defence of diversity, the two
programmes include the suggestions on the funding systems carried out throughout the
application  of  the  previous  MEDIA  in  order  to  strengthen  the  competitiveness  of  the
European products. In this way, they continue to reward commercial success reinforcing

39 As part of the information obtained for this study a questionnaire was carried out on the managers of
the MEDIA Desks in the whole of Spain. See copy of the questionnaire in the documentation at the end of
the report (Appendix 4).

29

                                                
Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

the  “automatic”  system  rather  that  the  “selective”  one,  and  packets  of  projects  rather
than individual initiatives.
3.4 Public Television as an instrument for the defence of cultural diversity

The European audiovisual sector finds its main legal and action framework in national
policies.  The  European  Union  urges  the  governments  of  the  Member  States  to  adopt
objectives  favourable  for  European  production  as  a  whole,  backing  up  these  measures
with incentive programmes and subsidiary funding. The Member States implement their
policy  in  the  audiovisual  area  mainly  through  the  public  media.  Traditionally,  these
media  have  been  considered  as  ideal  instruments  for  guaranteeing  the  public  interest,
independence, educational and cultural values, transmitted through quality programmes,
and  the  promotion  of  national  cohesion.  However,  the  definition  of  the  public
audiovisual sector is currently being called into question40.

The  growth  of  the  financial  capacity  of  the  largest  commercial  televisions,  the
competition for audience ratings, the almost unlimited offer which the new technologies
supply and the subsequent challenge of globalisation pose many questions for the future
of public television, which seems to be condemned to enter into battle for audiences if it
wishes  to  survive  the  cut  and  thrust  of  the  market.  The  redefinition  of  the  role  of  the
public media in this context is presently the subject of heated debate, a debate which is
centred chiefly on aspects such as what their purpose is, how they are funded and their
governing bodies.

However,  the  horizon  of  the  public  sector  in  the  European  Union  is  many-sided  with
contrasting  situations.  It  is  important  to  point  out  that,  compared  to  commercial
television, public television audiences are on the  increase  in  countries  such  as  France,
Germany, Italy or the United Kingdom. For example, in Germany in 1993 the share of
public channels was the same as that of the private ones. Five years later, in 1998, the
public  networks  maintained  a  16%  higher  share  than  the  private  ones.  In  the  United
Kingdom, this difference reaches a figure of 29% for the BBC. The opposite example is
found in Spain, although the Spanish case is a particular one owing to the dual funding
of the public organisation41.

One of the main functions of the public media which maintain high audience levels is to
lead  the  way  for  commercial  channels  in  offering quality  programme  scheduling
(Table  3).  For  example,  the  quality  of  nature  documentaries  produced  by  the  BBC
determined  the  appearance  of  programmes  of  this  type  such  as  “Survival”  (ITV)  or
“Equinox”  (Channel 4). An opposite phenomenon can also occur: public television can
programme contents with a low cultural level with the aim of competing with the more
popular commercial channels.

40  See  Wessburg,  Arne  “Public  Service  Broadcasting”,  World  Communication  and  Information  Report
1999/2000. Unesco, pp. 83-92.
41 Screen Digest, September 1999.

30

                                                
Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

Table 3

s
`
n
e
r
d

l
i

h
c
d
n
a

l

a
r
u
t
l
u
c

,
l

a
u
t
c
a
f
s
`
r
e
t
s
a
c
d
a
o
r
b

l
a
i
c
r
e
m
m
o
C

45

40

35

t
n
e
c
r
e
p

,

i

g
n
m
m
a
r
g
o
r
p

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

U.K. (44)

Sweden (49)

France (42)

Portugal (39)

Germany (39)

Italy (48)

U.S. (3)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

PSB`s factual, cultural, and children`s programming, percent

Source: European Broadcasting Union; Television Business International; Annual Reports; press-
clippings; McKinsey analysis

It must be considered that minority programmes can find their most appropriate vehicle
in the thematic channels of the new digital platforms. Nevertheless, digital television is
far from having the leadership capacity of the public television stations to take part in
promoting quality programmes and boosting cultural diversity, such as is attributed to it
by  the  Council  of  Europe:  “public  service  broadcasting  as  an  essential  factor  in
pluralistic communication accessible to everyone and hence as a central factor of social
cohesion  in  the  information  society.  This  guideline  is  also  valid  for  the  production  of
new digital and multimedia services”42.

In this way, it can be interpreted that the survival of the public sector will be largely determined
by its capacity for working with the new technologies, its strategic agreements with commercial
companies and with production companies producing new contents.

Having  analysed  the  main  concepts  required  for  a  discussion  for  globalisation  and
cultural diversity in the media context, and having reviewed the chief courses of action
undertaken  in  the  European  Community  framework,  we  shall  now  proceed  to  the
specific study of the areas concerning the aim of the research: tendencies and conduct of
the  media  industry  in  a  global  market,  programme  scheduling  and  contents  of  the
medium  with  the  highest  audiences  and  perspectives  opened  up  by  the  new
technologies.

42  Council  of  Europe  1994.  Fourth  European  Conference  on  Mass  Media  Policy:  the  Media  in  a
Democratic Society. Prague, political declaration, resolutions and statement MCM(94)20.

31

                                                
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

32

Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

Chapter 
CONCENTRATION IN THE EUROPEAN MEDIA INDUSTRY

GLOBALISATION, 

COMPETITIVENESS 

4 

– 

AND

The legal framework and the aid systems for the audiovisual industry have contributed
to  the  composition  of  the  scene  of  the  media  in  Europe;  but  other  technological,
historical, cultural and commercial factors have also shaped this sector.

In  the  first  section  a  brief  description  is  given  of  the  characteristics  of  the
communications  market  in  Europe  and  of  its  principal  competitor:  the  United  States.
This is followed (section 2), by an analysis of the causes which have contributed to the
growing  concentration  of  communication  groups  in  the  world.  There  is  then  a  study
(section  3)  of  the  commercial  balance  between  Europe  and  the  United  States  in  the
audiovisual  area,  with  the  aim  of  quantifying  the  supremacy  of  the  North  American
industry over the European. Finally (section 4), an analysis is made of the presence of
foreign  capital  in  the  leading  companies  of  the  main  communication  sectors  in  14
European countries.

The sectors of the communication market studied in the fourth section are:

  General news daily press (circulation)
  Economic newspapers (circulation)
  Magazines (circulation)
  Publishing houses (turnover)
  Radio (audience rating)
  Open television (audience rating)
  Pay television (number of subscribers)
  Cinema film distribution (box office sales)
  Music industry (turnover)
  Advertising agencies (turnover)
  Internet (number of web pages visited)

In each country it has been endeavoured to use the most reliable sources and, wherever
possible, to use public or official sources: for example, trade registers, reports provided
by  ministries  or  commissions  designated  by  parliaments,  etc.  In  any  case,  in  the
statistics tables the different criteria for analysis are pointed out (for example, in some
countries  the  market  quota  of  a  television  channel  refers  to  the  population  above  four
years old, and in other countries it will refer to persons over six).

In this report it has been considered that the growth of the size of the companies does
not necessarily imply less pluralism: this depends on the real choice available between
different  offers  within  the  same  market.  For  this  reason,  it  has  been  used  as  a  basic
measure  of  the  degree  of  concentration  the  percentage  of  market  controlled  by  the
leading companies, and not their size (which can be quantified by turnover, asset values,
market capitalisation, number of employees, etc.).

Currently  there  exists  a  debate  as  to  whether  the  shareholder  control  of  a
communication  company 
the  contents.  The  growing
commercialisation  of  the  media  means  that  it  is  unlikely  that  proprietors  will  not  get

in  practice, 

influences, 

33

¨
¨
¨
¨
¨
¨
¨
¨
¨
¨
¨
Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

involved– to a greater or lesser extent – in the editorial line of newspapers, magazines,
radio  stations,  television  channels,  etc.  Therefore,  it  has  been  considered  that
shareholder  control  of  a  communication  company  implies,  at  least,  a  risk  of  editorial
control.

In  order  to  take  control  of  a  company,  ownership  of  a  majority  share  is  not  needed.
According  to  1989  merger´s  regulation,  control  is  defined  as  the  capacity  to  exert  a
“dominant  influence”  in  a  company  (art.  3.3).  That  kind  of  an  influence  might  be
implemented through a majority share or using a minority share, which may give a right
to manage the company, have veto power in relevant decisions, hold several sites in the
company board or appoint chief executives.

Using these hypotheses as a starting point, it seems apposite to act in the following way
(See Appendix 6):

  Measure the presence of foreign capital - above all, of companies from the United

States – in the whole of the audiovisual industry of the EU;

  Identify  as  a  globalisation  factor  –  which  implies  a  risk  for  cultural  diversity-  the
presence  of  foreign  capital  in  leading  communication  companies  in  the  European
States.

4.1 The media in Europe and the United States

When  analysing  the  communication  industry  in  Europe  and  the  United  States  it  is
important to distinguish two clearly differentiated sectors:

  The print media, which make up the most traditional economic environment, where

Europe does not lag behind the United States;

  The  audiovisual  and  interactive  media,  which  make  up  the  newest  sector,  with
greater expectations for growth and where for decades the North-American industry
has held a position of leadership, which is being consolidated.

The print media industry is mainly made up of daily newspapers, magazines and books.
In the area of newspapers the consumption in the United States (58 million copies sold)
is  notably  less  than  in  the  European  Union,  where  over  90  million  copies  are  sold  a
day43. The degree of penetration (sales per inhabitant) is similiar, but the penetration of
newspapers  in  some  European  countries  –  like  Great  Britain,  Sweden  or  Finland  –  is
twice the penetration of the North American press. From the point of view of prestige
and  international  reference  points,  the New  York  Times,  the  Washington  Post  and  the
Wall  Street  Journal  are  as  worthy  of  mention  as  are  The  Times,  Le  Monde,  the
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung or The Financial Times.
In the case of magazines, the level of innovation and consumption of the United States
is  greater  than  some  European  countries  but  not  others.  The  presence  of  titles  from
companies  from  France,  Germany  and  Holland  in  the  United  States  is  more  frequent
than  the  importation  of  North  American  magazines  into  Europe  through  sales  of  the
original  version  such  as–  Time,  Newsweek,  Business  Week,  Fortune  or  Forbes,  for
example  -  or  the  transfer  of  the  use  of  the  title,  a  strategy  chosen  by  National
Geographic, Cosmopolitan or Vogue.

43 ANPA (2001), Facts about Newspapers, Washington.

34

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¨
¨
¨
                                                
Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

The  ratio  of  book  sales  per  inhabitant  is  greater  in  the  United  States  than  in  Europe.
However, the acquisition of Random House (one of the biggest publishers in the United
States)  by  Bertelsmann  in  1998  has  transformed  the  German  company  into  the  most
important publishing house of books in the English language in the world.

In  contrast  to  the  balanced  situation  characterising  the  print  media  sector  in  Europe  and  the
United States, in cinema and television production and the distribution of audiovisual products
and the Internet, the North American companies are frequently in the leading position. The ease
with which the most popular audiovisual products cross national borders and achieve a global
consumption,  the  fragmentation  of  the  European  market,  the  size  of  the  production  and
distribution companies of the United States and the level of its technological development are
the  main  reasons  for  the  commercial  imbalance  between  the  United  States  and  Europe  in  the
audiovisual area.

Up until the nineties, fiction production for television in Europe has been dominated by
contents  created  by  North  American  companies;  the  large  general  channels  usually
included  in  their  programme  scheduling  for  maximum  viewing  times  North  American
films and television series such as The Bill Crosby Show, Dallas, Dynasty, Falcon Crest
or Friends.

Until a few years ago, the European public television stations dominated their respective
national  markets  and  hindered  the  negotiating  power  of  the  independent  production
companies  in  Europe.  Lacking  in  size  and  not  holding  the  broadcasting  rights  to  their
programmes, the production companies could not compete with the companies from the
United  States.  The  liberalization  of  the  European  audiovisual  sector  and  the  new
information technologies have encouraged the appearance of channels competing for the
acquisition  of  programmes  able  to  attract  large  audiences44;  this  phenomenon  has
brought about the emergence and development of independent production companies in
Europe:  now  they  can  negotiate  broadcasting  conditions  and,  in  some  cases,  keep  the
rights to their products in order to sell them after a certain time and to try to export them
to other markets.

As  a  consequence  of  this  process  –  which  is  still  in  its  initial  stage  -,  national
programmes  take  up  the  largest  part  of  the  programme  scheduling  of  the  European
networks at maximum viewing times. Fiction products for television made in the United
States are almost always left for other times in the day or for the thematic channels45.

The technological innovations of the last decade have also permitted the appearance of
thematic  channels  distributed  by  cable,  satellite  or  by  hertzian  waves.  In  this  way,  the
television companies from the United States have introduced into European homes their
most  international  models;  news  and  finance  (CNN,  MSNBC  and  Bloomberg),  music
(MTV), documentaries (Discovery and National Geographic) and cartoons (Cartoon and
Disney).

44  See  ARTHUR  ANDERSON  (1998),  The  impact  of  digital  television  on  the  supply  of  programmes,
report for the European Broadcasting Union.
45 See BLAKE, Adian B. (1999), et al., Keeping Baywatch at Bay, in McKinsey Quarterly, No. 4, 18-27.

35

                                                
Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

These  “niche”  channels,  although  not  reaching  huge  audiences,  can  have  an  influence
on  the  mentality,  values  and  culture  of  European  citizens.  On  the  other  hand,  the
presence of European programmes or channels in the United States is almost marginal.

In the communications field, the most relevant effect of technological innovation in the
last years  has been the appearance and  development of Internet. In this area, too, the
United  States  finds  itself  as  the  clear  leader,  both  in  the  number  of  people  who  have
access to the Net (60% against 20% of Europeans) and in the access providers, surfing
systems and portal providers46.

Table 4

Share of total admissisons by country of origin of films

Films from .....
USA
Europe
Belgium
Denmark
France
Germany
Italy
Spain
Netherlands
Sweden
UK
Norway
Switzerland

USA
92,1%
70,0%
78,3%
45,3%
56,8%
76,5%
62,1%
72,1%
78,2%
43,0%
80,8%
65,6%
69,8%

Europe
3,6%
19,7%
9,3%
37,8%
24,9%
15,6%
29,3%
19,0%
13,6%
51,4%
13,5%
27,3%
14,0%

neg. = negligible, not zero but less than 0,05%
Source: Screen Digest IV 2000

France
0,3%
5,0%
4,3%

19,2%
0,2%
1,5%
1,1%
0,6%

0,3%

Germany
0,1%
1,8%
0,3%

0,1%
8,9%
neg.

0,3%

0,1%

Spain

1,8%
neg.

0,1%

neg.
10,3%
0,2%

neg.

Italy
0,7%
3,4%
0,4%

0,6%
1,2%
21,1%
4,0%
0,1%

0,6%
2,3%
2,4%

UK Hong Kong
0,3%
0,1%

Japan
neg.
0,1%
0,1%

0,4%

neg.

neg.

neg.

neg.
0,4%
neg.

0,3%

0,1%

2,5%
6,3%
1,8%
5,3%
3,9%
4,9%
6,0%
3,4%
7,9%
12,0%
12,5%
8,2%
10,0%

In any case, the greatest imbalance between Europe and the United States is found in the
cinema industry. The number and the average budget of films produced each year, the
“international”  stamp  of  the  actors  and  actresses  who  work  for  the  Hollywood
production  companies,  the  market  quota  reached  by  North  American  productions  in
Europe,  and  the  control  exercised  by  the  large  distributors  allow  us  to  state  that  –  as
reflected in Table 4 – the European cinema sector is colonized by companies from the
United States.

The United States also holds a position of leadership in the advertising industry, to the
point that  a communication company can not consider  itself  truly  global  if  it  does  not
have an important presence in that market. The report World Advertising Trends 2001
provides  some  interesting  figures:  in  1990,  advertising  spending  in  the  United  States
and  Canada  reached  a  quota  of  43.5%  of  the  world  market;  the  European  percentage
was set at 32.6% and that of Asia/Pacific at 21.2%.

Ten  years  later,  the  figures  showed  a  similiar  picture:  the  market  quotas  of
USA/Canada, Europe and Asia/Pacific were of 43.7%, 29.8% and 19.2% respectively;
the rest  of  the countries slightly increased  their market quota during the decade at the
expense of Europe and Asia/Pacific, whilst North America consolidated its leadership47.

46 See e Marketer (I.2001).
47 European Advertising & Media Forecast (IV.2001), Vol 15, no. 2, 5.

36

                                                
Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

A large part of the North American media’s competitive advantage in the audiovisual area and
Internet originates in their supremacy in the advertising industry and the level of technological
development.  But  the  size  of  the  country’s  companies  also  plays  a  key  role.  In  the  following
section we shall analyse company concentration which has been the tendency of the European
and North American audiovisual industry, especially since 1990.

4.2 Globalisation and concentration in the communications sector

In  the  last  decade  of  the  twentieth  century,  the  total  value  of  company  mergers  and
takeovers on a worldwide scale tripled, reaching the figure of 3.5 trillion dollars in the
year 2000.  Of  this amount, nearly  40%  were of the “technology,  communications  and
telecommunications companies”  sector48. Many of these concentration operations have
been  financed  by  overvalued  shares  in  the  securities  markets;  in  the  last  months,  the
stock-market crises have produced a slowing down in the mergers and takeovers “fever”
of the last few years49.

Despite this, from 1990 when regulation on mergers and takeovers came into effect, the
concentration operations of “European Community dimension”  continued to grow: from
the  12  cases  studied  in  that  year  the  figure  had  reached  345  by  200050.  In  the
communications media area, the two emblematic concentration operations of that year
were carried out by America Online, which took control of Time Warner, and Vivendi
which acquired Universal.

The  novelty  of  this wave  of  mergers  and  takeovers lies  in  both  the  magnitude  and
their  geographical  scope;  large  companies  increasingly  obtain  their  earnings  outside
their national markets: by means of subsidiary companies, establishing agreements with
local partners or through concentration operations they have penetrated other countries.
The communications sector has been one of the main “spearheads”  of these strategies of
international expansion.

As  has  already  been  described  in  the  introduction,  a  number  of  diverse  legal,
technological and commercial factors are driving the globalisation of markets forward:

In  the  first  place,  the  legal  barriers  between  countries  are  disappearing,  owing  both  to
the  development  of  supranational  political  and  economic  communities  and  to
international agreements on free trade.
In  the  second  place,  the  new  technologies  –  especially  Internet  and  satellite
transmissions-  present  a  challenge  to  national  limits;  also,  technological  convergence
favours  agreements  and  pacts  between  communications  media,  computer  technology
and telecommunications companies.
Finally,  managers  of  the  most  profitable  companies  opt  for  different  forms  of
competing,  so  that  their  presence  in  new  markets  allows  them  to  take  advantage  of
business opportunities, increase the value of their brands and lead them to benefit from
the new synergies and scale economies.

48 Thomson Financial Securities Data, I.2001.
49 The great merger wave breaks in The Economist, 27.I.2001.
50 See http://europa.eu.int/comm/competition/mergers/cases/stats.html

37

                                                
Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

To a certain extent, these factors generating changes in the markets are related to certain
milestones which took place around 1990: the fall of the Berlin wall (which affected the
political  climate),  the  birth  of  the  World  Trade  Organisation  (economic  area)  and  the
development of Internet (technological area).

In that same period, the directors of the largest communications companies reaffirmed
their decision to compete on a global scale. By means of mergers, takeovers, pacts and
launching  new  products,  the  most  dynamic  and  innovative  seek  scale  economies,
international  presence,  diversification  of  risk,  generation  of  synergies  and  business
opportunities in less mature markets51.

Globalisation implies that the organisations which are the biggest, quickest off the mark
and most efficient will dominate the international stage. Those corporations are usually
found  in  large,  highly  competitive  markets  with  high  consumption  levels  and  with  a
long tradition of respect for the free market.

In the communications field we should reflect on:
What is the degree of globalisation or participation of foreign capital in the ownership
of the main companies of each country;
To what extent does economic dominance – in sectors such as daily press, magazines,
radio,  television,  advertising,  film  distribution,  the  publishing  sector  or  the  music
industry imply a risk of cultural dominance.

4.3 “Domination” in the global communications market: Europe and the United States

In  order  to  analyse  the  first  of  these  two  issues  –  the  growing  globalisation  of  the
communications  industry  and  its  effects  on  the  European  market,  we  will  study  the
commercial balance of audiovisual production between the EU and the United States
(which is the chief importer and exporter from Europe in this sector). We will not look
at exports and imports Europe-USA in other areas of communications such as the radio
industry or print media because of their relative unimportance.

Having  examined  commercial  relations  between  Europe  and  the  US,  the  difficulties
faced  by  each  one  of  the  European  countries  in  the  defence  of  their  own  cultural
identities  will  be  identified.  In  that  context,  the  most  important  problems  will  be
pinpointed: sectors particularly subject to the presence of foreign capital and additional
risks of cultural dominance faced by smaller countries.

the
The  European  Audiovisual  Observatory  provides  comprehensive  data  on 
audiovisual industries in the US and the EU up to 1998. As reflected in Table 5, during
the  decade  previous  to  that  year,  the  EU  commercial  deficit  compared  to  the  US
multiplied  by  3.3  until  reaching  a  relation  of  1  to  10  in  favour  of  US  audiovisual
companies.

51 See Woodhull, Nancy J. and Robert W. Snyder (eds.) (1998), Media Mergers, Transaction Publishers,
New Brunswick (NJ).

38

                                                
Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

Table 5

Estimates of the trade in audiovisual programmes between the European Union and North America / 1988-1998

D
S
U
s
n
o
i
l
l
i

M

10000

8000

6000

4000

2000

0

-2000

-4000

-6000

-8000

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

Source: European Audiovisual Observatory (2000)

North American revenues in European Union European revenues in North America Net

In  the  audiovisual  area,  the  European  commercial  deficit,  in  contrast  to  the  US,
reached a record figure of 6.607 million dollars in 1998. (Table 6). This amount refers
to the exportation and importation of audiovisual programmes –especially feature films
and  television  series-  and  excludes  earnings  generated  by  North  American  channels
distributed by cable and satellite television platforms.

39

 
Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

Table 6

Estimates of the trade in audiovisual programmes between the European Union and North
America / 1993-1998

Sales of US companies
in the European Union
market (broadcasters
not included)
MPA - Theatrical rental
AFMA - Theatrical sales
MPA - TV rental
AFMA - TV sales
MPA - Video rental
AFMA - Video sales

Millions USD

1993
990
217
1.400
325
1.500
210

1994
1.001
198
1.508
313
1.713
153

1995
1.001
177
1.655
407
1.930
162

1996
1.155
237
2.202
443
2.026
198

1997
1.188
306
2.319
473
2.030
242

1998
1.405
329
2.611
576
2.034
358

1998/97
18%
8%
13%
22%
0%
48%

TOTAL

4.642

4.886

5.331

6.262

6.558

7.313

12%

Estimates of European
revenues in North America

Total GB revenues

343

452

425

498

536

550

3%

Film company revenue
TV company revenue
Total revenue for
non-British companies
revenue for French films

revenue for French
TV-producers
revenue for German
film distributors
other European revenues e

270
73
86

8

~

7

71

348
105
113

14

75

7

18

343
83
92

10

46

16

20

422
77
115

10

84

1

20

343
193
132

32

73

8

20

350
200
156

~

2%
4%
18%

~

113

54%

13

30

68%

-

TOTAL

429

565

517

613

668

706

6%

Difference in revenue
European Union/
North-America

Deficit

-4.213 -4.320 -4.814 -5.649 -5.890 -6.607

12%

Source: European Audiovisual Observatory (2000)

40

Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

The  trade  balance  is  highly  unfavourable  for  the  European  sector  of  audiovisual
production; but, also, over several decades the imbalance has tended to become worse:
in the sixties, European films in a foreign language took 5% of box office earnings in
the US52. The present figure is around 0.5%. In the year 2000, total revenue for films in
a  foreign  language  was  only  29  million  dollars  (174.293.51  euros);  although  it  was  a
year with the most new films53, it reached its lowest figure since 1995 (Table 7).

Table 7

Films

120

90

60

30

U.S. Box Office of Foreign-Language Films Released Stateside

79$

53$

45$

31$

32$

116

29$

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

These  such  negative  figures  for  the  European  industry  are  generated  even  with  the
protection  and  promotion  systems  of  the  audiovisual  production  which  are  carried  out
both  in  the  European  Community  sphere  as  well  as  in  the  Member  States,  which

Source: ACNielsen, EDI and Variety

52 Dale, Martin (1992), Europa, Europa. Developing the European Film Industry, Académie Carat-Media
Business School, Paris.
53 Speaking in Tounges in Variety, 19-25.II.2001.

41

                                                
Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

establish  screen  quotas,  aid  for  film  production  and  distribution  and  other  support
mechanisms for the audiovisual industry of each country.

Also in those years, a good number of European directors, screen writers and actors –
and some producers- gained notable success in the United States. Therefore, it does not
appear  that  the  lack  of  competitiveness  of  the  European  audiovisual  industry  has
anything  to  do  with  a  supposed  lack  of  talent  and  creativity  of  professionals  in  the
sector.

Europe is the main destination for the exportations of the audiovisual companies in the
US: as shown in Table 8, 57% of revenue obtained by these companies abroad comes
from  the  EU.  The  growing  importance  of  the  European  market  for  North  American
companies  explains  that  the  most  ambitious  productions  are  conceived  and  made
bearing in mind not just the domestic market but also the EU. Studio management and
the biggest production companies therefore give priority to products which have greater
possibilities of adapting to the tastes of European citizens.

Table 8

Foreign revenues of the US audiovisual programme industry / 1998

Millions USD

Western Europe
Eastern and Central Europe
Latin America
Asia Pacific
Canada
Others

Theatrical Home Video

Television

Total

1810
88
337
717
193
352

2406
70
276
896
473
245

3234
219
370
581
275
393

7450
376
983
2194
941
990

Total

3.496

4.366

5.071

12.933

Source: European Audiovisual Observatory (2000)

In Europe, one of the main problems for counteracting the power of the North American
audiovisual  industry  stems  from market  fragmentation.  Few  films  and  television
programmes  obtain  high  revenues  in  European  countries  different  to  where  they  have
been produced.

In any case, the picture is far from uniform in the EU. A first differential factor refers to
linguistic issues:  it is easier for Great Britain to export to the United States and Spanish
productions  are  increasing  in  number  in  television  channels  in  Latin  America.  In
contrast,  languages  from  other  countries  are  barely  spoken  outside  their  national
borders.
Size is the second key element conditioning the competitive capacity of the audiovisual
industry  of  each  country.  Germany  and  Great  Britain  make  up  50%  of  the  European
audiovisual market. If we add to these three more countries –France, Italy and Spain-,
the figure rises to 86%. None of the other ten countries of the EU exceeds the 2% of the
European audiovisual market (Table 9). As will be subsequently pointed out, these

42

Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

differences  of  size  explain  –  in  part  the  presence  of  foreign  European  capital  in  the
audiovisual companies of the EU.

Table 9

Size of the audiovisual markets of the European Union / 1997-1998

In million EURO

GR
1%

GB
25%

IE
1%

IT
10%

LU
1%

NL
2%

FR
19%

FI
1%

DE
25%

ES
7%

DK
1%

PT
1%

SE
2%

AT
2%

BE
2%

Source: European Audiovisual Observatory (2000)

4.4  The  communications  industry  in  the  Member  States:  presence  of  foreign
capital in the leading companies of each sector

In the nineties, the European expansion of the communications groups has been closely
related to audiovisual liberalisation, the weakening of international legal barriers and the
high levels of consumption and advertising investment. These particular variables make
up a special picture for the media in Europe, where the interests of more consolidated
sectors  –  press,  radio  and  television-  interact  with  younger  sectors  new  technologies,
pay television and new modes of entertainment-, creating a climate of global strategies
with large investments of foreign capital. The activity of the European communications
groups in other member countries is one of the most significant variables to be able to
understand the structure of the communications market.
With the aim of approximating the study to the object of the report, the sectors of the
communications  industry  analysed  fulfil  a  constant  rule:  their  direct  contact  with  the
public. The end user media are the first line of culture that citizens come up against54:
newspapers covering general news, economic magazines, magazines, publishers, radio,
non-pay  television,  pay  television,  film  distribution,  music  industry  and  advertising

54 Tables 7-17 have been compiled using information provided by national analysts  (See Appendix 1),
who have used the most reliable sources in their respective markets.

43

                                                
Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

agencies.  The  analysis  has  also  made  a  special  study,  which  has  proved  highly
revealing, of the consumption of web sites on the Internet.

Excluded from  the quantitative  analysis, therefore, are the communications companies
which  supply  content  to  other  media  and  not  directly  to  the  public,  such  as  news
agencies and audiovisual production companies. Neither do we study some interesting
models such as cultural journals owing to the impossibility of obtaining reliable data on
circulation,  ownership  and  degree  of  market  concentration  in  the  greater  part  of  the
Member States of the EU.

To sum up, the focus of this report is to try and identify the possible risks which the European
communications industry may have to deal with. It has been found that in the traditional sectors
– that is, press, radio and television- there does not exist a problem of a predominant presence of
foreign  capital,  excepting  those  countries  of  smaller  size  which  share  a  language  with  a
neighbouring country. However, these appraisals are transformed when attention is turned to the
entertainment industry and the new technologies.

With the opening up of Europe’s television markets, the audiovisual industry underwent
a  profound  transformation:  many  small  countries  –unable  to  cope  with  such  a  vast
market-  were  absorbed  by  others  of  greater  size;  the  national  channels  sought  foreign
partners  for  the  creation  of  scale  economies  and  business  synergies,  in  areas  such  as
technological  innovation  or  advertising  circulation.  At  present,  a  ferment  has  been
stirred up which is even more susceptible to change. For example, the granting of new
licences  for  land  or  satellite  television,  the  privatisation  of  telecommunications,  the
creation  of  new  windows  of  distribution  of  audiovisual  and  musical  contents  or  the
interactive  offer  are  processes  which  are  revolutionising  the  companies’  strategic
spaces.

Heavy  capital  investment,  technological  confidence  supplied  by  qualified  and
experienced  personnel,  an  offer  of  attractive  and  exclusive  contents,  corporate
communication on a global scale and versatile advertising distribution networks are now
what is required. That is, a high risk environment without the possibilities of profit in
the short term where few national companies risk their line of natural business, and see
as  inevitable  the  alliance  with  groups  from  other  countries  who  risk  their  capital  and
have  more  experience  in  the  new  media  sector55.  The  latter  would  be  the  case  of  the
French  multinational  Vivendi  Universal  or  the  digital  platform  of  News  Corporation,
BskyB.  The  new  technologies,  satellite  television,  the  music  industry  and  the  cinema
industry are where most of foreign capital investment is found as shown in the tables 7
– 17 - giving rise to the supposed threat to cultural diversity. These latter sectors are the
most subject to economic, technological and cultural globalisation.

Four levels of the presence of foreign capital may be distinguished. In the first line are
the  most  extended  markets,  with  heavy  investment  in  advertising  and  a  high  media
consumption, such as Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, France and Spain. The best
companies  in  these  markets  invest  part  of  their  capital  in  countries  where  they  share
language,  culture  or  proximity.  These  are  followed  by  countries  with  smaller  markets
such  as  Holland,  Sweden  and  Denmark.  Swedish  and  Danish  investments  have
expanded in the Scandinavian area and the Dutch in the Netherlands area. In third place

55  The  world 
http://www.idate.fr/maj/qdn/an-01/if175-20010315/index_a.html

television  market, 

film  and 

in 

IDATE  NEWS,  No.  175,  15.03.2001,

44

                                                
Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

are  found  the  up  and  coming  markets  but,  because  they  share  a  common  language,
receive  a  lot  of  capital  investment  from  a  neighbouring  country,  such  as  the  case  of
Ireland  with  England,  French-speaking  Belgium  with  France  and  Flemish-speaking
Belgium  with  Holland,  Austria  and  Switzerland  with  Germany  or  –in  a  certain  sense-
Finland and Norway with Sweden. In last place, countries with a less developed media
structure,  such  as  Portugal,  are  promising  markets  for  the  international  expansion  of
large European communications groups. The countries belonging to the last two groups
have greater difficulties in preserving their respective cultural identities.

From the business point of view, in the countries of the first group –Germany, United
Kingdom,  France,  Spain  and  Italy-  the  native  companies  that  led  the  sectors  of  press,
radio  and  television  have  reinforced  their  natural  position.  In  the  nineties,  the  big
newspaper  publishers  diversified  their  assets  towards  the  audiovisual  market;  that
strategy was facilitated by the granting of new private channels for land television. The
competitive  advantage  of  these  media  –based  on  experience,  time  and  the  intangible
values of brand name- brought about the formation of a media structure of oligopolies at
a national level. The  governments reinforced their anti-monopoly laws and the groups
saw themselves forced to strengthen their international expansion.

In  the  sector  of  daily  newspapers  (Table  10)  national  publishers  predominate  in  the
leading positions of every country. In some cases this is a mature market, dominated by
family concerns which have diversified their business and have managed to hinder the
entry  of  new  competitors.  The  leading  company  with  the  least  market  quota  of  the
sector  in  Europe,  Prisa,  has  nearly  16%  of  the  total  market  in  general  news  in  Spain.
The  leading  company  which  dominates  with  the  greatest  margin  is  found  in  French-
speaking  Belgium:  Rossel  &  Cie,  with  52  percent  of  the  total  linguistic  space,  is
controlled moreover by the French publisher, Socpresse, with 40 percent of its capital.
The daily newspaper market of French-speaking Belgium is one of the five cases of the
presence of foreign capital in leading companies in the sector. The most clamorous case
is  that  of  News  International,  flagship  of  the  Australian-North  American  magnate,
Rupert  Murdoch,  which  dominates  the  British  market  with  its  unusual  combination  of
opposites The Times-The Sun.

Table 10

Leaders of the daily press
Country
Germany
Austria
Belgium (Fl)
Belgium(Fr)
Denmark
Spain
France
Finland
Holland
Norway
Portugal
Sweden
United Kingdom

Company
Axel Springer
Mediaprint
V.U.M.
Rossel & Cie
Berlingske
Prisa
Groupe Amaury
Sanoma Corp.
Wegenger
Schibsted
Portugal Telecom.
Bonnier
News International 35.6

Market quota (%) Foreign capital (%)-Origen
23.6
50.2
42.2
52
24
15.7
29.3
25
32
34
45.3
26

0
50 (WAZ) AL
0
40 (Socpresse) –  FR
87.9 –  NO
0
0
0
0
9
75 (Stock exchange)
0
 100 (News Corp.) –  USA

45

Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

Ireland
Italy

Indep. Newspapers 47.5
19.5
RCS Editori

0
0

Source: School of Public Communication. University of Navarra

The  economic  press  sector  has  grown  up  in  the  environment  of  an  internationalized
economy  (Table  11).  Its  evolution  and  structure  depend  on  world  economic  events,
which have to be covered urgently and precisely. Perhaps because the great engines of
the world economy are from the Anglo-Saxon sphere, it is usually said that the economy
speaks  English.  In  this  sector,  Pearson  (UK)  and  Dow  Jones  (US)  are  the  undisputed
leaders. The Wall Street  Journal  and The Financial Times  represent  the  summit  of  all
the economic news sector, characterised by a high level of concentration. In Europe, the
leader  with  the  least  market  quota  reaches  almost  50  percent.  Knowledge  of  the
business,  brand  prestige,  financial  capacity  and  the  need  for  reliable  and  exclusive
sources raises the number of international agreements with privileged partners, such as
the  previously  mentioned  Pearson  and  Dow  Jones.  It  can  be  stated  that  this  sector,
within that of the traditional media, is one of the most influenced by globlalization.

Table 11

Leaders in the economic press
Country
Germany
Austria
Belgium( Fl)
Belgium (Fr)

Company
Handelsblatt
Wirtschaftsblatt
Tijd Nv
Editeco

Market quota(%)
72.6
100
100
100

66.4
60
58.8
82
100

Erhverus Bladet
Recoletos
Les Echos
Alma Media
Sijthoff
Dagens Neringsliv 78
Media Capital
Bonnier

Denmark
Spain
France
Finland
Holland
Norway
Portugal
Sweden
United Kingdom Financial Times
Sunday Bs. Post
Ireland
Il Sole 24 Ore
Italy
* HTMF: USA. Bavaria: Colombia.

100
-
87
n. a.
100

Foreign capital (%)-Origin
22 (Dow Jones) – USA
0
0
5.6  (Socpresse,  via  Rossel)  –
FR
0
71 (Pearson) – UK
100 (Pearson) – UK
23
0
0
37.1 (HTMF)+ 22.9 (Bavaria)*
0
0
100 (Trinity) – USA
0

Source: School of Public Communication. University of Navarra

A similiar phenomenon occurs in the magazines sector, where Bertelsmann (Germany)
and  Hachette  (France)  are  the  European  market  leaders  (Table  12).  In  these  sectors  a
necessity has become a strength: the creation of synergies in contents, advertising and
technology with other foreign groups, in order to optimize resources and diversify risks.
Always in need of attractive contents, high quality technical material and international
contacts  in  culture,  cinema,  sports  and  society,  the  magazines  usually  belong  to
international  networks  which  exploit  them  in  different  markets.  Germany,  France  and
Holland  own  distribution  networks  of  magazines  with  an  international  presence.
Hachette  Filpacchi  (France),  G+J  Bauer  (Germany),  VNU  (Netherlands)  and  RCS
(Italy) are some of the strongest companies.

46

Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

The  magazine  market  has  received  heavy  foreign  capital  investment  because  of  the
rapid  expansion  of  demand  in  specialized  sectors.  For  the  companies,  growth  brings
them the advantages of scale economies. They print the same titles in different countries
and  save  costs  on  marketing,  content  creation  or  research  and  development.  The
geographical  areas  with  close  cultural  ties  also  encourage  the  creation  of  extended
editorial  distribution  networks,  such  as  VNU  for  the  Netherlands  or  Bonnier  for  the
Scandinavian area.

Table 12

Foreign capital (%)-Origen
0
0
100 (Stock exchange)*
0
0

Leaders in magazines
Country
Germany
Austria
Belgium (Fl)
Belgium (Fr)
Denmark
Spain
France
Finland
Holland
Norway
Portugal
Sweden
United Kingdom IPC Magazines
Ireland
Italy
*  Only  weekly  editions  are  considered.  VNU’s  capital  is  invested  in  the  stock  exchange:
30% UK, 16% HO, 18% US, 12% BE, 7% GR, 11% Others.

Quota(%)
Company
22.2
Bauer
20.7
Die ganze Woche
48.2*
Mediaxis (VNU)
n. a.
Test - Achats
13.8
Familie Journalem
16.7
Hachette Filipacchi
Hachette Filipacchi
20
Yhtyneet Kuvalehdet 29
56
VNU
15.2
Se & Hor
n. a.
Impresa (ACJ)
29
Carl Aller
n. a.
n. a.
34.7

33 (Stock exchange)
0
78
100 – DK
36.4 (Stock exchange)
100

RTE
Mondadori

0
0

Source: School of Public Communication. University of Navarra

In  order  to  follow  the  trail  of  the  flow  of  foreign  capital  it  is  essential  to  make  a
comparison  with  the  publishing  industry  (Table  13).  The  majority  of  the  large
publishing  companies  are  a  result  of  the  vertical  integration  between  press,  editorial
production  and  distribution.  Bertelsmann  in  Germany,  Havas  in  France,  Sanoma  in
Finland, Mondadori in Italy or Bonnier in Sweden play the role of newspaper publishers
that  use  their  business  for  the  production  of  other  publications.  The  predominance  of
Bertelsmann  goes beyond  German  borders to  reach as far as the United Kingdom and
Portugal,  also  as  leader  in  the  publishing  market  and  always  as  one  of  the  best  in  the
magazine market.

47

Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

Table 13

Leaders in the book industry

Country
Germany
Austria

Market quota (%)
11.5

Foreign capital (%)-Origen
0

Company
Bertelsmann
Uster.
Bundesverlag
Wolters – Kluwer
**
Pyldendal
Planeta
Havas (VUP)
WSOY / Sanoma
Wolters – Kluwer
Aschehoug
Bertelsmann
Bonnier

0

n. a. *

100 (Holland)

Belgium (Fl)
Belgium (Fr)
Denmark
Spain
France
Finland
Holland
Norway
Portugal
Sweden
United Kingdom Random House
Ireland
Italy
* 5.782.414.115. This figure represents all the activities of Wolters Kluwers, not only its publishing
business. Figures from 1999
** There are no significant figures for this market in Belgium (FR)

n. a.
n. a.
30
45
10
27
n. a.
n.a.
8.6
Gill & Macmillam n. a.
Mondadori

0
0
65
0
100
0
 100 (Bertelsmann) – GR
49 (Macmillan) – UK
0

Source: School of Public Communication. University of Navarra

In Europe, leadership in radio and television is held, almost without exception, by the
public channels. The particular nature of these companies means that foreign capital is
not  allowed  to  be  present  in  its  body  of  shareholders.  As  a  result,  the  leaders  in  both
sectors (Tables 14 and 15) are those which receive the least foreign capital in the whole
industry. In radio, of the seventeen markets studied, twelve are dominated by a public
company.  Only  the  Contact  Group  (French-speaking  Belgium)  allows  the  entry  of
foreign  capital  to  RTL,  which  belongs  to  Bertelsmann.  In  the television  sector  in
Europe,  thirteen  of  the  countries  studied  have  a  public  television  channel  as  leader.
None of the leader companies receives foreign capital, with the exception of Impresa in
Portugal with a third of its capital in the stock exchange.

48

Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

Table 14

Leaders in radio

Company
ARD
ORF
VRT
Group Contact
DR
SER
NRJ
YLE
NOS
NRK
Radio Renascença
SR

Country
Germany
Austria
Belgium (Fl)
Belgium (Fr)
Denmark
Spain
France
Finland
Holland
Norway
Portugal
Sweden
United Kingdom BBC
RTE
Ireland
RAI
Italy

Market quota(%) % of foreign capital
50.7
80
83.8
24.5
66
41
30.1
60
49
58
26.9
55
51.4
49
16.8

0 – public
0 – public
0 – public
35 (RTL Group) – AL
0 – public
0
0
0 – public
0 – public
0 – public
0
0 – public
0 – public
0 – public
0 – public

Source: School of Public Communication. University of Navarra

Table 15

Leaders in television
Country
Germany
Austria
Belgium (Fl)
Belgium (Fr)
Denmark
Spain
France

Finland
Holland
Norway
Portugal
Sweden
United Kingdom
Ireland
Italy

Company
ARD
ORF
VMM
RTBF
TV2
RTVE
France
Télévision
YLE
NOS
NRK
Impresa
SVT
BBC
RTE
RAI

Market quota (%) % of foreign capital
27
56
34.5
25
36.4
32.4
43

0 – public
0 – public
0
0 – public
0 – public
0 – public
0 – public

43
39
30
47.9
44
38.5
48
46.1

0 – public
0 – public
0 – public
36.4 (Stock exchange)
0 – public
0 – public
0 – public
0 – public

Source: School of Public Communication. University of Navarra

In contrast, in the pay television European market it is extremely interesting to note how
the new companies which require a developed technology and large injections of capital
end up being controlled by very large foreign companies (Table 16). The supremacy of
groups such a Vivendi Universal (France) and British Sky Broadcasting (U.S.A –U.K.)
is  notable.  These  two  companies  have  satellite  distribution  channels  and  thanks  to
strategic  movements  –  such  as  pacts  and  mergers  –  have  achieved  contents  which  are
high in demand.

49

Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

Vivendi,  through  Channel  +,  controls  the  Belgian,  Spanish,  French,  Finnish,  Dutch,
Norwegian  and  Italian  markets.  Whilst  BskyB  (British  Sky  Broadcasting)  is  leader  in
Germany and Austria through Premiere World – associated with the German company
Kirch  Group  –  and  directly  in  the  United  Kingdom  and  Ireland.  News  Corporation
controls most of BskyB’s capital and Universal has found the perfect partner in Vivendi
for distributing its fiction contents through its different platforms. What appeared to be
the  landing  of  a  European  company  in  the  U.S.  could  become  a  new  channel  for
distributing contents made in America.

Financial capacity, content exclusivity and scale economies are the main bulwarks of these large
companies. The structure of the ownership of pay television in Europe reflects the problems of
compatibility  between  a  strong  internal  market  –  able  to  compete  with  the  Americans  and
Japanese  –  and  an  optimum  environment  for  cultural  diversity  in  the  area  of  high  quality
audiovisual contents.

Table 16

Company
Premiere World
Premiere World
Canal Plus Belgium
Canal +
n. a.
Sogecable
Canal +
Canal +
Canal +
Canal +
SporTV
MTG
BSkyB

Leaders in pay television
Country
Germany
Austria
Belgium (Fl)
Belgium (Fr)
Denmark
Spain
France
Finland
Holland
Norway
Portugal
Sweden
United
Kingdom
Ireland
Italy
*140,000 Subscribers
** In 2000, Canal + had 3000.000 subscribers. Other offers for pay through cable were still at an
initial stage with very few subscribers.

Foreign capital (%)-Origen
30.2 (22% de BskyB) – UK
100 (22% de BskyB) – UK
100 (Canal +) – FR
100 (Canal +) – FR
n.a.
20 (Canal +) – FR
0
100 (Canal +) – FR
100 (Canal +) – FR
100 (Canal +) – FR
33.3 (Portugal Telecom.)
0
38 (News Corp.) – AUS

Market quota (%)
n. a.
100
100*
100
n.a.
84
78.5
n. a.
90**
n. a.
n. a.
n. a.
52.2

100 (BSkyB) – UK
100 (Canal +) – FR

BSkyB
Tele +

n.a.
70

Source: School of Public Communication. University of Navarra

The  music  industry  and  the  cinema  film  industry  are  paradigms  of  the  United  States’
supremacy  in  European  entertainment.  Buenavista,  Warner  Bros.,  United  International
Pictures  and  Fox  Films  control  the  European  cinema  distribution  market.  (Table  17)
with  notable  margins  of  difference.  Batch  distribution,  the  consortiums  amongst  the
large  majors,  the  huge  size  of  the  Hollywood  industry  and  the  absence  of  a  strong
business  fabric  in  Europe  means  that  there  is  no  effective  competition  from  European
cinema.

50

Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

Table 17

Leaders in cinema film distribution (selected countries)
Country
Germany
Spain
France
Sweden
Ireland
* Figures from 1999

Company
Quota(%)
UIP
21.7
16.4
Buenavista
Gaumont Buenavista 18.8
Fox Films
U.I.P

27
25

Foreign capital (%)-Origen
100 (UIP) – USA
100 (Buenavista) – USA
50 (Buenavista) – USA
100 (Fox) – USA
100 (UIP) – USA

Source: School of Public Communication. University of Navarra

The  presence  of  foreign  capital  in  the  leaders  of  each  country  in  the  European  music
industry is also highly significant. Warner, Sony and Universal – which Polygram also
directs– are the big distributors and they control a good slice of the market (Table 18).
The  German  company  Bertelsmann  Music  Group  (BMG)  occupies  first  place  in  its
national  market  and  an  important  position  in  the  rest  of  the  countries.  These  last  few
months  have  been  witness  to  a  surge  of  approaches  and  offers  amongst  the  music
distribution  companies;  nobody  wishes  to  lose  their  place  in  the  network  and  the
technological  companies  expect  to  sign  agreements  with  owner  companies  for
broadcasting rights.

Table 18

Quota (%)
n. a.
25.6*

Leaders in the music industry (selected countries)
Country
Germany
Belgium (Fl)
Spain
France
Finland
Holland
Norway
Portugal
Sweden
United Kingdom
*Figures from 1999
** Quota on albums sold

Company
BMG
Universal
Universal
Universal
Warner Music
Universal
Polygram
Universal
Sony Music
Universal

35
14
27
21
21.8
20
24**

Foreign capital (%)-Origen
0
100 (Vivendi Universal) –  FR
100 (Vivendi Universal) –  FR
100 (Vivendi Universal) –  FR
100 (Warner) –  USA
100 (Vivendi Universal) –  FR
100 (Vivendi Universal) –  FR
100 (Vivendi Universal) –  FR
100 (Sony) –  JP
100 (Vivendi Universal) –  FR

Source: School of Public Communication. University of Navarra

The  concentration  of  the  advertising  market  began  in  the  nineteen  sixties  and  has
become  more  accentuated  in  the  last  decade.  The  world  corporations  dominate  the
market; the need for a global strategy – proper to the nature of the advertising business
–  underlines  even  more  its  concentration.  (Table  19).  Buying  advertising  space  in  the
communications  media  increasingly  entails  a  strategy  which  places  agencies  from
different countries in connection with transnational media groups. Both processes mean
that small companies are absorbed by larger ones, so that the global advertising stage is
dominated  by  a  dozen  of  macro-corporations  such  as  Ogilvy  and  Matter,  Saaatchi  &
Saatchi, McCann or Grey Advertising.

51

Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

Table 19

Leaders in advertising (selected countries)
Company
Country
BBDO
Germany
O&M Group
Belgium
Grey Com.
Denmark
Mc Cann Erickson
Spain
Havas Advertising
France
Sek & Grey
Finland
BBDO Netherlands
Holland
n.a.
Norway
Mc Cann Erickson
Portugal
n.a.
Sweden
United Kingdom Abbott Mead Vickers
Ireland
Italy
* 1,146 million BEF (98)
** 93.1 million of Dutch
***55 million pounds
****$97.8 million

Mc Connells
Armando Testa

Quota (%)
17.4
*
n. a.
n. a.
25
11
**
n.a.
7.1
n.a.

***
****

Foreign capital (%)-Origen
100 (BBDO) – US
100 (Ogilvy) – US
100 (Grey) – US
100 - US
80 (Bolsa, 44 de Snyder y Putnan)
22 (Grey Com.) – US
100 (BBDO) – US
n.a.
100 - US
n.a.
100 (BBDO) – Omnicom – US
0
0

Source: School of Public Communication. University of Navarra

As regards the Internet, Microsoft (MSN) and Yahoo have clearly reached a position of
leadership.  Despite  the  difficulties  in  unifying  criteria  for  measuring  audiences  in  the
Internet,  the  presence  of  these  enormous  North  American  companies  in  all  European
countries is well known. In a few countries, however, the telephone company operators
– which are also Internet service providers – have bought national portals which were
very  popular  among  users.  In  this  way,  the  portal  is  re-launched  by  investments  made
by  the  parent  company,  interested  in  creating  added  value.  The  cases  of  Spain
(Telefónica-Terra),  France  (France  Telecom-Wanadoo),  Great  Britain  (BT-Arrakis),
Italy  (Telecom  Italia-Seat  Pagine  Gialle)  and  Germany  (Deutsch  Telekom-T-Online)
represent  examples  of  native  companies  creating  a  small  hurdle  for  the  entry  of  the
North American multinationals (Table 20).

The analysts of Internet consumption have not been able to reach an agreement on the
creation  of  some  standards  for  the  research  of  this  new  medium.  In  general,  the  chief
players of Internet consumption are the following:

  Internet service providers.
  Portals for entertainment and general information.
  Services: electronic commerce, auctions and banking facilities.
  Conventional media – press, radio and television – with an online edition.
  Music or cinema entertainment (by sales or subscription).

Finally, the offer available on the Internet can be grouped into four general fields:

  Information.
  Entertainment.
  Electronic commerce.
  Communication services (chat, e-mail, newsgroup, video conferencing).

52

¨
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¨
¨
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¨
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Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

The  internet  service  providers  (ISP)  usually  integrate  several  of  the  offers  above
mentioned from their own Internet portal. According to the monthly reports of the most
highly  rated  measurement  companies  for  Internet,  the  chief  positions  of  the  ranking
classification  of  each  country  are  generally  held  by  portals  for  general  information,
services  and  entertainment.  Generally,  the  users  also  visit  online  versions  of  leading
conventional media when they require quality general information, but they do not hold
important positions in the ranking classification of Internet consumption.

Table 20*

Quota (%)
49.3

21

Leaders in Internet (selected countries)
Country
Germany
Belgium (Fl)

Company
T-Online
Skynet
(Belgacom)
Jubii
Terra
Wanadoo
Sonera
Ilse (VNU)
SOL
Portugal Telecom 37

Denmark
Spain
France
Finland
Holland
Norway
Portugal
42.1
United Kingdom Yahoo
55.2
Yahoo
Ireland
Seat Pagine Gialle 58.4
Italy

56.4
66.6
63.3
58.3

n. a.

Foreign capital (%)-Origen
0

49 (various)

Lycos – ES
0
0
34 (various)
78 (various)
0
75 (various)
100 (Yahoo) – USA
100 (Yahoo) – USA
0

* Sources: Nielsen NetRatings y Jupiter MMXI, on consumption of Internet in April 2001.

Europe’s situation, then, is heterogeneous as far as the possible influence of some countries in
the  communications  industry  on  other  State  Members  is  concerned.  In  general,  the  small
countries and the less mature sectors are more at risk of outside domination – and, therefore, of
a loss of cultural identity – than the larger countries and the more traditional media sectors.

The  legal  frameworks  vary  considerably  from  one  border  to  another  and  the  same
applies  to  national  preferences.  Each  market  has  its  particular  nuances,  a  result  of
different priorities and factors and a general approach is needed to be able to decipher
all the variables. It seems appropriate that the European Union should attempt to unify,
to  a  certain  extent,  the  legal  framework  in  order  to  consolidate  a  more  homogeneous
structure, 
the
facilitating  action  and 
communications groups of the European Union.

the  business  network  of 

re-vitalizing 

53

Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

54

Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

Chapter  5  –  CULTURAL  DIVERSITY  IN  EUROPEAN  AUDIOVISUAL
PRODUCTION

Having  studied  the  concentration  of  ownership  in  the  communications  media,  we  will
now  proceed  with  an  analysis  of  a  series  of  cultural  values  present  in  European
television programmes. As has been pointed out previously, the study carried out in this
section  will  be  restricted  to  television,  because  it  is  the  medium  with  the  highest
audiences, the greatest consumption time per individual and the greatest investment in
Europe.

Despite a slight overall descent in audiences in the last few years, television continues
to  be  the  dominant  communication  medium  in  the  greater  part  of  Europe,  with  an
average consumption per inhabitant of over three hours a day56.  As  a  consequence,  its
capacity  to  transmit  cultural  values  to  society  is  greater  than  any  other  audiovisual
medium, such as cinema or multimedia programmes.

In the face of the enormous difficulty which would imply an exhaustive analysis of the
programme  contents  of  the  European  channels,  this  study  will  focus  on  two  areas  of
analysis:

 The first section attempts to determine up to what point the contents of programmes
with  the  highest  audience  ratings  run  the  risk  of  being  the  carriers  of  homogenising
cultural values (both North American and other European countries) or do they transmit
national cultural values of their own country. With this objective, two working methods
have been followed:

-  The  information  obtained  in  other  published  studies  is  collected  in  order  to
attempt  to  present  those  facts  which  may  indicate  what  type  of  cultural  values
are transmitted via this medium.

-  This  information  is  completed  by  our  own  study  which  analyses  the  type  of
cultural  values  in  the  programmes  with  the  highest  audience  ratings  in  the
European  television  stations  over  the  periods  of  1995-96,  1997-98  and  1999-
2000.  It  is  practically  impossible  to  measure  the  real  effect  of  television
programmes  on  the  culture  of  a  country.  However,  it  is  clear  that  these
programmes  are  one  of  the  main  ways  for  the  penetration  and  consolidation  of
cultural values in society.

The second section is centred on the treatment of culture in television. Examples
are  presented  of  specifically  cultural  programmes,  which  have  achieved  general
recognition  in  several  European  countries,  and  in  some  cases,  amount  to  “successful
formulas”. The objective of this part of the study consists in identifying, by means of a
qualitative analysis, some criteria for quality which can be used as a frame of reference
for the distribution of culture through television.

56 See Screen Digest (1999), Digital TV fails to boost total viewing, London.

55

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Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

5.1 Analysis of cultural values transmitted in high audience programmes

Up  till  now,  general  television  has  maintained  its  hegemony  as  a  medium  of
consumption  of  information  and  entertainment.  However,  the  progressive  increase  in
the offer, boosted by the appearance of digital platforms, means that in the foreseeable
future there will a decrease in audience levels for traditional television. Meanwhile, the
current situation suggests that the study of the contents of the general networks, with the
object of knowing the type of cultural values they transmit, could be of great interest.

5.1.1. Fiction programme scheduling in Europe according to its provenance

The  statistical  data  available  do  not  allow  us  to  determine  with  certainty  up  to  what
point  television  stations  from  each  European  country  transmit  their  own  national
cultural values, those from other European or from North American countries. There is
no  evidence,  for  example,  of  what  percentage  of  the  programme  scheduling
corresponds,  in  each  country,  to  nationally  produced  or  imported  programmes.
However,  as  has  been  pointed  out,  in  the  whole  of  the  audiovisual  sector  the  trade
balance between Europe and the United States shows a clear imbalance, which allows
us to assume that there is a flow of North American values towards Europe.

One  of  the  most  important  programme  scheduling  areas,  as  far  as  the  transmission  of
cultural  values  is  concerned,  is  undoubtedly  that  of  fiction.  In  this  field,  the  available
data suggest that the  importations of North American programmes into Europe have
significantly  increased  in  latter  years.  In  1999  the  number  of  North  American
programmes shown in Europe was 194.494, about 55% more than five years earlier57.

Table 21

Percentage of national production hours of the total of hours of fiction broadcast (1998)

United Kingdom
Germany
France
Spain
Italy

89%
69%
47%
50%
17%

                Source: Eurofiction

However,  the  situation  varies  from  some  countries  to  others,  according  to  the
Eurofiction report.
One week of monitoring carried out for this study in 1998 revealed that of the total of
fiction  programmes  broadcast  in  some  countries,  such  as  the  United  Kingdom  or
Germany, the greater part were national productions whilst in other countries, such as
Italy, there was a high percentage of imports (Table 21)58.

Of  the  imported  hours  of  fiction,  the  greater  part  are  North  American  productions,
which  rose  from  69.8%  of  the  total  in  1974  to  71.7%  in  1998.  Therefore,  it  may  be
concluded  that  there  is  a  high  degree  of  penetration  of  North  American  programmes
which, moreover, has been maintained over the last quarter of a century.

57 See Pinewood Studios (2000), Essential Television Statistics, London.
58 See European Audiovisual Observatory (2000), Eurofiction. Television Fiction in Europe, Strasbourg.

56

                                                
Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

These  figures  could  lead  us  to  think  that  there  is  a  huge  presence  of  North  American  cultural
values in the programme scheduling of European networks. However, the same study confirms
that  North  American  fiction  has  progressively  occupied  less  space  in  prime  time.  This  fact  is
due  to  the  consolidated  success  of  national  fiction  in  national  programme  scheduling,  the
presence of high audience live broadcasts of sporting events and the increase in the cost of the
rights to North American feature films.

In  latter  years  national  fiction  has  made  significant  progress  in  the  prime  time  of  the
European  networks.  In  1998,  48%  of  these  programmes  were  broadcast  at  this  time
(13% more than the year before). The strength of national production  has allowed for
a  steady  moderate  growth  in  the  whole  of  fiction  production  of  the  main  European
production countries. Within this general tendency, which is constant, there have been
ups and downs. Thus, the combined growth in 1999 was 1.9%, noticeably less than in
previous years (16% in 1996 and 7.7% in 1998). It is also significant that only 6% of the
total  volume  of  fiction  produced  in  1999  were  co-productions  between  entities  of
several European countries59.
Sustained  growth  has  permitted  a  certain  consolidation  of  the  European  audiovisual
sector as a whole, especially in some countries. Some companies have even made timid
incursions  into  the  international  markets.  Some  European  production  companies’
involvement in the development of entertainment programme formats is worthy of note
(Celador,  Endemol,  Pearson  and  Action  Time),  and  have  managed  to  introduce
themselves  into  the  North  American  market,  reversing  the  traditional  direction  of  the
commercial  flow  of  formats  from  North  America  to  Europe.  The  incipient  European
presence  in  the  North  American  market  does  not  imply,  however,  the  transmission  of
European  values,  since  all  television  stations  carry  out  a  process  of  adaptation  of  the
format to the characteristics of their own culture.

5.1.2. Study of cultural values in the highest audience programmes

This study seeks to find out which are the public preferences in each country in order to
analyse, in accordance with the said preferences, a series of indicators of cultural values
transmitted in the programmes. If a programme has a high audience rating, it is assumed
that  it  satisfies  the  viewers’ 
interests  and  needs,  thus  constituting  a  criterion  to
determine  the  level  of  response  obtained  by  a  television  channel60.  Thus,  it  is  also
assumed  that  programmes  with  the  highest  number  of  viewers  will  make  a  significant
contribution to the spreading of cultural values within society.
Taking into account the limitations of this study, we have opted to make a selection of
the  20  programmes  with  highest  audience  ratings  in  each  country  of  the  European
Union, during the television seasons – from September to August – 1995-96, 1997-98
and 1999-200061.

59 See European Audiovisual Observatory (2000), Eurofiction. Television Fiction in Europe, Strasbourg.
60 See Mitchell, J. and Blumber, J.G. (eds.) (1994) Television and the Viewer Interest. Explorations in the
Responsiveness of European Broadcasters, John Libey, London.
61 Luxembourg is not included because it is generally considered as a very particular market in the area of
television  consumption  owing  to  its  small  size  (425.000  inhabitants).  However,  significant  data  on  the
television  market  of  Luxembourg  have  been  collected  which  complement  this  study.  In  those  countries
where  audience  information  is  published  by  the  calandar  year,  the  programmes  selected  are  those  most
watched in the years 1996, 1998 and 2000.

57

                                                
Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

In  preparing  this  study  we  have  borne  in  mind  the  categories  used  by  the  European
Broadcasting Union (EBU) in its statistical analysis system of the production of public
television  in  Europe  from  1981.  The  categories  of  the  EBU  Statistics  Group  (1999)
include nine major categories. This classification has been broadened in order to contain
within the section of “light entertainment”  the genres of quiz and musical programmes,
permitting a more precise identification of the contents of these programmes. We have
also  used  part  of  the  coding  employed  by  the Eurofiction  project  of  the  European
Audiovisual  Observatory,  mentioned  above.  This  coding,  which  is  not  merely
quantitative,  includes  a  series  of cultural indicators that  have  been  adopted.  We  find
included  the  nationality  of  the  main  character,  the  place  where  the  action  takes  place,
the original language of the production and the language it is broadcast in.
Taking into account these categories used in the studies mentioned and with the aim of
evaluating  the  type  of  cultural  values  present  in  each  one  of  the  programmes,  an
analysis schedule was designed made up of four sections (see Appendix 5):
-Broadcast:  It  brings  together  a  series  of  significant  statistical  data,  such  as  the
programme’s  title,  the  duration,  day  and  broadcasting  channel,  audience  share,  total
audience (viewers) and the language it is broadcast in.
-Genre:  A  broad  division  was  adopted,  with  fourteen  categories,  which  allows  the
unequivocal identification of the genre of the programme.
-Production:  The  production  company’s  name,  nationality  and  language  used  are
specified.
-Cultural  indicators:  Included  is  a  brief  description  of  programme  content,  the
nationality of the main character and/or presenter, the place where the action is set and
the  type  of  cultural  values  promoted:  national,  North  American,  other  European
countries or others. For this, the following definition of culture is provided: “the ways
of  thinking,  feeling  and  acting  which  are  shared  by  a  number  of  people  and  help  to
constitute those people into a particular and distinct group”.

In  every  country,  the  information  has  been  gathered  by  a delegate  researcher,  who
corresponds  to  the  profile  of  university  lecturer  or  expert  consultant  in  television
programme scheduling (see Appendix 1).

In  those  sections  where  a  certain  margin  of  subjectivity  is  present,  such  as  that  of  the
predominant  cultural  values  in  a  programme,  in  general  the  evaluation  carried  out  by
each  delegate  has  been  respected.  In  some  cases,  however,  this  evaluation  has  been
modified  in  order  to  use  the  same  criterion  in  all  the  countries.  This  is  the  case,  for
example, of  sports broadcasts, which some  of the researchers  considered  as  lacking in
cultural  values,  while  for  others  they  were  an  expression  of  national  or  international
values,  according  to  the  type  of  event  dealt  with.  On  this  occasion,  replies  have  been
unified in accordance with the second criterion, since we consider that this type of event
is  indeed  a  cultural  manifestation,  because  it  helps  to  distinguish  the  social  group  that
partakes of it.

58

                                                                                                                                             
Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

Table 22

Predominant  cultural  values  in  the  highest  audience  programmes  in  Europe  (1995-
2000)
79.04%
National
10.00%
European
North American 5.95%
5.00%
Others
Source: School of Public Communication. University of Navarra. Total of programmes analysed: 840.

The results of this analysis enable us to conclude that the impact of globalisation on the cultural
diversity of the television programmes with high audience ratings is not very great.

As  may  be  observed  in  Table  22,  the  programmes  with  high  audience  ratings,
fundamentally uphold the national values of each country. This is also corroborated by
the data on the language of production of the programmes (Table 23), which is, for the
most  part,  the  national  language,  and  can  be  considered  as  the  most  important
component of a concrete culture, since it literally defines the world view of its linguistic
community.  The  study  also  attempts  to  determine,  in  accordance  with  the  programme
content, if national cultural values, North American, or of other European countries or
of any other type are promoted. This category of analysis takes into account the subject
dealt with, the place of production and the characters who take part, with reference to
the definition of culture mentioned earlier.

Table 23

Language used in the broadcast ing of the highest audience programmes in Europe (1995-2000)

1995/96

1997/98

1999/2000

Original
Subtitled
Dubbed

Original
Subtitled
Dubbed

Original
Subtitled
Dubbed

UK FR GE
20
14
20
0
0
0
0
6
0

20
0
0

20
0
0

17
0
3

18
0
2

19
0
1

20
0
0

SW FIN BE NE
17
16
3
3
0
1

16
1
3

19
0
1

19
0
1

19
0
1

18
1
1

20*
0
0

17
0
3

17
0
3

20
0
0

20
0
0

IT
17
0
3

20
0
0

20
0
0

GR SP
18
19
0
1
2
0

17
3
0

19
1
0

20
0
0

20
0
0

IR
20
0
0

20
0
0

20
0
0

DE
19
1
0

20
0
0

20
0
0

Total

Original
Subtitled
Dubbed

59
1
0
Source: School of Public Communication. University of Navarra. Total programmes analysed: 840
*Figures for Finland are from 1999.

60
0
0

49
0
11

59
0
1

54
3
3

57
1
2

50
1
9

57
3
0

57
0
3

55
5
0

58
0
2

60
0
0

AU
20
0
0

20
0
0

20
0
0

60
0
0

PO Total %
91
255
20
3.21
9
0
5.71
16
0

20
0
0

20
0
0

60
0
0

267
4
9

273
1
6

795
14
31

95.35
0.1
3.21

97.5
0
2.14

94.6
1.66
3.69

National  cultural  values predominate  in  the  programmes  of  each  country.  Indeed,  in
79.04% of the programmes analysed cultural values appear, in the most part, from the
country  itself  from  where  the  programme  is  broadcast  as  opposed  to  only  10.00%  of
programmes with values from other European countries and 5.95% with predominantly
North  American  values.  In  this  section  a  significant  evolution  has  not  been  observed
between some years and others.

59

Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

Denmark  is  the  country  which  has  the  most  programmes  with  national  values  in  high
audience  programmes,  since  these  predominate  in  59  of  the  60  analysed.  On  the
contrary,  in  the  case  of  Belgium,  national  values  predominate  in  only  29  of  the  60
programmes,  against  10  with  North  American  values  and  21  from  other  European
countries (see Table 24).

Table 24

Types  of  cultural  values  dominant  in  the  20  highest  audience  programmes  on  the  European
television stations (1995-2000)

1995/96

1997/98

1999/20
00

Total

Cultural
values
promoted

National 16
Europe
U.S.
Other

1
1
2

UK FR
13
0
6
1

1

National 15
Other
Europe
U.S
Other

1
3

0

National 18
Other
Europe
U.S.
Other

0
2

2

National 49
Other
Europe
U.S.
Other

2
7

15
0

3
2

17
0

2
1

45
0

11
4

GE
19
0
0
1

10
4

0
6

13
6

0
1

42
10

0
8

SW FIN BE
11
17
14
6
1
4
3
0
1
0
2
1

15
1

1
3

16
2

2

45
7

2
6

17
11

1
1

20
0

0
0

54
2

1
3

11
5

4
0

7
10

0
0

29
21

10
0

NE
19
1
0
0

16
4

0
0

15
3

3
2

55
5

0
0

IT
15
2
3
0

17
1

0
2

19
1

0
0

51
4

3
2

GR SP
17
18
0
1
5
1
1
0

17
0

3
0

19
0

0
0

54
1

5
0

20
0

0
0

20
0

1
0

57
0

2
1

IR
16
2
2
0

10
3

7
0

14
1

0
0

40
6

14
0

DE
19
1
0
0

20
0

0
0

20
0

5
0

59
1

0
0

AU
13
7
0
0

PO Total %
221
14
28
2
19
0
12
4

14
6

0
0

16
4

0
0

43
17

0
0

9
5

0
6

18
1

0
1

41
8

0
11

206
31

20
23

232
28

11
9

664
84

50
42

79.048
10

5.9524
5

Source: School of Public Communication. University of Navarra. Total programmes analysed: 840

These  statistics  regarding  predominant  cultural  values,  which  are  based  on  criteria
which  leave  a  certain  margin  of  subjectivity,  are  confirmed  by  those  relating  to  the
nationality of the main character or presenter.
In 88.9% of the programmes analysed the main character or presenter belongs to the
broadcasting country, whilst only 5.00% are of European nationality and 5.11% are of
North American nationality (Table 25).

60

Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

Table 25

Nationality  of  the  main  character  or  presenter  in  the  20  highest  audience  programmes  on
European television stations (1995-2000)

Nationality
Main
Character

1995/96

1997/98

1999/2000

Total

National 19
Europe
U.S.
Other

0
1
0

UK FR
14
0
6
0

17
0

3

1

18
0

2
0

48
0

National 18
Other
Europe
U.S

1

1

Other

0

0

National 20
Other
Europe
U.S.
Other

0
0

1

National 57
Other
Europe
U.S.
Other

GE
20
0
0
0

19
1

0

0

20
0

0
0

59
1

SW FIN BE NE
19
18
1
2
0
0
0
0

16
1
3
0

18
2
0
0

19
1

0

0

19
1

0
0

56
4

17
2

1

0

20
0

0
0

55
4

17
1

2

0

17
1

3
0

49
3

18
2

0

0

19
1

0
0

56
4

IT
12
5
3
0

18
0

0

2

15
3

0
2

45
8

GR SP
18
18
0
1
2
1
0
0

17
1

2

0

19
0

1
0

54
2

20
0

0

0

20
0

0
0

58
0

IR
15
4
1
0

12
2

6

0

13
3

4
0

40
9

0
0
Source: School of Public Communication. University of Navarra. Total programmes analysed: 840

11
1

11
0

2
0

0
0

1
0

8
0

0
0

3
4

4
0

2
0

0
0

DE AU
18
19
2
1
0
0
0
0

PO Total %
240
16
19
0
17
0
4
4

20
0

0

0

20
0

0
0

59
1

17
3

0

0

20
0

0
0

55
5

0
0

15
0

15
0

0

5

18
1

0
1

49
1

0
10

0

5

258
10

10
3

740
43

42
15

88.09
5.11

5
1.78

The data on the place where the action is set reveal that in 65.83% of the cases this is
in  the  country  of  origen,  as  opposed  to  25.47%  of  the  programmes  where  the  action
takes  place  in  another  country  and  8.69%  where  the  action  is  set  jointly  in  the  home
country  and  another.  The  significant  difference  between  the  national  percentages
between this category and the previous ones must be explained by taking into account
that in some programmes, such as news or documentaries, both the cultural values and
the  main  character  or  presenter  are  from  the  home  country,  although  the  action  takes
place in another country or in several countries at the same time.

In the great majority of the programmes (94.6) the language of the original production is
the same as the predominant language of each country.

It  should  be  pointed  out  that  this  is  a  well  established  feature,  which  has  been
consolidated over the three seasons under analysis. In the season 1995-96, 91% of the
high  audience  programmes  were  broadcast  in  their  original  language.  In  the  season
1997-98, this percentage rose to 95.35% and in the season 1999-2000 it grew to 97.5%.

In  Great  Britain,  Austria,  Ireland,  Germany  and  Portugal  all  of  the  high  audience
programmes over three seasons were broadcast in the original language of production.
In  the  cases  when  a  programme  is  broadcast  which  has  been  produced  in  a  different
language to that of the country, dubbing is more usual (3.69%) than subtitling (1.66%).
In  the  television  stations  of  Sweden,  Holland  and  Greece  the  traditional  practice  is  to
subtitle the programmes. In contrast, in France, Belgium, Italy and Spain programmes
produced in another language are usually dubbed.

61

Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

Table 26

Nationality  of  production  companies  of  the  highest  audience  programmes  of  Europe  (1995-
2000)

1995/96

1997/98

1999/200
0

National
Other Europe
U.S.

National
Other Europe
U.S.

National
Other Europe
U.S.

UK FR GE
20
14
19
0
0
0
0
6
1

19
0
1

20
0
0

16
1
3

14
4
2

20
0
0

20
0
0

SW FIN BE NE
18
16
2
3
0
1

17
0
3

19
1
0

18
1
1

19
0
1

18
1
1

19*
1*
0

17
0
3

17
0
3

19
1
0

19
0
0

IT
17
0
3

20
0
0

19
1
0

GR SP
15
19
3
0
2
1

17
0
3

19
0
1

17
3
0

17
3
0

IR
14
4
2

8
4
8

11
4
5

DE
16
4
0

16
4
0

15
5
0

Total

National
Other Europe
U.S.

45
15
0
Source: School of Public Communication. University of Navarra. Total programmes analysed: 840
*Figures for Finland are from 1999.

58
0
2

44
5
11

60
0
0

53
4
3

56
3
1

51
0
9

56
3
0

56
1
3

55
0
5

49
9
2

33
12
15

AU
13
7
0

15
5
0

16
4
0

44
16
0

PO Total %
230
13
27
3
19
0

82.1
9.64
6.78

14
1
0

16
2
0

53
6
0

232
23
20

241
24
12

703
74
51

82.85
8.21
7.7

86.1
8.57
4.6

83.7
8.8
6.07

The  great  majority  of  the  programmes  are  produced  by  national  companies,  from  their  own
country (83.7%).

This  fact  corroborates  that  the  public  preferences  in  each  Member  State  tend  towards
programmes produced in their own country, which reflect to a great extent their interests
and cultural environment. This tendency has increased in the period analysed, since the
percentage  of  national  production  of  programmes  with  high  viewing  figures  has
increased  by  four  points,  from  82.1%  in  the  season  1995-96  to  86.1%  in  the  season
1999-2000.  In  global  terms,  the  percentage  of  programmes  produced  by  companies
from other European countries (8.8%) is slightly greater than that of those produced by
North American companies (6.07%). The presence of programmes from other European
countries  is  reflected  in  the  live  broadcasts  of  football  matches  from  other  European
countries,  in  music  spaces,  like  the  Eurovision  Song  Festival  and  in  some  co-
productions.  In  the  great  majority  of  the  cases,  the  North  American  productions  are
feature  films.  In  the  case  of  Portugal,  a  considerable  percentage  of  the  high  audience
programmes (27.3%) are imports from Brazilian television (Globo).

Worthy of note for the large number of North American productions present are Ireland
(25%),  France  (18.3%)  and  Belgium  (15%)  .  In  contrast,  in  the  United  Kingdom,
Germany,  Finland,  Greece  and  Holland  the  percentage  of  programmes  produced  by
national companies is about 95%.

Over  the  three  seasons  there  were  no  especially  important  changes,  although  a  slight
decrease  in  the  number  of  North  American  productions  was  observed,  from  6.78%  in
the season 1995-96, to 4.6% in the season 1999-2000.

62

Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

Table 27

Programme genres of the highest audience programmes in Europe (1995-2000)

32.50%
Sports
16%
Fiction series
8.92%
Feature film
News
7.50%
Musical Show 5.11%
5%
Quiz Show
Magazine
2.97%
Reality Show 2.85%
2.38%
Documentary
10.35%
Other

Source: School of Public Communication. University of Navarra Total programmes analysed: 840

In terms of cultural identity, certain genres of programmes have a more specific value
than others. The national fiction series construct a world that conforms to certain social
situations and reflects the country’s identity, so that the audience can, in some way, be
in  tune  with  the  contents.  Identity  is  affected  by  the  ideological,  political  and  cultural
sense  of  these  fiction  productions.  In  news  programmes,  the  differences  between
national cultures are more accentuated. Sports broadcasts help to unite the community’s
identity made up of the followers of the national team or one team in particular. Also,
certain cultural and social values present in more marginal genres such as quiz shows or
reality  shows,  generate  a  series  of  attitudes  which  are  incorporated  into  the  constant
process of recomposition and redefinition of national identity.

The  majority genre  of  the  programmes  analysed  over  three  seasons  is  sport  (32.5%),
which  chiefly  refers  to  the  broadcasting  of  football  matches  (Table  27).  This  genre  is
undoubtedly the most popular in Germany, Italy and Spain in the three seasons, and to a
lesser extent in Denmark, Greece and Belgium (for the breakdown of genres according
to  country  and  season  see  Table  32  in  Technical  File).  Sporting  broadcasts  present
events in which teams and sports men and women take part from their own country, for
which reason they are considered to hold national cultural values.

In  second  place,  at  a  considerable  distance,  are  the  fiction  series  (16%).  This  was  the
most popular  genre in Great Britain in the latter three seasons and its presence is also
notable  in  the  programmes  of  high  audience  ratings  in  Greece,  Ireland  and  Portugal,
where  nationally  produced  series  have  consolidated  their  position.  In  these  cases,  the
fiction  series  promote  cultural  values  which  reflect  the  customs  and  attitudes  of  their
own country.

In third place are the feature films (8.92%), a genre which is predominant especially in
France, Ireland and Belgium and whose evolution has hardly experienced changes over
the  three  seasons  analysed.  A  high  percentage  of  feature  films  with  high  audiences,
about 84% are North American, whilst European films with high audiences ratings are
very  scarce  (except  in  France  and  Denmark).  The  majority  of  the  films  contain  North
American cultural values.

The  fourth  genre  with  the  greatest  following  is  daily  news  programmes  (7.5%).  In
Finland,  Denmark  and  Austria  this  genre  of  programmes  is  consistently  prominent:

63

Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

about  20%  of  the  high  audience  programmes  are  news  programmes.  These  spaces
reflect, above all, national values in their treatment of the news, although there is also
room for foreign values.

In  fifth  place  are  musical  shows  (5.11%),  a  genre  which  has  become  well  established
over the last three seasons in a number of countries, particularly Sweden, Portugal and
Holland.  In  some  cases,  the  musical  shows  are  national  and  in  others  they  are  live
broadcasts of international festivals, such as the Eurovision Song Contest, which brings
together many values from different European countries.

We  should  also  mention  some tendencies  in  the  evolution  of  the  other  genres.  Quiz
programmes, with 3.92% of television space in the season 1995-96, are becoming more
popular,  reaching  8.21%  of  high  audience  in  the  season  1999-2000.  The  genre  of  the
reality show has also consolidated its position making up almost 4% of the programmes
analysed in the period 1999-2000, owing to the international success of the programme
Big  Brother,  in  countries  such  as  Holland,  Germany,  Spain  and  Portugal.  Lastly,  the
documentary is a genre with little presence making up 2.38% of programme scheduling
analysed over the three seasons.

It is clear from the study of the cultural values present in the high audience programmes that the
impact of globalisation on the cultural diversity of the high audience television programmes is
not of great significance, since there is a predomination of programmes produced in their own
country  and  broadcast  in  their  own  language.  The  high  audience  programmes  fundamentally
uphold the national cultural values of each country ((as opposed to the North American cultural
values  or  third  parties).  The  genres  analysed,  to  which  the  programmes  with  the  highest
audience  ratings  refer,  are  sports  (32.5%),  fiction  series  (16%),  feature  films  (8.92%),  news
(7.5%)  and  musical  programmes  (5.11).  The  sports  programmes,  fiction  series  and  news
programmes  mainly  promote  national  cultural  values.  It  would  be  of  interest  to  study  in  more
depth  the  methods  for  quantitative  and  qualitative  analysis  in  order  to  analyse  the  degree  of
cultural  diversity  in  television  programme  scheduling,  and  it  would  be  expedient  to  develop
detailed studies with a broader sample of programmes from each country.

5.2  Selection  of  cultural  programmes  which  represent  successful  formulas  in
European television stations

5.2.1 The transmission of culture through television

Television  is  a  new  museum  which  is  active,  transcends  borders  and  can  guide  the
cultural context of a country. According to UNESCO, television has become the chief
vehicle for culture for a huge part of the world. For this reason, it makes sense to study
measures  aimed  at  ensuring  that  in  every  country  the  media  provide  a  diversified
programme scheduling which does not only promote a shared national identity but also
contributes a pluralist expression to the variety of social, political and cultural values62.

Traditionally,  the  cultural  institutions  of  Europe  have  been  the  theatres,  cinemas,
concert  halls,  museums,  art  galleries,  bookshops  and  libraries:  places  to  visit.  The
expansion  of  the  print  and  audiovisual  media  has  meant  that  the  artistic  objects  and
cultural  events  in  these  places  can  be  reproduced  and  distributed  to  an  ever  widening
public,  helping  to  create  in  the  well  known  words  of  André  Malraux,  “a  museum
without  walls”.  The  media  mean  that  geographical  places  become  symbolic.  Public

62 See UNESCO (2000), World Communication and Information Report 1999-2000.

64

                                                
Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

television has often been characterised as a service for the spreading of culture, as well
as  information  and  entertainment63.  However,  the  transfer  of  culture  to  the  television
environment is not an easy task.

As  the  European  states  become  societies  with  a  great  variety  of  ethnic  groups  and
cultures,  and  at  the  same  time  supranational  forms  of  cooperation  are  developed,
television  and  culture  are  related  in  a  very  wide  context.  There  is  a  theory  which
maintains that programmes reflect the values and images of a specific culture and space
and  that  they  produce  meanings  which  consolidate  certain  social  identities64.  In  some
cases,  studies  focus  on  the  meaning  of  programmes  according  to  their  genre  and
contents;  in  others,  they  discuss  the  relationship  between  national  production  and  the
importation of programmes.

Television  production’s  environment  is  characterised  by  liberalisation,  the  loss  of  the
monopoly  held by public  television stations,  aggressive competition for audiences and
the increase in the number of channels65. These factors give rise to the marginalisation
of  the  minority  cultural  programmes  which  are  given  low  priority,  low  budgets  and
unfavourable timetabling. The educational and information aims of television are slowly
declining  as  the  objective  to  entertain  and  amuse  grows66.  The  commercialisation  of
television  erodes  its  public  function  and  the  transmission  of  culture.  In  practice,
television stations have greater difficulty in their attempts to promote cultural values67.

5.2.2 Criteria for quality in cultural programmes

To obtain a more complete picture of the tendencies in programme scheduling and their
relationship to cultural diversity, it seems a good idea to complement the study of high
audience programmes with the analysis of specifically cultural programmes in different
European  television  stations.  The  aim  is  to  make  a  selection  from  the  different
productions  analysed  of  those  which  meet  a  series  of  criteria  allowing  them  to  be
presented  as  quality  programmes.  Obviously  the  idea  of  quality  is  prone  to  subjective
assessments and a disparity of professional and technical criteria, for which reason there
is  no  unanimity  on  criteria.  It  could  be  said  that  there  are  as  many  professional
perspectives  on  quality  as  there  are  professionals  who  work  in  the  production  of  a
programme68.  In  the  case  of  cultural  spaces,  there  is  a  greater  difficulty  to  achieve  a
mass audience that will guarantee its success, because, in many cases, the subjects hold
little attraction, they have low budgets, limited resources and are broadcast in marginal
timetables.

63 See Machet, Emmanuelle and Robillard, Serge (1998) Television and Culture. Policies and Regulation,
The European Institute for the Media, Düsseldorf.
64See Marchetti, P. (1997)  La Production d’oevres audiovisuelles dans l’Únion européenne, Economica,
Paris; Tracey, M. (1998) The Decline and Fall of Public Service Broadcasting, Oxford University Press,
Oxford y Wieten, Jan, Murdock, Graham, y Peter Dahlgren (eds.) (2000) Television across Europe, Sage,
London.
65 See Barker, Chris (1997) Global Television. An Introduction, Blackwell, London.
66 See Dahlgren, Peter (2000) “Key Trends in European Television”, in Wieten, Jan, Murdock, Graham,
and Peter Dahlgren (eds.) Television across Europe, Sage, London, pp. 30-32.
67  See  Miége,  Bernard,  (2000)  “Cultural  production  and  cultural  pluralism”,  in  UNESCO  ,  World
Communication and Information Report 1999-2000.
68 See Albers, Robert, “Quality in television from the perspective of the professional programme maker”,
in Ishikawa, Sakae (ed.) (1996)  Quality  Assessment  of  Television,  John  Libbey  Media,  Luton,  pp.  101-
144.

65

                                                
Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

In  the  first  place,  with  the  object  of  establishing  some  standards  which  allow  us  to
identify  and  analyse  quality  cultural  programmes,  the  relevant  bibliography  was
examined.  Subsequently,  a  selection  of  television  programmes  from  six  European
countries (Ireland, France, Italy, Great Britain, Portugal and Spain) were viewed. Four
of  the  countries  have  a  high  production  capacity  and  two  have  a  lower  production
capacity (Ireland and Portugal). Without aiming to be exhaustive, a selection was made
of a series of cultural programmes produced in the country of origin and broadcast by
public television69.

In  any  comparative  study  of  this  nature,  the  great  variety  of  definitions  and  practical
applications of the concept of culture represents a serious problem, as was pointed out
in the introduction. To overcome this, an analysis of the cultural programmes has been
carried out with a series of quality criteria specified according to the objectives of the
study.

The  quality  of  a  television  programme  can  be  examined  from  two  fundamental
perspectives:  technical  excellence  and  content.  In  his  analysis  of  British  programmes,
Nossiter  finds  a  certain  consensus  on  three  requirements  for  a  programme  to  be
considered of quality: clarity of aim, innovation and relevance70. Legatt formulates ten
basic criteria which define the parameters for quality according to the contributions of
numerous professionals, mainly producers of information programmes71. In accordance
with  these  criteria,  the  following  parameters  for  quality  in  a  cultural  programme  were
established:

a) Formal elements
- Production level: good use of available resources.
- Production: the programme has a good aesthetic look, with a good image.
- Presenter’s communicating capacity: he or she manages to connect with the audience.

b)Content elements
- Innovative treatment: the resources of the television medium are used to get the most
out of the contents.
-  An  attractive  approach:  there  is  a  clear  aim  and  motivation  in  the  way  of  tackling
certain subjects.
- Well constructed narrative: a good pace is kept up which is appropriate for the issues
presented.
- Contact with the TV viewer: the audience is involved in some way.
-Relevance  of  subjects  touched  upon:  important  subjects  are  tackled  and  their
implications are shown, seeking to widen the viewer’s cultural horizons.
- Prestige: it becomes a programme of reference for a sector of the audience.

69  Although  there  is  a  growing  number  of  European  co-productions  aimed  at  several  national  markets,
many authors consider that they are products with a certain heterogeneous style which takes away from
their  attraction;  in  some  cases  they  have  been  described  as  “euro-puddings”(See  Blind,  S.  and
Hallenberger,  G.  (eds.)  (1996) European  Co-Productions  in  Television  and  Film,  Universitatsverlag  C.
Winter, Heidleberg.
70 See Nossiter, T. J. (1986) “British Television: A Mixed Economy”, Research on the Range and Quality
of Broadcasting Services, HMSO, London.
71 Legatt, Timothey (1996) “Quality in television: the view of the professionals”, in Ishikawa, Sakae (ed.)
(1996) Quality Assessment of Television, John Libbey Media, Luton, pp. 145-167.
71  See  Machet,  Emmanuelle  and  Robillard,  Serge  (1998)  Television  and  Culture.  Policies  and
Regulations, The European Institute for the Media, Düsseldorf, pp. 109-134.

66

                                                
Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

Machet  and  Robillard  have  systemised  the  criteria  adopted  by  several  European
institutions for the assessment of the production of cultural programmes. These are the
French  Conseil  Supérieur  de  l’Audiovisuel,  the  Council  of  Europe,  the  European
Broadcasting Union, the Dutch broadcasting organization NOS and a study carried out
by  the  public  German  networks  ARD  and  ZDF72.  The  criteria  adopted  by  these
institutions consider the concept of “cultural programme”  in different ways. On the one
hand,  they  include  the  spaces  of  the  transmission  of  “high  culture”,  although  not
necessarily  of  minorities,  such  as  the  broadcasting  of  a  concert,  opera  or  play.  On  the
other  hand,  such  as  in  the  Dutch  case  of  the  NOS,  a  broader  sense  of  a  cultural
programme  is  adopted,  covering  information  magazines,  music  programmes  and
children’s programmes. For the purposes of this analysis, television will be considered
as principally a medium for the spreading of culture in the wide sense (mass culture) as
opposed to the more restricted one which is the promotion of “high culture”.

The idea of the public service of broadcasting is argued from a perspective of cultural
policy,  since  it  is  considered  as  a  medium  to  ensure  the  so  called  “external  benefits”,
that is, to cover certain collective needs of a democratic society. Heilbrun and Gray sum
up  the  external  benefits  of  cultural  products  which  could  also  be  applied  to  quality
cultural programmes73:

- They constitute a legacy for future generations (cultural heritage).
- They promote local and national identity and prestige directed towards the exterior.
- Availability: certain cultural products must be available for the public.
- They contribute to the liberal education of the public, and to participation in the arts.
- They promote artistic innovation which, at the same time, adds to the cultural heritage.

In  the  last  decade,  organisms  have  appeared  which  supervise  television  programme
planning  in  different  countries,  with  a  certain  degree  of  control  on  the  part  of
governments  and  with  the  growing  participation  of  independent  authorities.  In  Great
Britain,  the  Broadcasting  Standards  Council  deals  with  viewers’  complaints  about
certain programmes, as does the French Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel since 1989.
Greece has a Viewers and Radio Listeners Assembly which supervises public radio and
television  broadcasting,  whilst  in  Luxembourg  there  is  the  Centre  National  de
l’Audiovisuel. Portugal has created the Alta Autoridade para Comunicaçao Social, with
representatives  from  consumer  organizations  and  other  associations,  and  in  Catalonia
the  Consell  de  l’Audiovisual  de  Catalunya  has  been  operating  from  the  beginning  of
2001.  These  organisms  have  capacity  to  promote  broadcasting  of  quality  cultural
programmes in European television stations74.

5.2.3. Analysis of cultural programmes which represent successful formulas

72 See Heilbrun, J. and Gray, C.M. (1993) The Economics of Art and Culture. An American Perspective,
Cambridge University Press, New York, pp. 205-9.

74 See Robillard, Serge (1995) Television in Europe: Regulatory Bodies. Status, Function and Powers in
35 European Countries, European Institute for the Media, London. John Libbey. The updated list of the
at
each 
regulatory 
http://europa.eu.int/comm/avpolicy/intro/links_en.htm

consulted 

existing 

country 

bodies 

can 

be 

in 

67

                                                
Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

After  the  selection  process  previously  specified,  seven  programmes  which  have
represented successful formulas in different countries were analysed (Table 28). All of
these cases were spaces broadcast on public television stations, which spend more time
and resources on cultural programme scheduling. There follows a brief commentary on
each one of them:

Table 28

Selection of cultural programmes which represent successful formulas on European television

Programmes

Channel

Imprint
Walking with Dinosaurs
Un livre, un jour
Horizontes da Memória
Superquark
La España salvaje
Soirées thématiques
(*) share of broadcast with highest audience ratings
(**) share of broadcast with highest audience ratings in 2000.
Source: School of Public Communication. University of Navarra.

RTE 1
BBC 1
FR 3
RTP 2
RAI
TVE
ARTE

Year  Transmission
commenced
Ireland
Great Britain
France
Portugal
Italy
Spain
France-Germany

Seasons

2
1
10
3
20
2
10

Average
Share
5%
48.20%
12.30%
4.90%
27%
22.40%
3.50%

5.2.3.1.  Imprint,  broadcast  by  RTE  1,  (Ireland)  is  a  weekly magazine  devoted  to  the
world of Irish letters and writers, directed and presented by Theo Dorgan. It consists of
three parts: a discussion with two writers or critics about contemporary books; a report
on some Irish writer and a section which seeks to bring literature closer to the younger
generations.  It  has  become  a  programme  of  reference  for  the  publishing  world  in  the
country, with the most relevant personalities of Irish letters appearing on it. The effort
to  include  young  people  with  reports  and  outlines  on  books  aimed  at  this  audience
should be highlighted.

5.2.3.2. Walking with dinosaurs, broadcast by BBC 1 (Great Britain), presents stories of
survival of several animals from the dinosaur era. It reconstructs life in that period using
computer animation on backgrounds of real images. This series met with great success
with  audiences  (it  reached  48.2%  of  audience  share).  Its  popularity  is  understandable
when the long tradition of the BBC in the superproduction of documentaries, especially
in  the  field  of  nature  and  the  environment,  is  taken  into  account.  It  is  an  innovative
series, with a large budget and its narrative is well dramatised.

5.2.3.3. Un livre, un jour, broadcast by FR3 (France) is a daily magazine. Every day, the
presenter  Oliver  Barrot  invites  the  viewer  to  escape  for  a  moment  into  the  world  of
letters and he presents a work rigorously selected by the programme’s editing team.
Un  livre,  un  jour  picks  up  on  the  tradition  of  book  programmes  tried  and  tested  by
Apostrophes  for  15  years  (1975-1990),  a  legend  in  French  public  television  and  a
reference  point  in  the  publishing  world.  Oliver  Barrot,  producer  and  presenter  of  the
programme  makes  audiences  interested  and  he  knows  how  to  get  the  best  out  of  the
guests.  He  pays  attention  to  the  recognised  values  of  contemporary  literature  and
conducts interviews with a certain amount of showmanship. He has managed to interest
a large sector of the audience in novelists and intellectuals. Over ten years, Un livre, un
jour has paid homage to French and foreign literature with over 2200 programmes and
an average of 3.8 million viewers.

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Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

5.2.3.4.  Horizontes  da  Memória,  broadcast  by  RTP  2  (Portugal)  is  a  magazine  which
deals  with  curious  and  picturesque  aspects  of  the  history  of  emblematic  places  in
Portugal. The programme presenter, José Saraiva, concentrates on a monument, a piece
of landscape or a person in order to narrate concrete stories of the history of that place.
It  can  be  considered  as  a  successful  cultural  programme,  to  a  large  extent,  because  of
the figure of the presenter, who connects with the audience, with a simple and didactic
style, making history approachable and attractive. In each place José Saraiva follows a
route, stopping the people to talk to them and going into the details which allow him to
tell  in  story  form  the  historical  events  linked  to  that  itinerary.  Also,  the  format  of  the
programme with its high production values, seeks to involve the audience in the route
proposed  each  time.  Its  task  of  rescuing  the  past  and  history  of  Portugal  has  brought
critical recognition.

5.2.3.5. Superquark, broadcast by the RAI 1 (Italy), is a space for scientific information.
Its reports and sections attempt to bring issues of science and technology closer to the
mass public. “How is it done”, “sexuality”, “music”  and  “animal  behaviour”  are some
of the regular sections in the programme. One of the most original sections is “science
in cooking” which tries to explain the scientific basis underlying the cooking processes.
This programme has been shown since 1981. Its success is based, to a large extent, on
its capacity to produce high quality communication which is possible thanks to the work
of  a  great  communicator  such  as  Piero  Angela,  the  programme  presenter.  Angela  is  a
journalist and a pioneer in science reporting on Italian television. For the last 30 years
he  has  worked  in  science  reporting  and  has  received  the  international  Kalinga  award
from UNESCO.

5.2.3.6. La España salvaje, broadcast by TVE (Spain), is a documentary  series on the
lives  of  the  most  emblematic  animal  species  of  the  Iberian  peninsula.  It  has  had
excellent audience ratings: in the season 1999/00 it had an average audience of 22.4%.
It reckons with the special participation of Prince Philip of Asturias. It is outstanding for
its high production values and for managing to shoot particularly spectacular images.

5.2.3.7.  Soirées  thématiques,  broadcast  under  the  title  of  “THEMA”,  is  one  of  the
distinctive characteristics of the ARTE network. A different subject forms the basic idea
of the programme, which is examined from several points of view, with documentaries,
feature films and inquiries, which complement each other and attempt to treat in more
depth the implications of the concrete issue, whether it be the Second World War, the
success  of  children’s  best  sellers  or  any  other  subject  of  great  interest.  Every  weekly
thematic  night  has  its  own  peculiarities:  Sundays  are  designed  for  family  audiences;
Tuesday  explores  subjects  to  do  with  culture  and  Thursdays  deal  with  journalistic
issues.
Soiréss  thématiques  has  won  the  respect  and  the  esteem  both  of  professionals  and
viewers,  with  a  high  artistic,  professional  and  intellectual  level.  The  combination  of
different formats (from the documentary to the feature film) has been consolidated as an
appropriate way to inquire into social issues, discover personalities of interest and offer
a broad cultural and historic treatment of relevant events.

5.2.4. Elements of quality in cultural programmes

In most of the programmes analysed a series of constants can be distinguished, which
allow us to consider them as successful formulas:

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Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

5.2.4.1. Culture is presented as a subject which is linked to national identity: literature,
history  the  nature  of  each  country,  are  subjects  which  form  the  backbone  of  these
spaces, except in the series Walking with Dinosaurs, whose content is broader.

5.2.4.2. The adoption of innovative approaches in the treatment of cultural subjects is a
constant in most of the programmes. They attempt to tackle the issues of art, literature,
science or nature in the most attractive way possible for the mass public.

5.2.4.3. Their lasting popularity: in the case of Superquark which has been on the air for
twenty seasons, as with Un livre, un jour and Soirées thématiques, which have been on
for ten. The rest of the programmes have only recently begun.

5.2.4.4. The role of the presenter: a communicator able to interest the audience, as in the
case  of  José  Saraiva,  the  presenter  of  Historias  da  Memória;  of  Piero  Angela  in
Superquark,  Oliver  Barrot  of  Un  livre,  un  jour  and  Theo  Dorgan  of  Imprint.  The
participation of a prominent public figure, as in the case of Prince Philip of Asturias in
España salvaje, can also be an important factor.

5.2.4.5.  The  high  production  values,  a  practically  common  characteristic  of  all  the
programmes analysed.

5.2.4.6. Audience levels achieved by these types of programmes are not always high. In
this case, the audience of Walking with Dinosaurs (with 48.2% of the share) stands out
as does La España salvaje (with 22.4%). Both productions made by the BBC and TVE
respectively have been exported all over the world.

Critical recognition and the programme’s prestige are also a constant in all cases.

Public  television  finds  itself  in  a  highly  competitive  situation.  To  achieve  acceptable
audience  levels,  it  finds  itself  faced  with  the  dilemma  of  adopting  a  very  broad
definition of culture, according to which “any programme produced by public television
is culture”,  opposed  to  a  more  restricted  definition.  The  first  definition  has  a  series  of
practical implications: entertainment is more important than the functions of educating
and informing, the volume of specifically cultural programmes is reduced and there is a
tendency to relegate them to marginal timetables. In this case, the mission of upholding
cultural diversity is put at risk.
Neither  does  turning  cultural  programmes  into  elitist  spaces  with  little  interest  for  the
public  without  a  clear  communication  aim  seem  to  be  a  good  solution,  because  the
cultural potential of the medium would diminish and, so too, its economic viability.
The  best  policy  implies  a  difficult  balance  between  the  function  of  entertaining  and
providing  culture  in  the  whole  of  the  production  of  each  public  television.  The
distinctive characteristics of quality cultural programmes previously pointed out can be
used as a reference for the promotion of this type of space in European television.

In conclusion, this selection of cultural programmes that represent successful formulas
highlight  the  vital  role  played  by  public  television  in  spreading  specifically  cultural
contents  of  quality.  Moreover,  the  existence  and  lasting  popularity  on  air  of  these
programmes  show  that  there  is  a  place  for  specifically  cultural  programmes  on  the
general television networks.

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Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

Chapter  VI  –  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  NEW  TECHNOLOGIES:
TENDENCIES  AND  POSSIBLE  EFFECTS  ON  CULTURAL  DIVERSITY  IN
THE EUROPEAN UNION

This section analyses how the consequences of digitalization of the audiovisual media
may affect the cultural diversity of Europe. As has been pointed out, digital technology
multiplies the possibilities for the transmission of contents, offering new opportunities
for the promotion of cultural diversity.

The  analysis  of  the  situation  cannot  be  based  on  a  technological  determinism  dealing
exclusively with technical and industrial considerations, and the way in which the new
technologies can influence culture in the countries of the European Union must be taken
into account. Without attempting to cover everything and with the limitations proper to
this study, the main tendencies are considered in three areas: the development of digital
television, Internet and DVD. To carry out this analysis we have had access to the data
available in specialised publications and interviews with a series of experts in the sector
(see Appendix 2).

There is a considerable variation in the presence of European audiovisual works in the
distribution  channels  offered  by  the  new  technologies  from  one  medium  to  another,
since  in  European  digital  television  it  has  had  a  good  starting  off  point,  whilst  in
Internet and DVD it has clearly fallen behind.

6.1 Digital television

The model of European convergence is based on services and applications developed by
digital television.  The model  of  North  American convergence, in contrast, is based on
the  PC  and  Internet.  The  implementation  of  digital  television  has  brought  with  it  a
substantial  increase  in  the  offer  of  channels,  in  image  quality  and  in  the  variety  of
additional  services  available  to  the  user.  At  the  end  of  2001,  according  to Strategy
Analysis,  30  million  households  will  have  access  to  the  services  of  interactive  digital
television worldwide75. Of these, 62% will be in Europe, 18% in North America, 10%
in Asia and Oceania, and 1% in Latin America. In 2005, according to the same source,
57% of the European population will have access to digital television.

Table 29

European homes with digital television in 2000 and forecast for 2005

United Kingdom
France
Germany
Italy
Spain
Benelux
Scandinavian countries
Others
Europe total
Source: Informa Media Group

2000
6.400.000
3.165.000
2.030.000
2.250.000
1.900.000
195.000
510.000
250.000
16.700.000

2005
19.500.000
10.415.000
15.700.000
9.150.000
4.924.000
4.000.000
4.600.000
3.081.000
71.371.000

75 See Strategy Analytics, “Interactive Digital Television. Worldwide Market Forecasts”, 2001.

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Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

A study of Informa Media Group reveals that that there were 16.7 million homes with
digital television in Europe by the end of 200076. More than a third of these are in the
United Kingdom (6.4 million). The study forecasts that the number of European homes
with digital television will grow, exceeding 71 million in 2005 (Table 29).
In  the  period  2001-2005,  the  current  television  models  will  develop  along  four  stages
finally  becoming broadband  interactive  digital  television  portals77.  These  portals  will
have multichannel access, with a diversity of contents. They will have general radio and
television channels, free specialised channels, pay channels, video and audio archives,
communication  services  (video-mail,  webcasting,  chats,  newsgroups,  etc.)  and  value
added  services  (telebanking,  teleshopping,  mobile  telephone  and  access  to  broadband
Internet).

As has ocurred with the mobile telephone, the European advantage will be sustained by
standard  unification.  The  industry  is  grouped  around  a  single  platform  called  Digital
Video Broadcasting (DVB), a consortium made up of more than 300 companies whose
objective  is  to  lead  the  transition  from  the  analogical  system  to  the  digital  one.  The
unification  of  technology  will  enable  the  contents  creators  to  distribute  their  products
through the diverse decodifiers and networks.

Video  on  demand,  one  of  the  services  associated  with  digital  television,  is  being
implanted  in  Europe  at  great  speed.  At  least  eight  companies,  providers  of  video  on
demand,  are  already  operating  in  seven  European  countries.  However,  a  study  of  film
distribution  agreements  reveals  that  five  of  these  companies  distribute  only  North
American films78. The system of video on demand favours North American productions
which  have  the  back  up  of  efficient  distribution  mechanisms  and  are  preferred  by  a
broad sector of the European public. In contrast, European productions do not represent
an  attractive  investment  within  the  European  Union,  whilst  the  liberalising  changes  in
digital television have strengthened the position of the United States.

At the same time, multichannel television penetration has increased which, according to
Merryl Lynch,  has  grown  by  6%  in  the  period  1998-2000,  reaching  43%  of  homes  in
Europe79.  At  the  end  of  2000,  15%  of  homes  (24  million)  had  subscribed  to  pay
channels, and the penetration of these channels is growing at a rate of 15% a year. As a
consequence,  the  increase  in  channels  and  platforms  increases  the fragmentation  of
national audiences, although re-groupings occur according to audience taste and interest
and  their  socio-economic  level.  These  are  some  of  the  important  factors  which  digital
television brings with it:

  Content  is  correlated  to  the  type  of  channel  owing  to  the  implantation  of  thematic

channels.

  Diversity of access to contents through the different platforms is increased.
  Interactive applications increase80.

76 “European Digital Homes”, Informa Media Group, in TV International, 5 March 2001, p.5.
77 See Weidermann, Peter, Accenture, “Full access for interactive TV”, Milia 2001.
78 See Screen Digest, December 2000, “Video-on-demand in Europe”, pp. 373-380.
79 See TV International, “Future imperfect for European pay TV”, 8 January 2001, p. 12.
80  In  2000  in  the  United  Kingdom,  50%  of  BskyB  viewers  used  its  interactive  services,  which  provide
statistics on the match, different camera angles and complementary data. In the same year, in France, 91%
of the subscribers to the TPS platform used some of the interactive services.

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Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

However,  the  question  is  up  to  what  point  does  audience  fragmentation  generate
cultural  diversity.  An  analysis  of  the  offer  of  digital  platforms  in  seven  European
countries,  according  to  the  origin  of  the  production  of  the  contents  of  the  thematic
channels, allows us  to  point out some tendencies81.  Greater  competitiveness  means  an
increase in offer, if we consider the move from television monopoly to the multiplicity
of channels. But it is difficult to show that the offer of contents in the digital channels
results in a greater availability of programmes produced in Europe. The offer of digital
platforms which are broadcast in the seven European countries analysed indicates that
the  proportion  of  channels  with  North  American  contents  is  high  with  regard  to
European national production. In the thematic areas where the offer of North American
channels  is  predominant  children’s  programmes  figure  high,  such  as Disney  Channel,
Fox Kids, Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon. Another thematic area with a high degree
of  penetration  by  North  American  channels  is  documentaries: National  Geographic,
Discovery  Channel  and  The  History  Channel.  The  offer  of  channels  with  regional
contents is practically nil.

However, there are signs of a tendency to increase the number of channels with national
production.  European  digital  television  planned  to  launch  a  total  of  82  thematic
channels in 200082. The analysis of the nationality of the production of these channels
reveals that 69.5% of channels are produced by European companies, whilst 25.6% are
of North American production.

One  case  which  demonstrates  the  consequences  of  the  spread  of  North  American
channels  in  an  important  cultural  sector  is  the MTV-Europe  channel  whose  strategy
depends on the acquisition of contents from the international music industry, dominated
by  North  American  record  companies.  From  the  outset,  MTV  sought  to  satisfy  a
heterogeneous  audience.  However,  although  MTV-Europe  attempted  to  reduce  its
dependence  on  North  American  music,  in  practice  it  was  aimed  at  the  British  market
and it broadcast mainly in English. MTV suffered the competition of the Viva channel,
launched in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in 1993, by four North American record
companies  (EMI,  Polygram,  Sony  and  Warner).  Viva’s  contents  included  a  greater
presence  of  national  artists  and  90%  of  its  programmes  were  broadcast  in  German.  In
1995, Viva Eins overtook MTV-Central Europe in Germany, with 4% of audience quota
opposed to the rival’s 2.5%. And its offer was complemented by a second channel, Viva
Zwei, aimed at alternative music. In 1992, MTV re-launched its strategy in the German
market  with  a  new  service  in  the  Astra  satellite,  which  allowed  it  to  reach  31  million
homes  opposed  to  23  million  of  Viva.  MTV-Central  Europe  increased  its  hours  of
programmes in German, and gave more attention to national artists. In November, 2000,

81 See New TV Strategies, (January 2001). The platforms analysed are:
United Kingdom: Sky Digital, Telewest, NTL, Ondigital.
France:  NC  Numericable,  NOOS,  France  Telecom  Cable,  CanalSatellite  Numérique,  Television  Per
Satellite.
Germany: Premiere World, Media Vision.
Sweden: Comhen, Canal Digital, Teracom AB.
Denmark: Tele Danmark Kabel TV, Viasat Denmark.
Belgium: Canal+Belgique, CanalDigitaal.
Spain: Canal Satélite Digital, Vía Digital, Quiero TV.
82 See TV International, “New European Thematic Channel Launches 2000”, 10 July 2000, pp. 6-7.

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Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

MTV-Central Europe reached an audience of 4.54 million viewers as opposed to Viva
Eins’  4.37 million83.

The  case  of  MTV  reveals  how,  at  first,  technology  enabled  the  distribution  of  a
predominately  Anglo-American  product  everywhere  with  successful  audience  ratings.
However, when German audiences had the chance to choose, they preferred a channel
with their own cultural contents. The experience of this network illustrates the limits of
globalisation  since,  with  the  purpose  of  adapting  itself  to  the  linguistic  and  cultural
diversity  of  Europe,  MTV  has  had  to  jettison  its  original  formula  of  “one  planet,  one
music”.  However,  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that  “favouring  a  globalisation  ideology,
the  MTV  did  not  voluntarily  attempt  to  satisfy  diversity,  until  it  had  to  face  the
competition  of  other  music  channels  which  did  develop  programme  planning  in
different languages and with varied contents”84.

The European leadership in the area of digital TV presents an excellent base to promote
the  creation  of  contents  which  reflect  cultural  diversity  in  Europe.  For  the  moment,  a
good  part  of  the  digital  channels  are  of  North  American  origin,  although  in  the
foreseeable future, as markets mature, there will be more home grown products. And it
is precisely in these channels where the different European cultural contents, including
the minority ones, can find their media space.

6.2 Internet

There are objective difficulties to be able to determine precisely the number of people
connected  to  the  Internet  in  each  geographical  area.  Proof  of  this  is  the  considerable
margin  of  fluctuation  which  can  be  appreciated  between  data  produced  by  different
sources. According to a study published by Nielson in September 2000 in the EU there
were about 78.2 million users (20.8% of the population). For the same date, the number
of people from the United States connected to the Net was about 136.9 million (50.8%
of the population)85. Other studies from the same dates place the total figure of the EU
at  around  100  million  users  (26%  of  the  population)  and  169  million  in  the  United
States (61%)86.

Table 30

Contents of web pages by languages (November 2000)

English
Japanese
German
Chinese
French
Spanish
Russian
Italian
Portuguese

68.4%
5.9%
5.8%
3.9%
3.0%
2.4%
1.9%
1.6%
1.4%

83  See  TV  International,  “MTV  regains  Germany  as  Viva  gears  up  to  challenge  its  Euro  lead”,  13
November 2000, p.6.
84  Roe,  Keith  and  De  Meyer,  Gust  (2000)  “Music  Television:  MTV-Europe,  in  Wieten,  Jan  Murdock,
Graham and Peter Dahlgren (eds.) Television across Europe, Sage, London, p. 151.
85 Nielson/Netrating (2000), NetRatings Global Internet Trends, Q2 2000, Stamford (Conneticut).
86 Global Reach (2000), Global Internet Statistics, at http://www. glreach.com/globstats/refs.

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Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

Korean
Others

1.3%
4.6%

Total web pages

313 billion

Source: Vilaweb.com

In  any  case  the  figures  clearly  display  North  America’s  real  advantage  over  Europe.
This difference in the number of users is closely related to the fact that English is the
leading language of the Internet. As is shown in Table 28, at the end of 2000 English
was the language of 68.4% of the web pages available, followed at a great distance by
other European languages such as German (5.8%), French (3.0%) and Spanish (2.4%)87.
This  marked  preponderance  of  English  represents  a  clear  risk  for  the  weakening  of
cultural  values  transmitted  in  other  European  languages,  whilst  it  facilitates  the
penetration of North American culture into Europe. The risk is increased in the case of
those countries with the lowest levels of penetration of Internet, like Portugal (6.9% in
July, 2000), Greece (12.42%, October 1999) and Spain (13.7% in November 2000)88.
On  the  other  hand,  Europe  still  lags  behind  the  United  States  as  far  as  broadband
connections  are  concerned.  In  the  United  States  they  have  been  available  for  a
considerable time and in Europe they have barely begun to be installed. By the end of
2000 only 1.79% of connections in Europe were broadband, as opposed to 3.1% in the
United  States.  However,  in  the  next  few  years  a  significant  rise  of  this  type  of
connections is forecast in Europe, reaching 21% in 2003. Forecasts for the same year in
North America are situated at around 17%89.

At present, the majority of European users have access to Internet through a telephone
line connection, which permits a speed of data transfer of 56Kb/s, or through a digital
network  of  integrated  services  of  128Kb/s,  in  the  case  of  cable,  and  about  6  Mb/s  in
digital subscription lines (DSL).

The latter types of connections will completely transform the way Internet can be used,
since they will allow for the transmission of contents which, at present, circulate with
difficulty, such as moving images. In this way, it will be possible to go from the present
universe of 300 television channels to a new universe of millions of “channels”. In this
new environment access to contents will be extended to other appliances apart from the
PC,  such  as  televisions,  videogames  consoles,  mobile  telephones  and  personal  digital
assistants (PDAs), all of which will mean the presence of the Internet in daily life will
be considerably increased.

The  growth  of  the  online  games  industry  has  become  important  as  a  cultural  market.
According to data on distribution and penetration, the volume of users has significantly
increased  in  the  past  few  years:  online  games  involved  investment  of  92.25  million
euros in  1999 and,  according to Datamonitor’s  estimates,  the  business  volume  will  be
multiplied  by  sixty  until  it  reaches  a  figure  close  to  5.553  million  euros  in  200490.  A

(2000),  Per  cent  of  web  pages 

87  Vilaweb.com 
http://www.emarketer.com.
88  NUA  (2000),  Internet  Survey,  New  York.  The  penetration  figures  may  have  undergone  notable
variations in the past few months. According to a study carried out by the company Marktest, in February
2001 Portugal already had 20% of its population connected to the Net.
89  Screen  Digest  and  Van  Dusseldorp  &  Partners  (2001),  Broadband  Landscape  Europe:  Market
Assessment and Forecast to 2003 and Myers Reports (2000), Cable Digital & Broadband, New York.
90 See Datamonitor, Online Games and Gambling, 1999-2004, 3rd Ed.

in  English  and  other 

languages,  at

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Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

recent study on the habits of Europeans under twenty, indicates that 82% regularly use a
mobile  telephone;  38%  communicate  by  e-  mail;  34%  download  music  from  the  Net;
24%  download  software  and  21%  play  on  the  Net91.  These  young  people  look  for
contents with a high level of interactivity and with high expectations to be satisfied. The
interactivity of  online  games  means the games’  possibilities  can  be  widened,  updating
versions,  setting  up  matches  with  several  players  and  carrying  out  bets.  The  most
popular games are based on feature films, television series, football, car racing, toys and
sports stars. They are productions with a high visual quality, which create structures of
symbolic content for the users. According to data provided by Screen Digest, five of the
six leading companies in the games sector are Japanese: Sony, Nintendo, Sega, Konami
and Namco92.  The  Japanese  company, Nintendo,  is  the  distributor  for  the  franchise  of
the Pokemon software, which has been one of the most commercialised games in 2000.
The  fourth  is  the  North  American  company Electronic  Arts,  owner  of  the  Westwood
Studios and owner of consolidated brands such as FIFA, NHL Hockey and PGA Golf.
Economic  results  for  2000  indicate  a  growth  of  the  smaller  companies,  such  as  the
French company Titus which acquired Virgin Interactive Entertainment and Interplay in
1999. Of  the 20  leading companies  in the  sector there are only three European: Titus,
Infogrames and Eidos.

According  to  previously  mentioned  forecasts,  the  next  few  years  will  be  decisive  for
Europe to be able to match or even overtake the North American penetration levels in
broadband Internet, which could balance the present differences as far as cultural flow is
concerned.  In  the  area  of  online  games,  the  noticeable  present  disadvantage  of  the
producers  of  European  contents  with  regard  to  the  Japanese  and  the  North  Americans
suggests  that  it  will  be  more  difficult  to  achieve  balance.  However,  in  this  area  the
European industry must become more competitive, exploiting the advantage of greater
audience ratings for its television programmes, from which games and other successful
interactive games could be developed.

Both today’s Internet, with its present capacity levels, and the new broadband networks
are specially appropriate media for the transmission of cultural contents, given that the
user  has  considerable  advantages,  such  as  immediate  access,  the  possibility  to  choose
from  an  increasingly  wider  catalogue  including  programmes  which  are  hard  to  access
via  other  media.  As  a  consequence,  Internet  offers  a  series  of  present  and  future
possibilities  which  are  especially  appropriate  for  the  distribution  of  minority  cultural
products,  like,  for  example,  foreign  films  that  are  unable  to  break  through  into
mainstream commercial circuits.

6.3 Implantation of DVD

In the next few years, the European base of DVDs will undergo an exponential growth.
At the end of 2000 there were around 5.4 million DVD players in Europe; that is, only
3.5% of homes.  However, according to Screen Digest’s  forecasts,  by  the  end  of  2003
this  appliance  will  be  present  in  more  than  28%  of  homes;  with  a  total  of  over  45

91 See Forrester Research, Mary Modahl “Serving young consumers”, Milia, February 2001.
92 See Screen Digest, “Platform sales fall with no new consoles”, June 2000, p.222.

76

                                                
Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

million  units93.  Other  market  predictions  indicate  that  by  2010  the  European  base  of
DVDs will be over 115 million units94.

The value of commercial transactions of contents in this format will have a comparable
growth, both in sales and rentals. In 1999 Europeans bought DVDs for the value of €
403  million,  and  spent  another  17  million  on  rentals.  According  to  Screen  Digest,  in
2003  the  figure  will  have  reached  a  total  of €  5.3  billion,  which  means  a  growth  of  1
289%. This rapid market expansion will also mean a drastic drop in the sales and rentals
of contents in the VHS format, which will fall from €  5.7 billion recorded  in  1999, to
half in 2003, a fall of 16% a year. According to these forecasts in the next two years the
market  will  grow  in  all  the  European  countries  at  a  rate  of  between  80  and  100%  per
annum,  although  growth  will  be  higher  than  average  in  Spain  and  the  Scandinavian
countries95.

The  DVD,  thanks  to  its  capacity  to  include  in  the  same  support  several  dubbed  and
subtitled  versions  of  the  same  film,  represents  an  unprecedented  opportunity  for
producers  from  any  cultural  and  linguistic  environment  to  reach  a  global  audience.
Indeed, the sales figures reached in Europe are already significant, given that in 1999,
the  most  sold  films  exceeded  the  figure  of  4  million  units.  As  a  consequence,  and  in
view  of  the  huge  growth  forecast  for  the  next  years,  this  sector  will  become  of  great
importance for the spreading of cultural values in Europe.

Until  now,  the  European  market  has  found  itself  dominated  almost  completely  by  the
productions of the large North American studios, as shown by the fact that the most sold
titles of 1999 were North American films. This predominance is repeated at a national
level;  although  in  some  countries  like  France  there  is  a  greater  presence  of  local
productions.

The spread of DVD has also meant a notable increase in the number of production and
distribution  companies  participating  in  this  sector,  together  with  the  large  North
American studios. This growing presence of small and medium-sized companies might
facilitate  distribution  according  to  market  laws,  which  would  hinder  the  large  studios
taking up dominant positions, with the consequent reduction of the risk of uniformity in
the cultural values present in the contents.

One  form  of  distribution  of  growing  importance  is  the  Internet.  In  2000  purchases  of
DVDs made by Europeans through the Net reached 43 million euros (10.7% of the total
sales). For the next few years huge growth is predicted putting the figure at 830 million
in 2003 (5 million euros) (19.0% of sales).

It  is  calculated  that  40%  of  the  DVD  purchases  made  by  Europeans  in  1990  were  on
North American web sites. This percentage is explained by the fact that these companies
often offer catalogues with more choice and release some programmes earlier onto the
market.  Also,  the  film  sales  price  is  usually  considerably  less  than  in  Europe,
occasionally with differences of up to 35%96.

93 See Screen Digest (2000), DVD poised to take over from VHS in the home video market, London.
94 See European Audiovisual Observatory (2000) Statistical Yearbook. Film, Television, Video and New
Media in Europe, Strasbourg.
95 See Screen Digest (2000), DVD poised to take over from VHS in the home video market. London.
96 See European Audiovisual Observatory (2000), Eurofiction. Television Fiction in Europe, Strasbourg.

77

                                                
Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

These circumstances have led to the fact that the number of European homes with DVD
readers  which  can  reproduce  programmes  with  the  zone  1  code  (North  America)  is
becoming  significant,  representing  an  added  facility  for  the  penetration  of  North
American films in Europe.

The development of DVD will be increasingly closely connected to the Internet, so that
the interconnection between the two will facilitate the combination of contents stored in
the disk with others which are accessed online. This combination is especially useful to
make  up  for  the  present  limitations  of  the  band  width  of  Internet  connections,  which
makes  the  reception  of  video  contents  difficult.  It  also  allows  the  updating  of
information stored on the disk with more recent information, accessible through the net.
Moreover,  the  interconnection  between  both  media  makes  the  creation  of  user  groups
possible  which,  in  the  last  instance,  allows  for  the  values  of  commercial  transactions
associated with the contents to be increased.

The  fact  that  several  initiatives  of  DVD-Video  machine  manufacturers  which  allow
connection  to  Internet  are  already  on  the  market  or  are  at  the  development  stage,
indicates  that  this  tendency  will  continue  over  the  next  few  years.  One  exceptional
manufacturer’s  initiative  is  the  iDVD  system  of  the  North  American  company
Planetweb, which is incorporated in 25% of the machines sold in 2000 and is expected
to  reach  50%  of  the  DVD  readers  in  2002.  Interconnection  will  also  be  decisive  for
DVD-ROM users which, despite the relatively slow development in Europe to date, –
only 3 million PCs with DVD in 1999 -, could grow significantly in the next few years,
in the same way as has occurred in North America – 9.3 million units in the same year-
97. These possibilities for interconnection take on greater importance in the near future,
with the expansion of the broadband connections, DVD recorders and storage systems
based on local servers.

These  observations  on  trends  indicate  that  Internet  will  become  ever  more  important  as  a
medium for the transmission of cultural values, given that its contents will be closely related to
the audiovisual media, which up to now have been those with the highest audiences.

The tendencies presented allow us to state that DVD will also be a medium of great importance
for the spreading of cultural values. The current predominance of North American contents – as
a  consequence  of  their  leadership  in  the  cinema  industry,  implies  a  serious  risk  of  the
deterioration  of  European  cultural  diversity.  In  order  to  confront  this  situation,  the  European
audiovisual  sector  must  especially  influence  the  development  of  contents  with  interactive
applications  for  DVD,  based  on  connection  to  Internet,  whilst  promoting  the  consolidation  of
strong companies, which use all the Net’s potential for the distribution of audiovisual works.

97 See Screen Digest (2001), The Connected DVD. Integrating DVD and the Web. London.

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Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

Appendix 1

List of delegate researchers

Germany: 

Runar Woldt
European Institute for the Media

United Kingdom and Sweden: 

Ingar Nilsson
Journalist

Italy: 

Greece: 

Holland: 

Finland: 

Austria:  

France: 

Ireland: 

Portugal: 

Denmark: 

Belgium: 

Jorge Milán
Universita della Santa Croce

Christophoro Georghadjis
Antena Media Athens

Itziar Luri
Universidad de Navarra

Inmaculada Higueras
Turku  School  of  Economics  and  Business
Administration

Andreas Hofmaier
Carat.

Christophe Chapier
Université de Reims

John Corcoran
Dublin City University

Maria Helena Sousa
Universidade do Minho

Frands Mortensen
University of Aarhus

Arturo Sanabria
Tass Europrojects

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Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

Appendix 2

List of experts consulted

Bruno Nguyen, Director Media Assistance, Brussels.

Costas Daskalalakis, Deputy Head, Media Unit, Brussels.

Stephan Jaekel, Director Public Policy, Bertelsmann eCommerce Group, Germany.

Runar  Woldt,  Director  Research  &  Strategy,  European  Institute  for  the  Media,

Germany.

Franck Agier, President, media[netCom] France SAS, France.

Olivier Brie, Manager, Imagine Broadband, France.

Richard Staniforth, Director, The Productive Play Co. Cardiff, U.K.

Peter Koch, President, Multimedia Producers´ Association, Austria.

David Bogi, Director, RAI-Sat, Italy.

Dr. Peter H. Weidermann - Media & Entertainment, Accenture, Munich, Germany

Carmen Fuente, Directora de temáticos, Planeta 2010, Spain.

Fernando Labrada, Media Research and Consultancy, Spain.

Javier González Ferrari, Director General RTVE, Spain

Peter Edwards, Head of Drama Development, HTV, Wales

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Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

Appendix 3

List of experts consulted to the analysis of concentration trends

Austria: 

Manfred Knoche
Institut für Publizistik und Komunikationswissenschaft
University of Salzburg

Belgium (fr): François Jongen

Departament du Droit Public
University of Louvain

Belgium (fl):

Jean-Claude Burgelman.
Université Libre de Bruxelles

France: 

Germany:

Nadine Toussaint Desmoulins
Institut Français de Presse
University of Paris 2

Runar Woldt
The European Institute for the Media
Düsseldorf

Great Britain:  Peter Humphreys

Greece:

Holland:

Department of Government
University of Manchester

Emmanuel Heretakis
DMB & B (Media Director)
Athens

Jan J. Van Cuilenburg
Het Persinstituut
University of Amsterdam

Ireland:Colum Kenny

Italy:

School of Communications
Dublin City University

José María La Porte
Universita della Santa Croce
Roma

Portugal:

Jose Manuel Nobre Correia
Portugal

Scandinavian countries: Ole Prehn

Institut for Komunikation
University of Aalborg

Spain:

            Alfonso Sánchez-Tabernero

Departamento de Empresa Informativa
University of Navarra

81

Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

Appendix 4

List to evaluate Media programme

Media Desk and Antennae Directors

Austria:

Gerlinde Seitner

Belgium:

Gilbert Dutrieux

Finland: 

Kerstin Degerman

Ireland:

Siobhan O’Donoghue

Luxembourg:  Romain Kohn

Norge: 

Sidsel Kraakenes

Portugal:

Amelia Sousa Tavares

Scotland:

Emma Valentine

Spain:              Jesús Hernández

82

Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

Appendix 5

Coding Schedule

ANALYSIS  OF  CULTURAL  DIVERSITY 
PRODUCTION
SCHOOL OF PUBLIC COMMUNICATION
UNIVERSITY OF NAVARRA (SPAIN)

IN  EUROPEAN  TELEVISION

Please complete the following questionnaire for each programme

Broadcast

Country:… … … … … …..
Title of the programme:… … … … … … … … … … …..........................

Season:  95-96__     97-98__   99-00___
Number of broadcasts:.....................................

Duration: … … …  min.
Day(s) of the week:...........................

Date:… … … … …Time:… …..

Channel/station:… … … … … … …. __ Public__ Commercial  

__Other

Audience share: … … …% Total audience (thousand viewers):… … … … …................

Language:… … … … … … …......................

__ Subtitled

__ Dubbed

Genre

__ Daily news

__ Weekly news

__ Magazine

__ Talk show

__ Reality show

__ Documentary

__ Quiz show

__ Musical show

__ Fiction series

__ TV movie

__ Feature Film

__ Sports

__ Cartoons

__Others (specify):… … … … … … … … … … … …........

83

Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

Production

Cultural Indicators

of 

programme 

Description 
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … ….......................
.............................................
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
….....................
...............................................................................................................................................
........
...............................................................................................................................................
........

content:

Main character/presenter

Nationality:… … … … … … … …..

Ethnicity:… … … … … … … … …

Place:  __ National
             __ International (if the programme is set in other countries as well)
             __ Abroad    (if the programme is set totally in other countries)

(if the programme is set mainly in the country of production)

Understanding culture as "the ways of thinking, feeling and acting which are shared by a
number of people and help to constitute that people into a particular and distinct group”,
what kind of culture is being promoted (if any)?

 __ North American (U.S.)     

__ European  

__National  

__None

Other (please, specify):
...............................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................
..............................

Company:… … … … … … … … … … … … … …
Nationality:… … … … … … … … … … … … …...............

Language:… … … … … … … … … ….............

__ Original format

__ Acquired format

84

Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

Appendix 6

QUESTIONNAIRE

Theme:
Globalization of the Media Industry in Europe

Country:

Fields of study:

DATA ABOUT GLOBALIZATION

a)  Newspapers of general information (circulation)
b)  Newspapers of economic&financial information (circulation)
c)  Consumer magazines (circulation)
d)  Publishing industry: books (turnover)
e)  Radio (audience)
f)  Television (audience)
g)  Pay Television (number of subscribers)
h)  Cinema (box office sales)
i)  Music Industry (turnover)
j) 
k)  Advertising agencies (turnover)

Internet (web sites, number of visited pages)

1. Indicate which are the largest and the second largest companies in each field and the
percentage of foreign capital there is in each one of them

Newspapers of general information (circulation)
Name

Market share

Foreign capital

Newspapers of economic & financial information (circulation)

Name

Market share

Foreign capital

Consumer magazines (circulation)

Name

Market share

Foreign capital

Publishing industry: books (turnover)

Name

Market share

Foreign capital

85

Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

Radio (audience share)

Name

Market share

Foreign capital

Television (audience share)

Name

Market share

Foreign capital

Pay television (number of subscribers)

Name

Market share

Foreign capital

Cinema (box office sales) *

Name

Market share

Foreign capital

* the first company can be from another country if it sells more tickets than the local companies

Music Industry (turnover)

Name

Market share

Foreign capital

Internet (web sites, number of visited pages)

Name

Market share

Foreign capital

Advertising Agencies (turnover)
Name

Market share

Foreign capital

2. Indicate which is the largest foreign controlled company and its Market share

Newspapers of general information (circulation)

Name

Foreign capital

Market share

Newspapers of economic&financial information (circulation)

Name

Foreign capital

Market share

Consumer magazines (circulation)

Name

Foreign capital

Market share

Publishing industry (turnover)
Name

Foreign capital

Market share

Radio (audience share)

Name

Foreign capital

Market share

86

Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

Television (audience share)

Name

Foreign capital

Market share

Pay television (number of subscribers)

Name

Foreign capital

Market share

Cinema (box office sales)

Name

Foreign capital

Market share

Music Industry (turnover)

Name

Foreign capital

Market share

Internet (web sites, number of visited pages)

Name

Foreign capital

Market share

Advertising Agencies (turnover)
Name

Foreign capital

Market share

SPAIN

EXAMPLES

1. Indicate which are the largest and the second largest companies of each sector and what
percentage of foreign capital there is in each one of them

Newspapers of general information (circulation)

Name
Grupo Prisa
Grupo Correo

Market share
15%
12%

Foreign capital (% y Name)
20% invested in the stock exchange *
6% Sud – Ouest (France)

* 20% implies the possibility that some foreign investment exists, even so, we do not consider that
this has influence on their editorial line.

2. Indicate which is the largest foreign controlled company and its Market share

Newspapers of general information (circulation)

Name
Grupo Recoletos

Foreign capital
74% Pearson (United Kingdom)

Market share
11%

87

Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

Appendix 7

AUDIOVISUAL PRODUCTION IN THE EUROPEAN UNION
EVALUATION OF MEDIA PROGRAM IMPACT
SCHOOL OF PUBLIC COMMUNICATION,
UNIVERSITY OF NAVARRA, PAMPLONA, SPAIN.

Contacts:
Prof. Teresa La Porte (mtalfaro@unav.es)
Prof. Bienvenido Leon (bleon@unav.es)

INTERVIEW TO MEDIADESK AND ANTENNAE DIRECTORS

A  group  of  researchers  of  the  School  of  Public  Communication  of  the  University  of
Navarra  is  working  on  a  project  about  “Globalisation  of  the  media  industry  and  possible
threats  to  cultural  diversity”,  which  has  been  commissioned  by  the  European  Parliament
(STOA  Workplan  2000,  invitation  to  tender  EP/IV/A/STOA/2000/13/01).  This  project
includes a global evaluation on the impact of MEDIA Programmes impact based on a survey
among Media Desk and Antennae Directors of all European Union members. We would be
very honoured if you would be one of them. Experts must fill the attached questionnaire by
underlining  the  most  appropriate  answer  and  by  adding  any  comments.  Respondents  will
receive  a  summary  of  the  final  report,  once  the  European  Parliament  has  authorised  its
publication.

We look forward to having you in the group of experts for this project.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

1.  Evaluation  of  the  following  aspects  of  the  ways  in  which  the  MEDIA

Programmes are promoted:

Promotion of information about the programme:

- 
a)  Very good
b)  Satisfactory
c)  Less than satisfactory
d)  Poor

-  Access to information about the Programme:
a)  Satisfactory
b)  Less than satisfactory

-  Clarity in the Call for Projects:
a)  Very good
b)  Satisfactory
c)  Less than satisfactory
d)  Poor

88

Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

-  Comments:

2.  Evaluation of the system of candidate selection:

Selection criteria:

- 
a)  They favour big companies.
b)  They favour small companies.
c)  They allow for a balance between big and small companies.

Selection process (facility):

-
a)  Complex
b)  Simple.

Selection process (adequacy):

- 
a)  Adequate.
b)  Inadequate.

-  Decision making process:
a) 
b) 

It would be appropriate a greater role of integration of national governments
I think the present situation is appropriate.

-  Comments on the current role played by the European Commission:

3.  Evaluation of the implementation of the Programme:

-  Evaluation of the system of automatic resource allocation:
a)  Very good
b)  Satisfactory
c)  Less than satisfactory
d)  Poor.

- 

Please, briefly comment on your answer:

Project supervision:

- 
a)  Very good
b)  Satisfactory
c)  Less than satisfactory
d)  Poor

-  Comments:

4.  Evaluation of the impact of the MEDIA Programmes:
(Please, rank from 1 to 6 each of the following aspects:)

Training of script writers:

89

Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

- 
- 
- 

In film-making:
In TV:
In multimedia:

Training of business and commercial managers:

- 
- 
- 

In film-making:
In TV:
In multimedia:
Training in new technologies:
In film-making:
In TV:
In multimedia:

- 
- 
- 

Support to the development of individual audiovisual projects:

- 
- 
- 

In film-making:
In TV:
In multimedia:

Support to the development of lists of audiovisual projects or slate funding scheme.

- 
- 
- 

In film-making:
In TV:
In multimedia:

Support to European co-production:

- 
- 
- 

In film-making:
In TV:
In multimedia:

Support to distribution in Europe:

- 
- 
- 

In film-making:
In TV:
In multimedia:

Support to international distribution (third markets):

- 
- 
- 

In film-making:
In TV:
In multimedia:

Promotion of international competition:

- 
- 
- 

In film-making:
In TV:
In multimedia:
Promotion of cultural diversity:
In film-making:
In TV:
In multimedia:

- 
- 
- 

5.  Evaluation  of  the  relationship  between  the  MEDIA  Programme  and  the

national systems of aid:

-  Communication among the institutions which develop Aid Programmes in each member

state:
a)  Very good
b)  Satisfactory
c)  Less than satisfactory
d)  Poor.

90

Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

-  Complementarity among the various Aid Programmes:
a)  Very good
b)  Satisfactory
c)  Less than satisfactory
d)  Poor

-  Comments:

91

Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

Appendix 8

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Legislation

-
-

-

-
-

-
-

-
-

-

-

3.10.1989. Television without frontiers Directive 89/552/EC.
23.12.1992.  Green  Paper  on  pluralism  and  media  concentration  in  the  internal
market. COM (92) 480.
21.09.1990.  Rectification  of  the  Regulation  on  the  control  of  the  concentration
operations  between  companies  no.  4064/89.  (Official  Diary  of  the  European
Communities No. L 257/13
21.12.1990. Media Programme (1991 – 1995). 90/685/EEC.
06.04.1994. Green Paper: Strategic options to reinforce the programmes industry
in the context of the European Union’s audiovisual policy. COM (95) 546 final.
10.07.1995. Media II – Development and distribution (1996-2000). 95/563/EEC.
24.10.1995.  Parliament  and  Council  Directive  on  the  use  of  norms  for  the
transmission of television signals 94/47/EC.
30.06.1997. Review of the Television without Frontiers Directive 97/36/EEC.
03.11.1997.  Green  Paper  on  the  Convergence  of  Telecommunications,  Media,
Information  Technology  sectors,  and  the  implications  for  their  Regulation.
Towards an approach to the Information Society.
1998.  Commission  report  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  of
the  Birmingham
Ministers.  “Audiovisual  Policy:  next  steps”,  following 
Conference from 6 to 8 April 1998.
October  1998.  Report  from  the  High-Level  Group  on  the  future  of  audiovisual
policy presided over by the Commissioner Marcelino Oreja.
07.07.1998.  Proposal  of  the  Decision  of  the  European  Parliament  and  the
Council by which a single funding and programming instrument for cultural co-
operation is established.
19.11.1998.  Ruling  of  the  Committee  of  Regions  on  “Communication  of  the
European  Commission  on  the  First  framework  programme  of  the  European
Community for culture (2000-2004)”, and the “Proposal  of the Decision  of the
European Parliament  and  Council by  which  a single  funding and  programming
instrument  for  cultural  co-operation  is  established.  (Programme  “Culture

96

Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

-

-

-

-

-

-

2000”)”  1999/C51/12
10.03.1999.  Results  of  the  public  consultation  on  the  Green  Paper.  COM  (97)
623 final.
27.09.1999. Conclusions of the Council on the role of self-regulation in view of
the development of new media services (1999/C283/02)
25.10.1999.  Preparation  of  the  third  ministerial  conference  of  the  OMC.
Council’s conclusions.
14.12.1999. Communication of the Commission to the Council, to the European
Parliament, to the Economic and Social Committee and to the Committee of the
Regions  relative  to  a  proposal  of  support  programme  for  the  European
audiovisual industry (MEDIA Plus-20001-2005) COM (1999) 658final.
14.02.2000.  Decision  of  the  European  Parliament  and  Council  by  which  the
programme “Culture 2000”  is established. 508/2000/EEC.
29.03.2000.  Ruling  of  the  Economic  and  Social  Committee  on  the  subject
“Pluralism and concentration in the media”. 2000/C140/07.

97

Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

Appendix 9

Additional information

Coding Tables

Type  of  dominant  cultural  values  in  the  20  highest  audience  programmes  on  the
European television stations (1995-2000)

1995/96

1997/98

Place

1999/2000

Total

National
International
Abroad

National
International
Abroad

National
International
Abroad

National
International
Abroad

UK FR GE
10
14
15
0
1
1
10
5
4

12
1
7

18
0
2

45
2
13

14
3
3

13
5
2

37
13
10

5
0
15

3
3
14

18
3
39

SW FIN BE NE
17
10
1
4
22
6

13
4
3

14
4
2

13
1
6

15
2
3
38
7
15

15
0
5

16
2
2

45
6
9

7
6
7

5
4
11

25
14
21

19
0
1

16
3
1

52
4
4

IT
10
0
10

6
0
14

9
0
11

25
0
35

GR SP
13
14
1
1
6
5

15
0
5

18
0
2

47
1
12

16
1
3

16
0
4

45
2
13

IR
17
0
3

17
0
3

16
3
1

50
3
7

DE
14
0
6

11
0
9

15
0
5

40
0
20

AU
13
7
0

15
5
0

16
4
0

44
16
0

PO Total %
188
14
24
0
68
6

13
1
6

15
1
4

42
42
2

178
18
84

191
27
62

553
73
214

65.83
8.69
25.47

Source: School of Public Communication. University of Navarra. Total programmes analysed: 840

Genre  of  the  20  of  the  highest  audience  programmes  on  European  television
stations (1995-2000)

1995/
96

1997/
98

Daily news
Weekly news
Magazine
Talk show
Reality show
Documentary
Quiz show
Musical show
Fiction series
TV movie
Feature film
Sports
Sitcom
Other

Daily news
Weekly news
Magazine
Talk show
Reality show
Documentary
Quiz show
Musical show
Fiction series
TV movie
Feature film
Sports
Sitcom
Other

UK FR GE
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
1
0
5
11
0
0
7
1
3
3
0
1
2
2

0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
1
0
17
0
0

SW FIN BE NE
2
0
0
0
0
0
3
3
2
2
4
1
1
2

4
1
0
0
1
0
1
2
1
0
0
4
0
6

3
2
3
2
0
2
1
0
0
0
3
1
0
3

1
0
1
2
3
0
1
3
3
0
1
0
0
4

0
0
0
0
1
0
0
2
8
1
1
6
0
1

1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
2
5
9
0
3

0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
18
0
0

0
0
0
0
1
1
3
3
5
0
1
3
0
3

6
0
0
0
1
0
1
1
4
0
0
3
0
4

2
0
0
0
0
5
0
1
0
0
4
6
0
3

1
0
3
3
1
0
1
2
5
0
0
0
0
4

IT
0
0
2
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
3
11
0
1

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
19
0
0

GR SP
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
14
0
0

0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
2
2
0
12
1
1

0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
5
1
5
7
0
0

1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
16
1
0

IR
0
1
1
2
1
2
0
1
6
0
3
1
0
2

0
0
0
2
1
1
0
1
6
0
7
0
0
2

DE AU PO Total %
7.5
5
2.14
1
3.92
0
3.57
0
2.5
0
2.14
1
3.92
2
6.07
0
13.92
1
3.21
0
9.28
1
27.5
8
1.42
0
11.78
0

21
6
11
10
7
6
11
17
39
9
26
77
4
33

0
0
2
3
1
0
0
3
5
0
0
1
1
4

4
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
2
4
0
1
0
6

3
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
0
4
10
0
0

2
0
0
1
0
2
2
0
4
2
0
2
0
5

1
0
1
0
1
1
0
2
6
0
0
1
0
7

17
0
6
6
6
10
8
14
50
6
27
100
1
32

6
0
2.14
2.14
2.14
3.57
2.85
5
17.85
2.14
9.64
33.71
0
11.42

98

Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity

0

1
0
0
0
1
1
1
11
0
2
2
0
1

5

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
2
5
5
0
0

3

0
0
0
0
0
3
0
0
0
0
14
0
0

0

0
0
1
1
1
5
5
2
0
1
2
1
1

4

0
0
0
1
0
4
1
1
0
0
6
0
3

2

0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
4
12
0
0

1

1
3
0
1
1
1
2
4
0
0
1
0
5

1

0
2
0
1
0
0
1
2
0
0
13
0
0

0

0
1
1
1
0
1
0
6
1
2
6
0
1

0

0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
17
1
1

0

0
0
1
1
1
1
0
7
0
7
0
0
2

4

0
1
0
0
0
2
2
3
0
1
6
0
1

4

0
1
0
0
0
4
0
3
0
0
4
0
4

1

0
0
0
3
0
0
0
4
1
0
8
0
3

1999/
2000

Total

Daily news

Weekly news
Magazine
Talk show
Reality show
Documentary
Quiz show
Musical show
Fiction series
TV movie
Feature film
Sports
Sitcom
Other

Daily news
Weekly news
Magazine
Talk show
Reality show
Documentary
Quiz show
Musical show
Fiction series
TV movie
Feature film
Sports
Sitcom
Other

Source:School of Public Communication. University of Navarra. Total programmes analysed: 840

25

2
8
3
11
4
23
12
46
4
22
96
2
22

63
8
25
19
24
20
42
43
135
19
75
273
7
87

8.92

0.7
2.85
1.07
3.92
1.42
8.21
4.28
16.42
1.42
7.85
34.28
0.7
7.85

7.5
0.95
2.97
2.26
2.85
2.38
5
5.11
16
2.26
8.92
32.5
0.83
10.35

99

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