Commitment
Jean Réveillon, Secretary
General
The social legitimacy of public service
broadcasting is founded upon two facts.
First, the irreversible acceleration of concentration in the
commercial sector of radio and television fosters the
internationalization of the audiovisual offer; second, confronted
with this growing competition, public service broadcasting is, in
Europe, a guarantor of pluralism, cultural diversity and social
cohesion. 
As the Union of public service broadcasters, the legitimacy of
the EBU resides in the reinforcement of the competitive offer of
its Members, against a background of solidarity favouring the
sharing of experience.
The EBU Secretary General has principally to promote and sustain
public service broadcasting, and offer the Members both programmes
and services of quality and respond to their specific
expectations.
Willingness
As Secretary General at the service of all the Members of the
Union, I intend to adapt the EBU’s offer of services and programmes
to their diversities - as a means towards strengthening social
cohesion - by reinforcing the solidarity between the Members.
News: the circulation and exchange of news items contributes to
the indispensable window on the world, necessary for understanding
between people and cultures. This essential service must adapt to
an operational context subjected to two pressures: growing
competition and rapid technological change.
Sport: coherence in methods and procedures for sports rights
acquisition must be a priority for the EBU so as to guarantee that
Members have access to major sporting events.
Programmes and services: the production, circulation and
exchange of programmes between the Members are the hingepin of
high-quality audiovisual production; the latter is the sole barrier
to the internationalization of programming to the detriment of
European cultures. Meeting this objective implies that we stimulate
and reinforce the operational collaboration between Members,
especially in the areas of radio and television programmes,
professional training, prospective reflection, as well as legal,
technical and economic matters.
Commitment
It is necessary to put in place a strategy of proactive
communication, coupled with specific resources for the
strengthening of institutional communication.
Public service broadcasting is something specific to Europe that
cannot feed upon market forces alone; it needs well-adapted
institutional frameworks at national and community level. For this
reason it is a priority that we develop communication policies and
strategies that can promote and defend the specificities of public
service broadcasting in dealing with public authorities and the
institutions at national, community and inter-national level. We
need to propose to the EBU bodies a range of strategies that will
get this message across to opinion-makers and the general public as
a means to promoting not so much the EBU itself but rather public
service broadcasting. And we need to foster internal communication
and facilitate the circulation of information.
Transparency
Results will be seen through transparency. The EBU’s obligation
to deliver cannot be judged merely in terms of profits and margins
- however necessary these may be for the development of our
activities - but are seen in relation to the optimization of
resources used in the delivery of quality services to the
Members.
To achieve this transparency, we need:
To encourage the Members to get involved in
the development and definition of the Union’s priorities and
strategies.
To trigger the Members into taking an active
part in the work of the Union’s bodies.
Management bodies that have the competence to
debate and decide priorities and strategies.
Specialist bodies in each area of activity,
participating in bringing together the Members and the Permanent
Services with a view to consolidating priorities and
strategies.
To set up tools to monitor the activities of
the Permanent Services, the bodies of the Union and relations with
the Members.
One certainty
Digital television is a priority for public service television.
The end of the analogue era is scheduled. Digital television, and
DTT in particular, must reign supreme - the only alternative being
to abandon the future of television to the confines of cable and
satellite distribution.
Digital is a challenge for the EBU. The migration to digital
knows no frontiers and imposes coherence in standardization,
regulation and economic structures. Within the European Area, the
EBU must:
Facilitate the on-going exchange of
information and experience between the Members in respect of their
respective evolution towards digital;
Offer support to its Members so that the
necessary preconditions can be established in:
Standardization: the adoption of open
standards permitting service inter-operability;
Regulation: the harmonization of national and
community legal frameworks in the audio-visual sector;
Financing: with growth and long-term
commitment as regards the resources available to the public service
channels.
One urgency
Eurovision Sport exemption: As Secretary General I devote all my
energy to convincing the Commission and the politicians that it is
absolutely essential that we reach a positive decision in this
area.
In exchange EBU Members will make the necessary efforts to grant
sublicences. It is important for us to maintain the general
coverage of sport on free-to-air television. Otherwise pay-TV will
take over all the major events and other sports will gradually
disappear from our screens.
A project for the Permanent Services
To strengthen the coherence of the management
teams.
To promote team spirit, confidence and
transparency.
To set up a balanced team of directors,
primarily with a view to optimizing services to the Members.
To lead the Permanent Services in a spirit of
participation.
To get the team of directors and the
departments involved in the necessary adaptation of the Permanent
Services’ structures and procedures, as imposed by the current and
future evolution in broadcasting.
Solidarity through confidence
If we are to take account of the major differences between
Members, it is necessary to expand the exchange of programmes and
services around three essential principles: solidarity,
transparency and confidence, by:
developing solidarity-oriented projects
adapted to the expectations of public service broad-casters, which
are not those dictated by egoistic market forces;
guaranteeing transparency so that everyone can
better relate each project to their own specific situation;
establishing the confidence that is
indispensable in any exchange, centred on projects bringing to the
fore the experience and know-how of those involved.
pj/ep
