A new platform developed by the EBU allows Radio Members to share multimedia content for their websites and visual radio services. In the era of transmedia storytelling, the Euroradio Multimedia Exchange System (Euroradio MES) will revolutionize the way that Radio Members share and obtain content.

The portal was originally requested by the EBU New Radio Group and fills a need that many EBU Radio Members have felt for some time. While Radio was in the past an audio-only medium, the internet and mobile platforms now play such an important role in the way people listen, that it’s fast becoming an expectation that public service media organizations provide rich multimedia content in support of their broadcast output. 

Many listeners to a radio station’s news bulletin will habitually turn to the website expecting to find the video and images that make up the ‘DVD extras’ of radio news today. 

Sourcing these elements, however, is not straightforward for journalists. Complex rules governing copyright, high fees charged by photo agencies and the huge range of sources available mean that broadcasters are often unable to find all the content that their audiences expect. 

Addressing this challenge, the Euroradio MES aims to be a ‘one-stop-shop’ bringing together rights-cleared media from EBU Members and partner organizations including UN Multimedia and trusted freelance journalists across the world.

The Euroradio MES is the newest member of a family of exchange services offered by EBU Radio, including the Euroradio News Exchange - which supplies radio journalists across Europe with audio clips from major events – and the Eurosonic and Euroclassic concert databases.

The New Radio Group provides a forum for EBU Radio Members to exchange ideas for exploiting new technologies and platforms to create and deliver content. Although content driven, the Group also covers strategic and financial issues.   

The Group organizes an annual Digital Radio Conference, which this year is taking place in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on 28th and 29th October.