The EBU has welcomed the European Commission’s agreement to move forward on the Digital Single Market Strategy, saying policies to reap the benefits of the Internet and media convergence are a pressing need with European society now firmly in the digital age.

In welcoming the move, the EBU wishes to stress the importance of Europe’s creative and cultural industries and their key role in providing high quality content.  Audio and video content drives the uptake of Internet and broadband services, the development of online platforms and the success of social networks.

EBU Head of European Affairs Nicola Frank said: “Europe needs an up-to-date regulatory framework geared for a converging media environment. Digital Single Market policies need to stimulate the virtuous circle between creation and distribution, rendered possible by digital networks and fuelled by high quality content.”

“Public Service Media are key assets for the development and implementation of the Digital Single Market. They provide high-quality digital content that reflects Europe’s cultural diversity and plurality. The public policy challenge in this complex landscape for EBU members is to ensure access to this high-quality content on all relevant digital platforms.”

The creation and broad dissemination of high quality programmes feed European cultural and creative industries, which employ more than 7 million people in the EU and generate more than 4.2% of EU GDP. These industries’ capacity to act as a lever for the European economy has been documented in several EU reports.

The EU audiovisual sector is a core component of Europe’s cultural and creative fabric. It generates a turnover of roughly EUR130 billion every year, offers a laboratory for innovative business models and services, and creates high added-value jobs which are deeply rooted in local cultures and economies.

In this ecosystem, public service media organisations in Europe invest 20 billion Euros every year in content. On average, 65% of their programmes are own and commissioned productions, and 84% of their programmes are ‘made-in-Europe’.

In addition to their economic contribution, public service media are a crucial asset for an inclusive society, an informed citizenship and for democracy. They strive to offer content which builds trust and confidence in the Internet, reaching out to those familiar and less familiar with the digital environment. As such, the EBU firmly believes that public service media are in a unique position to ensure that the “digital society” goes hand-in-hand with the “digital economy”.