EBU’s Media Intelligence Service (MIS) has published its annual report on public service media (PSM) funding together with a new study underlining the importance of licence fee funding in relation to PSM performance.

Licence fee 2015

This in-depth analysis of the licence fee in Europe reveals a positive correlation between the amount of the licence fee and PSM audience performance. It also highlights a trend towards lower collection costs and evasion rates in markets where PSM have direct responsibility for licence fee collection.

Half of EBU Members collect a licence fee (27 EBU countries at 1 January 2015). It is the main source of PSM funding, accounting for 66.8% of all PSM income in the EBU area. The report provides a valuable overview of licence fee collection systems, amounts and beneficiaries across the EBU. Moreover, it outlines key arguments for defending the licence fee from some common misconceptions.

Funding of public service media 2015

The 2015 PSM funding report includes detailed insights into the funding of 63 EBU PSM organizations in 45 countries. Results highlight the medium-term stagnation of PSM income in nominal terms (+1.8% from 2010 to 2014), which is a decrease in real terms of -5.7% once inflation is taken into account. Comparisons with European commercial broadcasters, but also with new worldwide conglomerates that recently entered the European audiovisual market, confirm that PSM neither distort the broadcasting market nor jeopardize the viability of commercial business models.

Both reports are available exclusively to EBU Members on the Media Intelligence Portal.