Free and independent

A giant – "one of the largest public investment ‘industries’ in Europe" – that is "experiencing what could be best described as its most difficult period since its establishment". It is the analysis of public television by Claudio Cappon, Vice-President of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU/UER), published on the latest issue of "Desk", the magazine of the Catholic Union of Italian Press (UCSI).The European landscape. The starting point is the recognition that "public television service is one of the most typical features of the European audiovisual landscape", originated from "specific initiatives" and notably "as a derivation of the original ‘state television’ monopoly". In its more modern understanding however, – said Cappon – public television service "has taken shape only recently, when the full development of commercial television highlighted the need to provide a more solid legal and cultural basis to activity which traditional ‘State television’ previously carried out. Still today it remains ‘one of the largest industrial public investments in Europe, with resources drawn from tax revenues, amounting to some € 30 billion per year". Today it pertains "to the audiovisual system as a whole, marked by the protection of the freedom of information".A serious crisis. The serious crisis that public television is experiencing is undeniable, due – according to Cappon – to three major factors, namely, the so-called "digital revolution", the "great crisis of public finance", along with a different "cultural and political climate". First, the increase in the offer led to a "change in the competitive scenario and in the flow of income from publicity". It should also be said that "public television has less tools to counter the crisis, both in terms of financial resources and in terms of diversified industrial strategies and editorial solutions". Second, the crisis and the related "austerity policies" view this realm as "a sitting duck". Finally "the extension of the crisis had led politicians and the political realm to use the media in an instrumental way to gain personal consensus, thus increasing the ambitious drives of those in positions of power in the private and public sector, as well as of various lobby groups".Less resources, "low cost" TV. "These challenges – adds Cappon – are, to a significant extent, common to the whole traditional television industry, grappling with the consequences of the increasingly widespread technological revolution that, in essence, profoundly modifies the traditional business models based on advertising and on a ‘communitarian’ vision of television, which advertising investments used to focus on". Today, however, the cu"rent "audience fragmentation" – ranging from new TV deals to cable TV – triggered to "a strong erosion in the economic resources of generalist TV", "following the criteria whereby 10 channels with 1 % rating are worth much less commercially than 1 channel with 10%". As a result – Cappon observed – the crisis in resources is reflected in the content, while public channels tend to offer "low cost" programs, "causing a decrease in their richness, variety and quality, with most ‘premium’ programs that migrate to cable TV, pay-per-view or video-on-demand platforms", triggering also a new economic divide’ in terms of access to programs". Cappon describes this situation as "’market failure", as the market no longer seems able to ensure everyone the same amount of audiovisual options, "traditionally considered a benchmark of equality between citizens".A new project. In conclusion, "technological discontinuity" and the "crisis in resources" call for a "new public television project for the digital era". Cappon highlights a set of crucial features. First, "public television can’t possibly broadcast everywhere, constantly and on whatever device". Thus "it is important to plan and carry out restructuring initiatives whereby downsizing triggers an offer that will impact society by providing significant content". Second, the cut in resources from advertising "makes public television ‘a-competitive’, to the benefit of its content, compared to commercial TV networks, thus enhancing independent and varied TV news". The ultimate target is "the recovery of a direct relationship with citizens and public opinion, thus ascribing new meaning to public investment, based on a thriftier and selective – albeit more independent- approach, capable of "initiatives that others don’t dare offer".