Private Television in Western Europe ― Content, Markets, Policies

The existence of commercial television in Europe is relatively new compared to the United States and was 'officialised' only in 1989 with the adoption of the Television without Frontiers Directive. The introduction of private television – to some extent coordinated at the European level, but to a large extent shaped by the EU Member States – was fiercely commented upon in the 1980s. Nevertheless, most assertions on the phenomenon of private television are based not so much on empirical findings but rather on ideological arguments in favour or against commercial television. More often than not, arguments are entrenched in 'boom' and 'doom' perspectives on the commercialisation of media. In addition, academic research on private television remains scarce to date: the limited attention from scholars in Europe stands in sharp contrast with the extensive research in the field on public service broadcasting. Clustered around three themes, European and national experiences, content and markets, and policies, Private Television in Western Europe: Content, Markets, Policies aims to fill this gap, transcending the 'boom' and 'doom' scenarios that seem so dominant in media studies research.

Karen Donders lectures in European media and information society policies at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium. She is a senior researcher and project leader with the centre for Studies on Media Information and Telecommunication (SMIT). She specialises in European media policy, competition policy and its effects on the media sector, public service broadcasting and private television. She is author of Public Service Media and Policy in Europe (Palgrave, forthcoming), editor of Rethinking European Media and Communications Policies (with H. Kalimo, C. Pauwels and B. Van Rompuy, VUBpress, 2009) and has published widely in international journals including Convergence, Journal of Media Law, Journal of Electronic Governance and Info.

Caroline Pauwels lectures in European and Flemmish media policy and communication sciences at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium. She is Director of the centre for Studies on Media Information and Telecommunication (SMIT) and works on European audiovisual policy, entertainment economy and convergence and concentration issues in media policy. She is author of From Television Without Frontiers to Television Beyond Frontiers (Acco, forthcoming) and Cyberteens, Cyberrisks, Cybertools (with J. Bauwens, C. Lobet-Maris, Y. Poullet and M. Walrave, Academia Press, 2009) and editor of Audiovisual Media in Flanders (with D. Biltereyst and J.C. Burgelman, VUBpress, 1994), Beyond the Digital Divide (with B. Cammaerts, L. Van Audenhove and G. Nullens, VUBpress, 2003), The Ungraspable Audience (with N. Carpentier and O. Van Oost, VUBpress, 2004) and Rethinking European Media and Communications Policies (with H. Kalimo, K. Donders and B. Van Rompuy, VUBpress, 2009).

Jan Loisen lectures in communication sciences, political economy of the cultural industries, international media policy and media, culture and globalisation theories at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium. He is a senior researcher in the centre for Studies on Media Information and Telecommunication (SMIT) and is senior researcher with the Flemmish Research Centre on International Policy. His primary areas of research include global media policy, trade and culture in the EU, WTO and UNESCO, international relations and globalisation and information society theories. He is author of Cultural Diversity and Subsidiarity (Steunpunt Buitenlands Beleid, forthcoming), editor of Subsidiarity and Multilevel Governance (with F. De Ville, Royal Flemmish Academy of Belgium for Sciences and the Arts, forthcoming) and has published articles in the European Journal of Communication, International Journal of Communication and Media Perspecktiven.