Television on your doorstep. Decentralization experiences in the European Union

Book abstract:

This book contains the results of the second research project undertaken by a group of communications experts from the fifteen Member States of the European Union. Created in 1992 this group specialises in studying the decentralisation processes of television systems in Europe. The chapters in the book are monographic reports for each EU country written by local experts. Each report starts with a brief description of the country's regional system followed by a presentation of television's legislation and structure. It then goes on to describe the regulatory framework and the different types of regional and local television. After that it analyses the programming of some channels and assesses the conditions for small-scale television's viability, based on the financial, technological and sociocultural factors affecting its development. The volume also contains an analytical chapter which aims to analyse the main similarities and differences between these countries, to run through the existing types of regional and local television and to analyse the conditions for their viability and future development.

The highly original research presented in this volume provides new data on the seemingly contradictory processes of media globalisation and decentralisation and is optimistic regarding the future of television in the regions and cities in the new era of digital and multi-channel broadcasting.

The research project was led by Professor Miquel de Moragas Spà, Professor of Communications at the Faculty of Communication Sciences and Director of both the Institute of Communications (InCom) and the Olympic Studies Centre (Autonomous University of Barcelona). and Carmelo Garitaonandía, Professor of Communications at the Faculty of Information Sciences (University of the Basque Country).