European Broadcasting Union

European Broadcasting Union
Union européenne de radio-télévision

Countries with one or more members are in green
Formation 12 February 1950
Type Union of broadcasting organisations
Headquarters Geneva, Switzerland
Membership 74 active members
Official languages English, French
President Jean-Paul Philippot[1]
Website http://www.ebu.ch/

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; French: Union européenne de radio-télévision (UER)) is a confederation of 74 broadcasting organisations from 56 countries, and 49 associate broadcasters from a further 25. It is unrelated to the European Union.

Contents

General description

Members of the EBU are radio and television companies, most of which are government-owned public service broadcasters or privately owned stations with public missions. Full active Members are based in countries from Iceland to Russia, including almost every European nation. Associate members include countries from outside Europe such as Canada, Japan, Mexico, India and Hong Kong. Associate Members from the United States include ABC, CBS, NBC, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Time Warner, and the only individual station, Chicago-based classical music station WFMT.

Active members are those whose states fall within the European Broadcasting Area, or otherwise those who are members of the Council of Europe.

The EBU's highest profile production is the Eurovision Song Contest, organised by its Eurovision Network. The Eurovision Network also organises the Eurovision Dance Contest, the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, the Eurovision Young Dancers competition, and other competitions for young musicians and screenwriters, which are modelled along similar lines. The countries in the EBU have also often worked together to create documentaries and (animated) children's programming.

Radio collaborations include Euroclassic Notturno – an overnight classical music stream, produced by BBC Radio 3 and broadcast in the United Kingdom as Through the Night – and special theme days, such as the annual Christmas music relays from around Europe.

Most EBU broadcasters have a group deal to carry the Olympics[2] and FIFA World Cup (particularly, the games of their country and the Final). Another annually recurring event which is broadcast across Europe through the EBU is the Vienna New Year's Concert.

The theme music played before EBU broadcasts is Marc-Antoine Charpentier's Prelude to Te Deum. It is well known to Europeans as it is played before and after the Eurovision Song Contest and other important events.

History

It was formed on 12 February 1950 by 23 broadcasting organisations from Europe and the Mediterranean at a conference in the coastal resort of Torquay in Devon, England. In 1993, the International Radio and Television Organisation (OIRT), an equivalent organisation of broadcasters from Central and Eastern Europe, was merged with the EBU.

The first co-production was the animated series The Animals of Farthing Wood from 1993 based on the books of the same title by Colin Dann. The second animated collaboration was Noah's Island from 1997 and more recently, Pitt and Kantrop. Another important EBU programme is Jeux Sans Frontières.

Technical activities

The objective of the EBU's technical activities is simply to assist EBU Members (see below) in this period of unprecedented technological changes. This includes provision of technical information to Members via conferences and workshops, as well as in written form (such as the EBU Technical Review, and the EBU tech-i magazine).

The EBU also encourages active collaboration between its Members on the basis that they can freely share their knowledge and experience, thus achieving considerably more than individual Members could achieve by themselves. Much of this collaboration is achieved through Project Groups which study specific technical issues of common interest: for example, EBU Members have long been preparing for the revision of the 1961 Stockholm Plan.

The EBU places great emphasis on the use of open standards. Widespread use of open standards (such as MPEG-2, DAB, DVB, etc.) ensures interoperability between products from different vendors, as well as facilitating the exchange of programme material between EBU Members and promoting "horizontal markets" for the benefit of all consumers.

EBU Members and the EBU Technical Department have long played an important role in the development of many systems used in radio and television broadcasting, such as:

The EBU has also actively encouraged the development and implementation of:

Members

Country Broadcasting organisation National script Abbr. Year
 Albania Albanian Radio and Television Radio Televizioni Shqiptar RTSH 1962
 Algeria National Television Company المـؤسـسـة العمومية للتـلـفزيـون ENTV 1970
National Sound-broadcasting Company الإذاعة الجزائرية ENRS 1970
Television of Algeria تلفزيون لجزائر TDA 1970
 Armenia Public Radio of Armenia Հայաստանի Հանրային Ռադիո ARMR 2005
Public Television of Armenia Հայաստանի հանրային հեռուստաընկերություն ARMTV 2005
 Austria Austrian Broadcasting Österreichischer Rundfunk ORF 1953
 Azerbaijan Public Television and Radio Broadcasting Company İctimai Televiziya və Radio Yayımları Şirkəti İTV 2007
 Belarus Belarusian Television and Radio Company Нацыянальная дзяржаўная тэлерадыёкампанія Рэспублікі Беларусь BTRC 1993
 Belgium Flemish Radio- and Television Network Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroep VRT 1950
Belgian Radio and Television of the French Community Radio-Télévision Belge de la Communauté Française RTBF 1950
 Bosnia & Herzegovina Radiotelevision of Bosnia & Herzegovina Radio-televizija Bosne i Hercegovine, Радио-телевизија Босне и Херцеговине BHRT 1993
 Bulgaria Bulgarian National Radio Българско национално радио BNR 1993
Bulgarian National Television Българска национална телевизия BNT 1993
 Croatia Croatian Radiotelevision Hrvatska radiotelevizija HRT 1993
 Cyprus Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation Ραδιοφωνικό Ίδρυμα Κύπρου \ (Turkish) Kıbrıs Yayın Kurumu RIK/ CyBC 1969
 Czech Republic Czech Radio Český rozhlas ČRo 1993
Czech Television Česká televize ČT 1993
 Denmark Denmark's Radio Danmarks Radio AS DR 1950
TV2 TV2 AS DK/TV2 1996
 Egypt Egyptian Radio and Television Union إتحاد الإذاعة و التليفزيون المصري ERTU 1950–1958, 1985
 Estonia Estonian Public Broadcasting Eesti Rahvusringhääling ERR 1993
 Finland – Finnish Broadcasting Corporation
- Swedish Broadcasting of Finland		 Yleisradio OY / (Swedish) Rundradion AB YLE/FST5 1950
Commercial Channel 3 Mainostelevisio 3 MTV3 1993
 France - Télévision Française 1
- France Télévisions
- Canal+
- Radio France
- Radio France Internationale		 Groupement des Radiodiffuseurs Français de l'UER GRF 1950
Europe 1 Europe 1 E1 1978
 Georgia Georgian Public Broadcasting საქართველოს საზოგადოებრივი მაუწყებელი GPB 2005
 Germany German National Broadcasting Arbeitsgemeinschaft der öffentlich-rechtlichen
Rundfunkanstalten der Bundesrepublik Deutschland		 ARD 1952
Second German Television Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen ZDF 1963
 Greece Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation Ελληνική Ραδιοφωνία Τηλεόραση ERT 1950
 Hungary Hungarian Radio Magyar Rádió MR 1993
Hungarian Television Magyar Televízió HU/MTV 1993
 Iceland National Broadcasting Service Ríkisútvarpið RÚV 1956
 Ireland Irish Radio-Television Raidió Teilifís Éireann RTÉ 1950
Irish Language Television Teilifís na Gaeilge 4 TG4 2007
 Israel
 Palestine		 Israel Broadcasting Authority רָשׁוּת השׁידוּר IBA 1957
 Italy Italian Broadcasting Radiotelevisione Italiana RAI 1950
 Jordan Jordan Radio and Television Corporation التلفزيون الأردني JRTV 1970
 Latvia Latvian Television Latvijas Televīzija LTV 1993
Latvian Radio Latvijas Radio LR 1993
 Lebanon Télé Liban تلفزيون لبنان TL 1950
 Lithuania Lithuanian National Radio and Television Lietuvos Radijas ir Televizija LRT 1993
 Luxembourg CLT Multi Media Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Télédiffusion RTL 1950
Radio 100,7 Radio 100,7 ERSL 1996
 Macedonia Macedonian Radio-Television Македонска радио телевизија MKRTV 1993
 Malta Public Broadcasting Services Public Broadcasting Services MT/PBS 1970
 Moldova Teleradio-Moldova Teleradio-Moldova TRM 1993
 Monaco Radio Monte-Carlo Groupement de Radiodiffuseurs Monégasques TMC 1950
 Montenegro Radio Television of Montenegro Radio televizija Crne Gore/ Радио телевизија Црне Горе RTCG 2001
 Morocco Société Nationale de Radiodiffusion et de Télévision الشركة الوطنبة للإذاعة والتلفرة SNRT 1950–1960, 1969
 Netherlands Netherlands Public Broadcasting Nederlandse Publieke Omroep NPO 1950
 Norway Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation Norsk Rikskringkasting AS NRK 1950
TV2 TV2 AS NO/TV2 1992
 Poland Polish Television Telewizja Polska TVP 1993
Polish Radio Polskie Radio PR 1993
 Portugal Radio and Television of Portugal Rádio e Televisão de Portugal RTP 1950
 Romania Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company Societatea Română de Radiodifuziune ROR 1993
Romanian Television Televiziunea Română TVR 1993
 Russia Channel One Russia Первый канал C1R 1993
Radio Dom Ostankino Радиодом Останкино RDO 1993
All-Russia State Television and Radio Company Всероссийская государственная телевизионная и радиовещательная компания RTR 1993
 San Marino Radio-Television of San Marino Radiotelevisione della Repubblica di San Marino SMTV 1995
 Serbia Radio Television of Serbia Радио-телевизија Србије RTS 2001
 Slovakia Radio Television of Slovakia Rozhlas a televízia Slovenska RTVS 2011
 Slovenia Radio-Television Slovenia Radiotelevizija Slovenije RTVSLO 1993
 Spain Spanish Radio-Television Corporación Radiotelevisión Española RTVE 1955
Spanish Society of Radio Sociedad Española de Radiodifusión SER 1982
People's Radiowaves of Spain Cadena de Ondas Populares de España COPE 1998
 Sweden - Swedish Television
- Swedish Radio
- Swedish Educational Broadcasting
- Swedish Factual Broadcasting		 Sveriges Television och Radio Grupp AB SVT 1950
TV4 TV4 AB TV4 2004
 Switzerland Swiss Broadcasting Corporation
-Schweizer Fernsehen
-Schweizer Radio DRS
-Radio Télévision Suisse
-Radiotelevisione svizzera di lingua italiana
-Radio Television Rumantscha		 SRG SSR idée suisse / Schweizerische Radio- und Fernsehgesellschaft (German) / Société suisse de radiodiffusion et télévision (French) / Società svizzera di radiotelevisione (Italian) / Societad svizra da radio e televisiun (Romansh) SSR SRG 1950
 Tunisia Êtablissement de la Radiodiffusion-Télévision Tunisienne إنشاء محطة الإذاعة والتلفزيون التونسية ERTT 1950
 Turkey Turkish Radio and Television Corporation Türkiye Radyo-Televizyon Kurumu TRT 1950
 Ukraine National Television Company of Ukraine Національна телекомпанія України NTU 1993
National Radio Company of Ukraine Національна радіокомпанія України NRU 1993
 United Kingdom - British Broadcasting Corporation British Broadcasting Corporation BBC 1950
– Independent Television
- Channel 4
- Sianel Pedwar Cymru
 United Kingdom Independent Broadcasting/ (Welsh) Darlledu Annibynnus Deyrnas Gyfunol,
previously the Independent Broadcasting Authority		 UKIB,
IBA		 1959
 Vatican City Vatican Radio Radio Vaticana RV 1950

Associate members

Any group or organisation member of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which provide a radio and/or television service outside of the European Broadcasting Area, are permitted to submit applications to the EBU for Associate Membership. Countries which have this status also pay an annual fee to maintain this status, if a fee is not paid, then their Associate Membership is revoked. It was also noted by the EBU that any country that is granted Associate Member status does not include any access into the Eurovision system.[4]

The following table, gives a list of Associate Members of the EBU.[4][5]

Country Broadcasting organisation Abbr.
 Australia Australian Broadcasting Corporation ABC Australia
Australian Fine Music Network AFMN
FreeTV Australia Free
SBS Australia SBS
 Bangladesh National Broadcasting Authority of Bangladesh
 Canada Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (Societé Radio Canada) CBC/SRC
 Chile Canal 13 (Chile) UC13
 Cuba Cuban Television ICRT
 Gambia Gambia Radio & Television Service GRTS
 Georgia Teleimedi TEME
Rustavi 2 RB
 Greenland Kalaallit Nunaata Radioa KNR
 Hong Kong Asia Television Limited ATV
Radio Television Hong Kong RTHK
Television Broadcasts Limited TVB
 India All India Radio AIR
 Iran Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting IRIB
 Japan Fuji Television FTN
National Association of Commercial Broadcasters in Japan NACB
Nippon Hoso Kyokai NHK
Tokyo Broadcasting System TBS
Tokyo FM TFM
 Malaysia Radio Television Malaysia RTM
 Mauritania TV de Mauritanie MR/TVM
 Mauritius Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation MBC
 New Zealand Radio New Zealand RNZ
Television New Zealand Ltd TVNZ
 Oman Oman Directorate General of Radio and Television ODGRT
 Qatar Al Jazeera Children's Channel JCC
 South Africa South African Broadcasting Corporation SABC
 Syria General Organisation of Radio and Television RTV
 United States National Broadcasting Company[5] NBC
American Broadcasting Company[5] ABC
CBS Broadcasting Inc.,[5] formerly Columbia Broadcasting System CBS
National Public Radio[5] NPR
American Public Media[5] APM
WFMT 98.7 FM, Chicago, Illinois[5] WFMT

Approved participant members

Any groups or organisations from a country with International Telecommunication Union (ITU) membership, which don't qualify for either of the EBU's Active or Associate memberships, but still provide a broadcasting activity for the EBU are granted a unique Approved Participants membership, which lasts approximately 5 years. An application for this status may be submitted to the EBU at any given time, providing an annual fee is paid.

The following table provides a list of European Broadcasting Union (EBU) 'Approved Participants'.[6]

Country Broadcasting organisation Abbr.
 Belgium  Canada  France  Switzerland TV5 Europe FRI/TV5
 European Union Euronews Euronews
Franco-German ARTE GEIE ARTE
 Macedonia JP MRD (Macedonian Broadcasting) JPMRD
 Hungary Duna Television Duna TV
 Palestine Palestine Radio and TV Corporation PRTV
 Spain Abertis Telecom S.A. –
Catalunya Música CAT
 Russia Russian TV and Radio Broadcasting Network RTRN

Past active members

Country Broadcasting organisation Abbr. Years
 Andorra Ràdio i Televisió d'Andorra[7] RTVA 2002—2011
 Czechoslovakia Československá televize CST 1991—1992
 Monaco  Italy Telemontecarlo TMC 1981—2001
 Libya Libyan Jamahiriya Broadcasting Corporation (الجماهيرية اللّيبيّة) LJBC 1974—2011
 Serbia and Montenegro Alliance of Public Radio and Television UJRT 2001—2006
 Spain Antena 3 de Radio, S.A. A3R 1986—1993
 Yugoslavia Yugoslav Radio Television JRT 1950—1992

Pending EBU membership applications

Country Broadcasting organisation Abbr. Notes
 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan-1 K-1 State Television Company awaits of satisfaction of request for Pending or Approved EBU membership since 2008.
 Kosovo Radio Television of Kosovo RTK RTK has shown interest into obtaining active EBU membership. However, they have yet to fulfil all the criteria set by the EBU for admission.[8][9][10]
 Liechtenstein 1 Fürstentum Liechtenstein Television 1FLTV Liechtenstein's only television broadcaster which began broadcasting on 15 August 2008. In July 2009, Peter Kölbel, broadcaster's managing director officially announced its intent to apply to join the EBU by the end of July 2009.[11]
 Morocco 2 Morocco Television 2M TV The second commercial channel of Morocco has asked for membership to the EBU.
 Qatar Qatar Radio QR Recently shown interest at Eurovision 2009, by sending delegates in the hope of applying for active membership.[12]

EBU competitions

The EBU holds competitions in which it Members can participate, if they wish to do so.

Eurovision Song Contest

Main article: Eurovision Song Contest

Eurovision Song Contest (French: Concours Eurovision de la Chanson)[13] is an annual international song competition, that was first held in Lugano, Switzerland, on 24 May 1956. Seven countries participated – each submitting two songs, for a total of 14. This was the only Contest in which more than one song per country was performed: since 1957 all Contests have allowed one entry per country. The 1956 Contest was won by the host nation, Switzerland.[14] In this competition, only Countries that are members of the EBU can participate.

Junior Eurovision Song Contest

Main article: Junior Eurovision Song Contest

Junior Eurovision Song Contest (French: Concours Eurovision de la Chanson Junior),[15] is an annual international song competition, that was first held in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 15 November 2003. Sixteen countries participated – each submitting one song, for a total of 16. The 2003 Contest was won by Croatia.

Eurovision Young Musicians

Main article: Eurovision Young Musicians

Eurovision Young Musicians is a competition for Europeans younger than 19 years old. It is organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and is a member of EMCY.

The televised competition is held every two years, with some countries holding national heats. Since its foundation in 1982 the Eurovision Young Musicians competition has become one of the most important music competitions on an international level.

The first competition was held in Manchester, United Kingdom on May 11, 1982.

Eurovision Dance Contest

Main article: Eurovision Dance Contest

The Eurovision Dance Contest (not to be confused with the Eurovision Young Dancers Competition) was an international dancing competition that was held for the first time in London, United Kingdom on 1 September 2007.

Eurovision Young Dancers

Main article: Eurovision Young Dancers

The Eurovision Young Dancers is a biennial dance showcase broadcast on television throughout Europe.

The first competition was held in Reggio Emilia, Italy on 16 June, 1985.

It uses a format similar to the Eurovision Song Contest, every country that is a member of the EBU has had the opportunity to send a dance act to compete for the title of "Eurovision Young Dancer". The act can be either a solo act or a dance couple, and all contestants must be between the ages of 15 and 21 years and not professionally engaged. The winner is chosen by television viewers across the EBU through a real-time, electronic and onscreen voting mechanism.

Let the Peoples Sing

Main article: Let the Peoples Sing

Let the Peoples Sing is a biennial choir competition, the participants of which are chosen from radio recordings entered by EBU radio members. The final, encompassing three categories and around ten choirs, is offered as a live broadcast to all EBU members. The overall winner is awarded the Silver Rose Bowl.

See also

Notes and references

Notes:

a.   ^ Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Serbia and the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo. The latter declared independence on 17 February 2008, while Serbia claims it as part of its own sovereign territory. Its independence is recognised by 86 UN member states.

References:

  1. ^ "Oiko Times". 7 July 2008. http://www.oikotimes.com/v2/index.php?file=articles&id=3773. Retrieved 2008-07-10. 
  2. ^ "Live Broadcasts Finally Okayed". Variety Asia Online. 10 July 2008. http://www.varietyasiaonline.com/content/view/6444/1/. Retrieved 2008-07-10. 
  3. ^ EBU Media portal. Ebu.ch. Retrieved on 2011-12-16.
  4. ^ a b "Admission". EBU.ch. http://www.ebu.ch/en/ebu_members/admission/index.php. Retrieved 2009-06-27. 
  5. ^ a b c d e f g European Broadcasting Union list of Associate Members. Ebu.ch (2004-05-12). Retrieved on 2011-12-16.
  6. ^ "EBU Members". EBU. http://www.ebu.ch/en/ebu_members/associates/index.php. Retrieved 2008-09-06. 
  7. ^ It’s All Over: Andorra Leaves the EBU « The Eurovision Times. Eurovisiontimes.wordpress.com. Retrieved on 2011-12-16.
  8. ^ "EBU to launch Radio Television Kosovo from Pristina on 19 September 1999". http://www.ebu.ch/en/union/news/archives/1999/press_1299a.php. 
  9. ^ "Radio Television Kosovo to go on air from Pristina on Sunday 19 September 1999". http://www.ebu.ch/en/union/news/archives/1999/press_1599a.php. 
  10. ^ "Radio Television Kosovo launched successfully by EBU with Kouchner interview". http://www.ebu.ch/en/union/news/archives/1999/press_1699a.php. 
  11. ^ Harley, Lee (2009-07-21). "Liechtenstein: Set to debut in Eurovision 2010?". Oikotimes. http://www.oikotimes.com/v2/index.php?file=articles&id=6080. Retrieved 2009-08-09. 
  12. ^ Repo, Juha (2009-05-12). "Gulf nation wants to join Eurovision". ESCToday. http://www.esctoday.com/news/read/14007. Retrieved 2009-05-12. 
  13. ^ "Winners of the Eurovision Song Contest" (PDF). European Broadcasting Union. http://www.ebu.ch/departments/television/pdf/Winners-Palmares_56-02.pdf. Retrieved 2007-12-26. 
  14. ^ "Historical Milestones". European Broadcasting Union. 2005. Archived from the original on 2006-05-26. http://web.archive.org/web/20060526065558/http://www.eurovision.tv/english/611.htm. Retrieved 2006-05-26. 
  15. ^ "Official information page" (in French). European Broadcasting Union. 10 December 2007. http://www.ebu.ch/fr/eurovisiontv/entertainment/junior_eurovision_song_contest.php?display=FR. Retrieved 6 July 2008. 

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