European Parliament: Public Service Media television seriescan strengthen Europe
12 Feb 2014
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In a conference on the Creative Europe programme and the challenges faced by Public Service Media , Members of the European Parliament witnessed how European-made television series are coming of age and increasingly giving viewers a true sense of belonging to Europe. “Public television support the values of citizenship and will be able to bring a new experience”, said conference host MEP Silvia Costa in her opening address. “We need to support public broadcasters at national level.”
EBU President Jean-Paul Philippot was invited to touch upon the challenges faced by not only public service media but the whole European audiovisual value chain, describing the Creative Europe programme as a breath of fresh air for European culture. “Europe has awarded a great deal of attention to data motorways. But it now needs to make sure that these motorways have cars on them, and that these cars aren’t all the same”, he said, alluding to the EU’s Digital Agenda’s strong focus on broadband network deployment.
He also showed how Public Service Media play a major role in developing and disseminating European fiction. “On average, 65% of works broadcast by public broadcasters have been produced or commissioned locally, and more than three quarters of all TV films shown by public broadcasters in 2011 in the EU15 were made in Europe.
Michel Boyon, President of the Eurovisioni International Film and Television Festival, meanwhile pointed out that the European countries with a strong audiovisual sector have public service broadcasters who invest the most in fiction works. The conference expanded on how the Creative Europe programme, which will provide EU subsidies for the production of European audiovisual works, could help produce the next batch of successful European series, following up on successes such as Borgen, and increase the distribution of European series across the old continent via the promotion of subtitling and dubbing.
RAI Director of fiction Eleonora Andreatta and Arte Deputy Director for Fiction Arte Alexander gave the audience a sense of how European Public Service Media are continuously creating high quality European drama that gives viewers a perspective on their history, culture, and everyday life. In this respect, they welcomed Creative Europe subsidies for the audiovisual value chain.
« The Creative Europe program is a great achievement which will have a clear economic impact and help modernize a cultural and media market in perpetual transformation. This program will offer more opportunities for broadcasters in alliance with the independent producers, but will also help develop new talent, writers, directors, musicians and actors, said Eleonora Andreatta.
MEP Doris Pack, Chair of the European Parliament Culture and Education Committee, concluded that producing and airing European fiction to the broadest audience possible is the most effective way of building a sense of belonging to Europe, while MEP Isabelle Thomas highlighted the need to preserve public service broadcasting as a guarantor of diversity as she rounded-up the discussions.
Jacques Lovell – UER