Private Television in Europe: Connecting to the future conference

On the 19th of April 2013, the Center for Studies on Media Information and Telecommunication (iMinds-SMIT) of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel organized the Private Television in Europe: Connecting to the future conference.

This day was part of a joint conference together with the ‘Second International Symposium on Media Innovation’ conference, which took place on the 18th of April, 2013 and was dedicated to evolutions in the different media sectors. More information about this conference.

Private television is a cultural phenomenon and important economic sector in Europe. Since the 1970s (in some European countries somewhat later) private television stations have broadcasted popular shows, news, children’s programming, premium sports, fiction, etc. Private broadcasters have invested in content (over €15 billion annually, as reported by ACT) and earned profits mainly on the basis of advertising.

The introduction, evolution and even future of private television have been discussed widely in academic, policy and practitioner circles. However, the phenomenon of private television remains largely under-researched. Evidence-based dialogue and open discussions between scholars and stakeholders are a challenge for the future media ecology.

On 28 and 29 April 2011, iMinds-SMIT, Vrije Universiteit Brussel organized a conference about the past 20 years of private television in Europe, critically evaluating its contributions while bringing together scholars and practitioners in these discussions. Focus was on a range of different topics, covering past and present experiences with private television.

Witnessing a range of far going changes in the media sector today, an assessment of private television’s viability for the future seems in place. Can private television connect to the future? Will it reach consumers with new and innovative types of content? Can it develop new business models? Can it engage in new partnerships? And what is the position of policy makers in all of this?