Integrated television in Europe: a note on the EUROVISION network

Abstract

For nearly a quarter of a century, European television audiences have enjoyed international coverage of news, sports, and entertainment programs from abroad because of EUROVISION, one of the most successful efforts at technical and cultural cooperation on that continent. The EUROVISION network is an activity of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) currently linking some twenty-five national TV broadcasting services in Western Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East through a permanent network of microwave relays supplemented by satellite hookups to the more remote members. Participation is on a voluntary basis, which means that the international network is more or less a noncommercial clearing house for bi- and multi-lateral program exchanges plus joint telecasts of Olympic games or overseas events. Although EUROVISION programming accounts for only a small share of the total TV broadcast hours in Europe and is hampered by cultural and linguistic barriers, it has proven effective.