Public Service Broadcasting

Abstract

Abstract This entry addresses political and economic dimensions of public service broadcasting (PSB), focusing mainly on the phenomenon from a perspective informed by the historic birth, development, and current situation in Europe, where this approach to mediation was largely invented. We consider PSB in terms of political legitimacy and relative interdependence from state and market forces, with particular emphasis on the transformation of broadcasting in the narrow sense into multifunctional organizations of public service media (PSM). It is concluded that increasingly complex societies with diverse and pluralistic media systems pose important challenges for policy‐making regarding PSB. The balance between private and public players acting not only in competition but also in cooperation demands continually reestablished regulation with restraint respecting the so‐called arm's‐length principle. In general, most political decision makers have accepted that public service institutions of the PSB type are important for sociocultural reasons. But heated debates on adequate financing, hands on management, and quality of programming trigger controversy in political systems around the world.