Towards PSB 2.0? Applying the PSB ethos to online media in Europe: A comparative study of PSBs’ internet policies in Spain, Italy and Britain

Abstract

European institutions such as the European Parliament and the European Council have repeatedly asserted the importance for public service broadcasters (PSBs) to develop online media services. The crucial necessity for PSBs to expand their new media activities has been emphasized by the Council of Europe in numerous Recommendations. The European Commission reaffirmed the opportunity for PSBs to expand online in the 2001 Communication on the application of state aid to public service broadcasters. However, the place and the weight of each European PSB in the online context differ from country to country since the determination of a PSB’s remit is still a prerogative of the member states. This article investigates how the public service broadcasting ethos has been applied to online media in three different European countries: Spain, Italy and Britain. It investigates the main policies adopted by the governments of these three nations to regulate the evolution of PSBs on the internet and the policies and practices adopted by the broadcasters: TVE (Spain), RAI (Italy) and the BBC (UK). It concludes by arguing that a new policy toolkit (PSB 2.0) is needed to infuse the online world with the same public service ethos that has characterized traditional broadcasting.