In five European countries (Germany, France, Belgium, Great Britain, Spain) the effects of commercial TV suppliers on the labour market and the conditions of work have been surveyed. Although new posts have been created by new stations, in the majority of the examined countries this greater number of jobs is threatened by growing competition in the television market. An increasing number of jobs are being transformed from employed to casual ones. The dissolution of the characteristics of traditional jobs and the development of multi-skilled work, especially the mixture of technical and editorial tasks in the responsibility of journalists, is reported.