Transnational Television in Europe
The Role of Pan-European Channels
j Jean K. Chalaby
A B S T R A C T
j This article analyses the pan-European television industry in the context
of the debate on globalization. Pan-European channels are a minority of
transnational channels that broadcast across Europe. Their emergence over
the last two decades has been made possible by a mix of commercial,
regulatory and technological factors. Pan-European television channels can
be distinguished by their content, type of ownership and market strategy.
Since the mid-1990s, many pan-European channels have operated a shift
in strategy and have begun to localize their pan-European feed. This article
identifies four types of localization: local advertising, dubbing or
subtitling, local programming and the local opt-out. Taking Eurosport
and MTV as examples, I have illustrated the practices of localization and
explain why some channels engage more in this than others. Localization
can be seen as evidence of the vast differences that persist between national
cultures. However, I have argued that localization facilitates the process
of globalization because it allows transnational media players to overcome cultural diversity and operate efficiently in a multinational
environment. j
Key Words media globalization, pan-European television (PETV),
practices of localization, transnational television
Introduction
The objective of this article is threefold. It analyses the growth of panEuropean television channels over the past 20 years and examines the
Jean K. Chalaby is lecturer in the Department of Sociology, City University,
Northampton Square, London EC1V 0HB, UK. [email: [email protected]]
European Journal of Communication Copyright © 2002 SAGE Publications
(London, Thousand Oaks, CA and New Delhi), Vol 17(2): 183–203.
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corporate practice of localization, discussing this development in the
context of the debate about media globalization.
The first and second sections contextualize the growth of panEuropean television (PETV) in recent broadcasting history. The emergence of pan-European channels is related to the twin processes of
decentralization and transnationalization of television that are redefining
the relationship between the medium and the nation-state. European
broadcasting has developed at infra- and supra-national levels during the
past 20 years and today a host of local and transnational channels
complement and challenge national broadcasters.
The third section explores the field of pan-European television.
PETV channels are a specific type of cross-border channel that have a panEuropean distribution. (Many transnational channels are only distributed
in a handful of countries.) The article concentrates on the 17 most
prominent transnational channels that are pan-European in scope and
distinguishes them on the grounds of their content, type of ownership
and market strategy.
The fourth and fifth sections focus on localization as a growing
corporate strategy in the PETV industry. In the mid-1990s, many leading
PETV channels began to split their pan-European feed to adapt their
programmes to local audiences. This article details four ways of localizing
a feed, from the local advertising window to the local opt-out. I have used
British Eurosport as an illustration of a local opt-out and MTV as a case
study of a pan-European network that has launched several opt-outs. The
fifth section analyses the reasons why some channels are more deeply
engaged in the process of localization than others. Finally, this article
argues that the growth of the PETV industry is a significant step in the
process of media globalization in Europe. It interprets localization as a
globalizing practice that helps cross-border channels to remain competitive in a multinational environment.
Decentralization and transnationalization in European television
Until the early 1980s, television broadcasting in Europe had a strong
territorial and national bias. With few exceptions, European broadcasters
were national in scope.1 The national broadcaster’s signal covered the
length and breadth of the national territory, from the nation’s capital to
the remotest parts of the countryside. In many cases, such as France, there
was a state monopoly on broadcasting, giving further control to the
government of the national airwaves (Brochand, 1994). Foreign broad184
CHALABY: TRANSNATIONAL TELEVISION IN EUROPE
casters were not allowed to transmit on the national territory and
attempts to do so were seen as breaches of national sovereignty.
Since the 1980s, two developments in television have concurrently
redefined its relationship with the nation-state. First, the process of
decentralization has seen the development of television at an infra-national
level. Throughout Europe, complex local and regional television broadcasting systems have emerged. The development of regional television
networks has always had political underpinnings and, in the case of Spain,
was the result of wide-ranging constitutional reforms (Mateo, 1997).
These networks emerged out of the pre-existing national – and public –
broadcasting structures. On the other hand, local television stations that
are today thriving in Greece, Italy and Germany were commercial
ventures from the onset (Garitaonandı́a, 1993; Barca, 1999; Moragas Spà
et al., 1999).
Second, television has been going through a process of transnationalization, as it has developed at a supra-national level. There are several
facets to this evolution, including the expansion of the international
television trade and the growth of transnational media corporations
(Herman and McChesney, 1997; Thussu, 2000). This article deals with a
third aspect of the process, that is, the increasing number of channels that
reach audiences across national boundaries.
Transnational television in Europe
The first cross-border television channels were launched in Europe in the
1980s. Two decades on, there are more than 100 transnational channels
operating across Europe and approximately 80 of them hold a licence
from the British Independent Television Commission (ITC, 2001). The
ITC is a popular regulator because ITC licences are cheap (£250) and
simple to obtain. One of the main conditions is that broadcasters must be
based in the UK, making London the European centre for transnational
television. They are also easily retained provided licensees follow the
regulator’s fairly lax programme code. ITC rules on sponsorship and
advertising are less rigid than those of most European countries, thus
allowing ITC licensees to circumvent national regulations in the
countries in which they broadcast. Some channels registered with the ITC
have escaped censorship in their countries of origin in this way, as is the
case with several Arab channels.
European cross-border television is essentially composed of ethnic
channels that service a specific diaspora. They include SAT-7, an Arab
Christian channel based in Oxfordshire, TVBS, broadcasting Chinese
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news and entertainment, ZEE TV, providing Indian news, movies and
entertainment, and Sima TV, on Persian news and culture. Ethnic
channels are best described as multinational because they rarely have a
total pan-European coverage. Typically, they have a strong distribution in
the countries where the diaspora is based and do not market themselves
elsewhere. For instance, channels such as MATV or Star Plus and Star
News concentrate on the Asian British market.
Among the transnational channels that are pan-European in scope,
17 are particularly prominent.2 They have a strong distribution in at least
five European countries and a commitment to international expansion.
These are: Arte, BBC Prime, BBC World, Bloomberg, Cartoon Network,
CNBC, CNN International, Discovery, Euronews, Eurosport, Fox Kids,
MTV, National Geographic, Sky News, TV5, Universal Studios Networks and VH1. All but five of the channels are registered with the ITC;
Arte, Euronews, Eurosport, TV5 and Universal Studios Networks hold
their licence from the Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel, the French
broadcasting regulator. On average, these channels broadcast to 24
European territories and are received in nearly 40 million European
households (M&M Europe, 2000).
The growth of PETV has been triggered by several factors. European
public service broadcasters have launched several PETV channels. They
operate them either single-handedly (BBC World and BBC Prime),
jointly with other public service broadcasters (Arte and TV5), or with
commercial operators (Euronews and Eurosport). Public service broadcasters have a variety of reasons to get involved in PETV. They may want
to optimize an existing catalogue of programmes or television rights, as
was the case with BBC Prime and Eurosport. The sports channel was
launched by members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in
1989 as an outlet for broadcasting sports competitions, for which they
held television rights but did not have space to broadcast from their own
home channel.3 European public broadcasters also wished to be present in
the international news market. Both BBC World and Euronews were
launched in answer to CNN. The BBC launched World Service Television
in 1991, followed by BBC World in 1995, when it realized that it could
use its existing correspondents and international news bureaux to rival
CNN.4 Euronews was launched in 1993 by EBU members – with the
backing of the European Union – in response to CNN’s dominance of the
Gulf War.5
International television in Europe has also benefited from the
formation of a global media industry and the growth of transnational
media corporations, such as AOL-Time Warner, Viacom and Disney
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(Herman and McChesney, 1997). These conglomerates operate some of
the most successful brands in PETV, including CNN, MTV and Fox
Kids. They are involved in PETV because global expansion is high on
their agenda.6 American-based media corporations map out aggressive
strategies to expand outside the US and see Europe as a good opportunity
to increase the revenue percentage generated outside their home market.
They also have the capital, corporate ethos, expertise and content library
to operate television channels on a transnational basis.
The growth of PETV has been facilitated by regulatory changes.
Deregulation throughout the 1980s and 1990s liberated broadcasting in
many European countries, leading to a steep increase in commercial
operators and loosely regulated cable and satellite services. This has
facilitated cross-border and cross-media ownership as well as the
international trading of television content (Galperin, 1999). The integration of the European media market is backed by the European
Commission. Its main initiative in broadcasting regulation, the Television Without Frontiers Directive, was adopted in October 1989 and
came into effect in 1991. Its objective has been to facilitate the free flow
of audiovisual products across Europe and create a European audiovisual
space (Collins, 1999). It has been qualified as ‘ground-breaking’ by the
Independent Television Commission because of its impact on cross-border
broadcasting in Europe.7 Article 2 prevents member states from
restricting the transmission of television broadcasts originating from
other member states. As a result, pan-European channels need only
respect the regulations of the European nation from whom they hold their
licence. In practice, PETV channels registered with the ITC in London
can advertise alcohol and tobacco products in France, insert commercials
into children’s programming in Sweden and flout Germany’s strict
sponsorship rules.
Finally, PETV would not exist without communications satellites.
They alone have made possible the cross-border transmission and
reception of television channels (Collins, 1992; Winston, 1998:
276–304). At first, satellite channels were only available to the public via
cable providers. In the late 1980s, spacecraft became powerful enough to
carry television channels that could be received at home on small
parabolic antennae.8 Direct-to-home satellite broadcasting helped to
multiply the number of channels available to European households, and
break the monopoly of terrestrial – and national – broadcasters (Tunstall
and Machin, 1999: 200–14). There are several satellite communications
systems currently operating in Europe. The largest, ASTRA, is operated
by the Luxembourg-based Société Européenne des Satellites. It comprises
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an 11-strong fleet of satellites transmitting more than 1000 television
and radio channels to 87 million European households.9 Today, the
powerful combination of satellite and cable networks feeds the rapid
expansion of European transnational television as cable connections allow
millions of households to receive cross-border programming and channels
at a low cost.
The pan-European television industry
The PETV industry is barely 20 years old. Several pan-European channels
were launched in the course of the 1980s and those that have survived to
this day are among the best established. The French-language channel,
TV5, started transmission in 1984. CNN, the first 24-hour news channel,
began broadcasting in the US in 1981 and expanded to Europe four years
later (Flournoy and Stewart, 1997: 1–14). Music Television (MTV) was
launched in 1981 and began a European service in July 1987. In 1989,
Sky News and Eurosport were launched by Murdoch’s News International, the latter in conjunction with the EBU.10 Most other PETV
channels were founded in the 1990s, including Arte (1991), Euronews
(1993), BBC Prime and BBC World (1995), CNBC (1995) and National
Geographic (1997).
PETV channels are available to viewers via cable, satellite bouquets,
digital platforms and, less frequently, terrestrial television. Thus, in most
countries, their distribution only marginally exceeds the rate of penetration of pay-television. Within the 15 countries of the EU, nearly one
television household out of two subscribes to either cable or satellite
services (see Table 1).
Access to pay television follows a north/south divide in Europe.
Subscription rates are particularly high in countries like Germany (88.9
Table 1 Cable and satellite reception estimates in Europe, 1999 (thousands of
households)
TV households
Cable television
Direct-to-home
satellite
Total cable and
satellite
EUR 15a
142,715
EUR 34b
233,337
42,424
29.7%
63,053
27%
26,277
18.4%
33,567
15.4%
67,793
47.5%
95,058
40.7%
a
Includes the 15 member states of the EU.
Includes the 34 member states of the European Audiovisual Observatory.
Source: European Audiovisual Observatory (2000: 56–7).
b
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percent), Belgium (95.8 percent) and the Netherlands (96.9 percent),
while they stand at 5.1, 8.4 and 17.7 percent in Greece, Italy and Spain
respectively (European Audiovisual Observatory, 2000: 56–7). Cable is
the most common mode of delivery of pay-television in northern Europe,
while direct-to-home satellite broadcasting prevails in the south.
PETV channels have also begun to sign agreements with local
broadcasting companies to gain access to terrestrial television. These deals
give them access to a host channel during a specified part of the day. In
Italy, MTV shares a terrestrial channel with Television Monte-Carlo,
boosting its local distribution to 15 million homes. Euronews has access
to terrestrial channels on a ‘partial-time’ basis in 12 European countries.
Arte, the French-German high-brow cultural channel, transmits on the
fifth terrestrial channel in France from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m., making it
accessible to 89 percent of French television households.
The mean full-time distribution of the 17 PETV channels (excluding the part-time distribution) is 38.7 million European households.
BBC Prime has the lowest distribution (8.2 million households), while
MTV is received in more than 90 million households across Europe.
Among the other PETV channels that exceed the mean distribution,
Eurosport is received in 88.3 million European homes, CNN in 73.2
milllion, TV5 in 65 million, Arte in 61.9 million and BBC World in 50
million (M&M Europe, 2000).
The audience for PETV channels is extremely small and their
market share rarely passes the 1 percent mark. For instance, in Britain,
CNN’s audience share was recorded at 0.1 percent for the 12 months of
2000, that of Discovery at 0.5 percent, Eurosport at 0.3 percent, MTV at
0.4 percent and Sky News at 0.3 percent. The total audience share of the
PETV channels that broadcast in the UK amounts to 2.2 percent (ITC/
BARB, 2001). In Western Europe, this figure is only exceeded in France
and Italy, thanks to the part-time distribution deals of Arte and MTV in
these countries. Arte alone reaches 3 percent of the total viewing audience
in France and MTV gets 1.4 percent of market share in Italy (European
Audiovisual Observatory, 2000: 270, 321). The actual viewing figures of
PETV channels must be accounted for in tens of thousands of viewers
rather than in the millions who watch national television every day.
Classifying PETV channels
There are three ways of classifying PETV channels: by content, ownership
and market strategy. In terms of content, PETV channels fall into two
main categories: information and entertainment. Six PETV channels
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broadcast news and factual programming on a 24-hours basis – seven days
a week: BBC World, Bloomberg, CNBC Europe, CNN International,
Euronews and Sky News. All the other channels bar two are entertainment oriented. Discovery Networks Europe (nine channels altogether)
and National Geographic specialize in factual entertainment, Universal
Studios Network comprises three movie channels, MTV and VH1 are two
music television channels and Cartoon Network and Fox Kids compete
for children’s eyeballs. Neither TV5 nor Arte fall into a specific category.
TV5, the international French-speaking channel, mixes news, documentaries and magazines with live sport transmissions. Arte has a narrow
cultural remit and specializes in documentaries, arthouse cinema and
high-brow talk shows.
PETV channels tend to be controlled by two types of media
organization: they are either public service (and European) broadcasters or
private (and American-based) corporations. Public service broadcasters are
involved in six channels: Arte, TV5, BBC Prime, BBC World, Euronews
and Eurosport. Arte is a joint venture between the French and German
public broadcasters and TV5 is controlled by a consortium of French,
Swiss, Belgian and French Canadian public channels. BBC Prime and
BBC World are the only other PETV channels entirely controlled by a
public service broadcaster. The ownership arrangements of Euronews and
Eurosport mix public and commercial partners.
Euronews was launched in 1993 by 11 members of the EBU, later
joined by a further eight members. They still own 51 percent of the
Lyon-based channel, while the remaining 49 percent is in the hands of
the London-based news production company ITN (Machill, 1998; Purvis,
1999).
Eurosport was a joint public/commercial operation at the onset, as
News International was EBU’s launching partner in 1989. The partnership did not last long and Murdoch withdrew when Sky merged with its
rival, British Satellite Broadcasting, the following year (Collins, 1998:
659). Eurosport is currently jointly owned by members of the EBU
consortium and France’s main free-to-air commercial channel, TF1.
The other PETV channels are controlled by commercial consortia
dominated by American-based media corporations. Cartoon Network and
CNN are both owned by Turner Broadcasting System, which is a division
of the AOL-Time Warner empire. Fox Kids Europe is part of Fox Family
Worldwide, acquired by Disney from News Corporation in July 2001.
News Corporation retains an interest in Sky News via its British
subsidiary BSkyB. Murdoch’s conglomerate also hold shares in the
National Geographic channel with NBC, which itself operates CNBC
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with Dow Jones. Both music channels, MTV and VH1, belong to Viacom
– the world’s third transnational media corporation – with revenues in
excess of US$23 billion in 2000. Discovery Channel is an all-American
joint venture and Bloomberg Television is independently owned by its
American parent company, Bloomberg LP. Universal Studio Networks is
the only commercial concern in PETV that does not involve an
American-based company, belonging to the French utilities and media
group Vivendi-Universal.
Finally, PETV channels can be differentiated by their market
strategy. The elitist strategy employed by the group of broadcasters
including Bloomberg, BBC World, CNBC and CNN involves targeting
the top 5 percent of European households by income and, more
specifically, the business community.
The other PETV channels aim at a larger public, although none of
them compete for the mass audiences that are still the preserve of national
broadcasters. They tend to remain in a particular niche market, aiming at
a specific age group or interest, such as sports or music. Some of them
retain an upmarket bias but cast their net wider, focusing on the top
quarter of European households by income.11
PETV channels subscribe to audience surveys that reflect their
marketing priorities. They need harmonized pan-European data and an
upmarket universe, omitting surveys like Peoplemeter – the television
industry standard – because its sample sizes are inadequate for measuring
audiences among small target groups. The most currently used survey in
the PETV industry is the European Media and Marketing Survey (EMS),
which evaluates the viewing habits of Europe’s 20 percent wealthiest
households. The four channels with the most exclusive strategy subscribe
to Europe 2000, which has a universe of 10.8 million individuals, or 4.2
percent of the adult European population. Europe 2000’s researchers only
interview people in a professional or executive occupation who earn more
than US$45,000 per year (BBC World, 2001).
A change of corporate strategy: the drive for localization
Pan-European television broadcasting presents corporate players with the
difficulties associated with operating in a multinational environment.
They must commercialize programmes and channels that appeal to
publics across cultural and linguistic divisions. Until the early 1990s,
broadcasters involved in PETV opted for a ‘globalist’ strategy. They
adopted the view of contemporary marketing literature of a ‘world
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EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION 17(2)
cultural convergence’ (e.g. Levitt, 1983), and worked under the assumption that national cultures were in a process of homogenization, sharing
an increasing number of elements in common. Businesses that focused on
these similarities could reap the rewards of cultural homogenization and
save on operating costs by commercializing in a similar fashion a single
brand across the globe (Morley and Robins, 1995: 15).
Channels such as CNN, MTV and Eurosport applied this marketing
strategy to international television and tried to sell a standardized content
in as many territories as possible. MTV, true to its advertising slogan,
‘One planet – one music’, broadcast the same music in the same language
– English – across the world (Roe and De Meyer, 2000: 150–1). These
channels were progressively confronted with the limitations of their
marketing model when their audience figures stubbornly remained at
insignificant levels.
CNN and MTV were soon faced with regional 24-hour news
channels and local music television stations that copied their format.
These new competitors outdid them because they communicated in the
local language and had a better understanding of their audience.
Progressively, cross-border players awoke to the reality of national
boundaries as cultural and linguistic markers and realized that there were
limits to the exportability of their programmes. They recognized the need
for readjusting their commercial strategy in order to operate successfully
in an environment as culturally diverse as Europe. Gradually giving up
their pan-European content strategy, they split their continental feed and
began to adapt programmes to local audiences. Since the mid-1990s,
localization has become increasingly widespread in the PETV industry.12
It consists of adapting an international channel to a local audience with
the aim of making it more palatable to that public. Different aspects of
a cross-border feed can be localized, either separately or conjointly (see
Table 2).
The initial step in the localization ladder is the introduction of local
advertising windows. Twelve channels are able to insert commercials for
a specific territory (e.g. Germany) or region (e.g. Scandinavia) in their
pan-European feed. Most often, local advertising windows include at least
the five European key markets: Germany, France, UK, Italy and Spain.
This flexibility allows channels to give their clients three options: they
can either buy a local campaign and advertise in one country/region, they
can opt for an international campaign and advertise in selected territories,
or they can buy a whole pan-European campaign.
Local advertising windows offer many advantages. For instance,
advertisers can run locally produced advertising spots simultaneously
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Table 2 Levels of localization in PETV
Local advertising
windows
Local languages
Local programming
services
Local opt-outs
Bloomberg,
Cartoon Network,
CNBC, CNN
International,
Discovery,
Eurosport, Fox
Kids, MTV,
National
Geographic, Sky
News, Universal
Studios Networks,
VH1
Arte, Bloomberg,
Cartoon Network,
CNBC, CNN
International,
Discovery,
Euronews,
Eurosport, Fox
Kids, MTV,
National
Geographic,
Universal Studios
Networks
Bloomberg,
Eurosport, MTV
Cartoon Network,
CNBC, CNN
International,
Discovery,
Eurosport, Fox
Kids, MTV,
National
Geographic,
Universal Studios
Networks, VH1
Sources: M&M Europe (2000: 24–5); interviews (see notes); company websites.
across Europe, ensuring that a pan-European campaign is always relevant
to local markets. This technique is used by advertisers like Nestlé, who
sell the same product under different names in different countries. PanEuropean campaigns can also be staggered in time. Advertisers can start
a campaign in the Netherlands in June, run it in Scandinavia in July and
carry it through across Europe during the following months. Movie
companies use this technique to time their promotion campaigns
according to the movies’ release dates.
Cross-border channels can also be localized by means of translation.
Twelve channels either dub or subtitle their programmes according to
their audience, content and resources. Euronews, Eurosport and the two
children’s channels, Cartoon Network and Fox Kids, use dubbing
exclusively and are available in 6, 18, 8 and 12 languages respectively.
Discovery network (16 languages) and National Geographic (8 languages)
combine dubbing and subtitling. They use subtitles in the territories in
which English is widely spoken and understood, such as the Netherlands
and Scandinavia, and dub their programmes in countries such as France,
Poland and Italy. Five PETV channels remain monolingual: BBC Prime,
BBC World, Sky News and VH1, which broadcast in English, and the
French-speaking TV5.
The introduction of local programming is a more sophisticated
and expensive form of localization. It involves the split of a pan-regional
feed and the insertion of devolved programming for one or several
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territories. A regional programming window can last anything from a
few minutes to several hours per day. Eleven channels use this technique
in a variety of ways. CNN broadcasts two 15-minute programmes per
day in Germany, Spain and Turkey. CNBC broadcasts devolved news
bulletins in Scandinavia, Turkey and the UK. Cartoon Network and Fox
Kids transmit devolved daily programmes in six and nine territories
respectively.
The local opt-out represents the ultimate level of localization. It
does not merely entail local programming within an international feed
but the launch of a separate local channel with fully regionalized
operations and production facilities. Local staff are hired to adapt
international content and produce programmes exclusively for the local
market. Opt-outs also necessitate specific marketing investments because
they are rebranded as local channels. Only two European networks have
so far decided to launch opt-outs: Eurosport and MTV.
Eurosport was the leading PETV channel in terms of distribution in
the 1990s, but although very successful in Central and Eastern Europe, it
experienced difficulties in the more competitive West European markets.
Towards the end of the decade, many sports-dedicated channels were
launched and free-to-air terrestrial channels were substantially increasing
their sports offering (Proctor, 1999/2000). The competition prompted
Eurosport to launch devolved channels in France in 1998 (France
Eurosport) and Britain the following year (British Eurosport). Their panEuropean feed continues to service the other European markets.
British Eurosport provides an excellent illustration of a local optout. It employs in excess of 50 collaborators and has its own production
facilities in Langley, West London. Localization is carried out at the
marketing and programming levels. Market surveys showed that Eurosport had a foreign connotation in Britain and, as a consequence, the
British feed is now promoted as a British channel.13 Foreign commercials
have been banned and, at one stage, the logo of the British opt-out
displayed the Union Jack.
Eurosport’s greatest effort of adaptation to the British market is
through programming itself. The British opt-out produces its own sports
news bulletins, which are broadcast four to five times a day and are
anchored by two presenters. The studio-based bulletins constitute a major
improvement from the original feed. In the pan-European version, the
news is commented by a voiceover because the images need to be
simultaneously presented in up to 18 languages. The presenters provide
a British face to British Eurosport and have allowed the channel to bid for
a local identity.
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British Eurosport sends its own reporters to major international
sports events in order to make the pan-European coverage more relevant
to the British audience.14 It dispatched a 10-strong team to the Olympic
Games in Sydney in August 2000 and broke from the European feed
several times a day during its 24-hour coverage to broadcast its own
profiles of British athletes, special news reports and magazines.
Coverage of the same international sports event can vary between
European and British feeds because of the different selection of games and
competitions. Both channels may schedule the same ATP tennis
tournament simultaneously but show only those games that are most
relevant to their respective audiences (e.g. Tim Henman and Greg
Rusedski for British Eurosport).
British Eurosport has begun to buy its own television rights. The
European feed shows many sports such as biathlon and Nordic skiing that
attract little interest in Britain. In order to compete with the domestic
sports channels, British Eurosport needed to increase its offering of the
country’s three core sports: football, rugby and cricket. Thus, it bought
the rights to Heineken Cup Rugby in 1999.
Eurosport’s investments in Britain show how heavily competitive
markets are unsustainable for pan-regional channels. Audience tastes and
interests differ from one country to another, making it impossible for an
international feed to be of equal interest everywhere. In the era of multichannel platforms, cross-border channels continuously run the risk of
being outdone by local competitors who copy their format but can better
meet the audience’s interests. This phenomenon has forced MTV to
completely overhaul its international strategy.
MTV: from universalism to local realism
MTV began broadcasting in Europe in 1987. From the launch of its
European channel until the mid-1990s, the management did not feel the
need to localize its pan-European feed. The business model of the music
channel was based on the expansion of distribution figures. Revenue did
not come directly from consumers but from the cable operators who paid
MTV to carry the prestigious brand on their network. MTV managers
also believed that the appeal of their product was universal. They thought
that language was not an issue because most Europeans, especially
youngsters, spoke English.15 The playlist remained heavily dominated by
Anglo-American music and more than 80 percent of the music videos
shown on MTV Europe were of either British or American origin (Roe
and De Meyer, 2000: 147).
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This model came to an end in 1994, when MTV realized they were
losing viewers to channels that were being launched in key European
territories. The strongest challenge came from VIVA, a German music
channel that began broadcasting towards the end of 1993 and was soon
dominating the music television market in German-speaking countries.
Other channels were launched in Scandinavia, the Netherlands (TMF),
Italy (Video Music and TMC2) and France (M6). These copied the
MTV format but provided the content in the local language and played
music that was much closer to local tastes than MTV’s playlist.16 Their
success made MTV realize that it had to change its modus operandi. It
abruptly ended its pan-European approach and decided to localize its
programming.17
The first opportunity presented itself in Italy, where MTV was given
access to a channel by a cable operator on condition that it programmed
local music. The music channel hired local staff and VJs, opened local
production facilities in Milan and launched the first devolved service of
its pan-European feed at the end of 1995.18
MTV Italy’s success was immediate and within a year the head office
had decided to split the European network into three channels. They
became MTV North, which covered most of Europe, including Scandinavia, the UK, the Netherlands, Benelux, France, Spain, Greece
and Portugal, MTV Central, servicing Germany, German-speaking
Switzerland and Austria, and MTV Italy. In 1997, MTV UK and Ireland
was launched and MTV North was split into MTV Nordic, covering
Scandinavia, and MTV European, servicing the remaining 22 European
territories without a dedicated service. The music channel began its
second phase of localization in 2000 by launching four localized editions:
MTV Poland, MTV Spain, MTVf, covering France and French-speaking
Switzerland, and MTV NL in the Netherlands. MTV is today the most
localized pan-European network, having launched six country-specific
and two region-specific channels (MTV Central and MTV Nordic).
MTV Europe has established a devolved management structure.
Local MTV channels are independent and are being equipped with their
own production facilities. They have the freedom and ability to produce
their own shows and develop their own schedules. Local staff are valued
for their knowledge of the market and can give audiences whatever is
popular. MTV channels also produce their own promotional material and
run their own marketing campaigns. They aim to develop their own
identity in order to build up local loyalty to the channel. Their only
obligation is to ‘be true to the MTV brand’.19 However, unlike purely
local channels, MTV channels are part of a network that converges on
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CHALABY: TRANSNATIONAL TELEVISION IN EUROPE
Table 3 Percentage of music genre on four MTV devolved channels
Mainstream pop
Rock
Black music
Dance
Other
MTV UK
MTV Nordic
MTV Central
MTV Italy
33.5
23.8
33.0
8.1
1.6
38.6
12.7
29.4
18.3
1.0
14.7
9.9
63.7
11.4
0.4
45.7
17.3
11.7
18.8
6.6
Source: Roe and De Meyer (2000: 153).
occasion, bringing its schedules together for European or even global
events such as the MTV Awards.
MTV channels look and sound increasingly different. Researchers
have found significant differences between MTV UK, Nordic, Central
and Italy in terms of programme type, music type and origins of artist in
samples of programme taken between November 1998 and February
1999 (see Table 3). For instance, non-stop video clips represented 48
percent of programming on MTV UK, 22 percent on MTV Nordic and
66 percent on MTV Central, while non-music programmes represented
26 percent of MTV UK’s schedule, 50 percent of MTV Nordic and 13
percent of MTV Central (Roe and De Meyer, 2000: 153). The authors
also report important variations in music genres.
Variations between MTV channels are set to increase and MTV’s
management aims to make them ‘100 percent different’.20 There are 140
music channels currently broadcasting in Europe, forcing MTV to be
responsive to local audience tastes.
Approaches to localization
Localization is not practised in the same way or pursued with the same
energy by all PETV channels. The first reason that accounts for these
differing approaches is that several channels pursue an international
agenda of some sort. Thus, intensive localization would contradict their
purpose. BBC World and CNN International specialize in international
news and have adopted a global approach to their trade. CNN has
introduced short news bulletins in three European languages but BBC
World maintains that there is a market for an international news channel
purely in English.21 Euronews is committed to a unique feed throughout
the continent because ‘Europe is part of its remit’.22 European issues and
political life figure prominently in the channel’s news agenda. Arte shares
Euronews’ European vocation. Established as a result of the Franco197
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION 17(2)
German treaty of 2 October 1990, its objective is to create a European
cultural channel. The agreements of cooperation signed by Arte with
several public broadcasters over the past five years are helping it meet its
goal. The channel’s European dimension is further emphasized by the
current relocation of its headquarters to Strasbourg. Finally, TV5 provides
a link between different francophone communities and promotes the
French language and francophone culture worldwide. The channel
underlines the international dimension of francophonia and, thus,
localization would dilute its mission.
It is also apparent that news channels are less localized than those
that are purely entertainment driven. It has been argued that news travels
more easily across borders than entertainment programmes because it is
less deeply rooted in one culture (Morley and Robins, 1995: 63). Thus,
entertainment loses more from one country to another and necessitates
more adaptation than news to remain relevant to local audiences. News
channels also have the advantage of aiming at an elite audience among
which English is spoken and understood. By way of contrast, Fox Kids
and Cartoon Network cannot communicate with children except in their
own language.
Finally, channels controlled by European public service broadcasters
are less engaged in the process of localization than those backed by
transnational media corporations. The majority of the channels with an
international agenda have a connection with public service broadcasting.
In addition, resources create a line of division between the cash-poor
public service broadcasters and the more affluent commercial channels
that can afford localization.23 BBC World, BBC Prime and Euronews
barely cover operating costs and do not have the resources to localize.24
Eurosport is the most localized channel involving public service
broadcasters. Significantly, it is the sports channel’s commercial backer,
TF1, that has pushed for localization.25 Commercially owned channels are
given the resources to localize provided they can justify expenses to their
shareholders. They are not hindered by a political agenda and need only
to maximize revenue.
Conclusion: local music – global strategy
What is the significance of European transnational broadcasting in the
process of media globalization? Can the practice of localization signify a
homogenized global media culture that is failing to materialize? This
article argues that PETV channels must be seen as an important
stepping-stone in the ongoing process of globalization.
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First, the emergence of the PETV industry itself is significant in the
history of broadcasting. National broadcasters are no longer the sole
players in European broadcasting and have to prosper alongside television
channels that operate increasingly efficiently in a multinational environment. PETV channels have attracted nearly US$0.5 billion in advertising
revenue in 2000 and half of this revenue comes from clients who have
bought local campaigns that could have been carried by national
broadcasters (M&M Europe, 2000: 18). While national broadcasters face
weak advertising revenues, the PETV client base is in constant expansion
because modern brands are developed on an international basis. A
campaign on transnational television gives them instant international
exposure. PETV clients can take advantage of the ITC code to bypass
strict national regulations on advertising and sponsorship (see third
section).
Pan-European television is a key component of the regional
broadcasting system that is developing in Europe and which forms an
intermediary level between the national and global levels. It comprises, in
addition to pan-European television channels, a regional distribution
network for television news and programmes (the EBU’s Eurovision News
Exchange), and a network of corporate players who have forged alliances
across the continent (Hjarvard, 1998; The Economist, 11 December 1999:
61–3).26 The regional level constitutes a first foothold for the transnational corporations that wish to penetrate European markets. Europe is
a first step towards localization for international channels such as CNN,
MTV and Fox Kids that have begun broadcasting on the continent with
a pan-European feed. Transnational corporations also elect a regional head
office – usually London – from which they can direct their countryspecific operations.
The necessity for localization can be interpreted as evidence of the
limits of cultural globalization and the vast differences that persist
between regional or national cultures. On the other hand, localization
accelerates the process of globalization, notably because it allows global
players to operate in a multinational environment. Such strategies have
been devised to overcome cultural diversity, to remain competitive in a
plethora of markets, to challenge national broadcasters and to finance
international expansion. The music may become local but the expansion
plan remains global.
Localization is not about turning an international channel into a
local one. It consists of adapting the international to local culture while
retaining its global flavour. When CNN International broadcasts in
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EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION 17(2)
German the channel retains its American identity and distinctive news
treatment. There is an American flavour to all MTV local channels if only
because a fair percentage of the music remains Anglo-American, despite
the growing diversity of its playlists (Roe and De Meyer, 2000: 153).
Localized channels have an ambivalent relationship to the local. They
incorporate some elements of local culture but within an international
framework. While adapting to local tastes they also make global culture
(and/or American in the case of MTV, CNN or Fox Kids) more accessible
to local audiences. As Richard Godfrey, the MTV Networks Europe
senior vice-president explains, local MTV channels retain an ‘international/American sort of glamour’ but viewers get it in a ‘digestible
form’.27 Localized channels are not so much a ‘hybrid’ cultural form
incorporating the local and the global – as is sometimes suggested – than
a bridge that helps the global reach the local.
PETV participates in cultural globalization also through advertising. Transnational music and film companies are the biggest category of
advertisers on PETV, spending more than US$31 million in the first six
months of 2000 (M&M Europe, 2000: 18). Cultural commodities are
increasingly sold and distributed on an international basis and PETV
channels provide a convenient platform from which to reach young and
affluent consumers across borders.
PETV channels facilitate international trade. The bulk of companies
that advertise on PETV are transnational corporations that own international brands. They include Ford, Toyota, Adidas, Nike, Universal
Music and Columbia Tristar Films (M&M Europe, 2000: 18). American
and Asian clients often find Europe too complex a market and use PETV
channels to access its key markets simultaneously. The PETV industry
has created a body, the European TV Research Group, which specifically
addresses the research and marketing needs of those clients.28
PETV channels constitute a significant step in the process of media
globalization. Localization facilitates its development, allowing crossborder channels to remain competitive in a multinational environment
and transnational corporations to finance their international growth.
Localization needs to be placed in the context of globalization as an
unfinished project. Despite the growing presence of the artefacts of a
commodified world culture in the media, local differences force global
television channels to integrate segments of local culture in order to
remain relevant to local audiences. Localization may be deemed a
necessity by virtue of local differences, but it is this fact that makes
globalization into a tangible reality every day.
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Notes
The author wishes to thank the interviewees for their time and cooperation.
1. The main exceptions are the nations that have a regional or federal political
system, such as Germany and Switzerland (see Garitaonandı́a, 1993).
2. There are more pan-European channels among those servicing specific
international niche audiences, such as the adult entertainment market.
3. Agnès Pierret, sport news producer, European Broadcasting Union, interview with the author, Eric Darras and Dominique Marchetti, 16 June
2000.
4. Jeremy Nye, head of research and planning, BBC World, interview, 20 July
2001.
5. The European authorities did not want an American channel to dominate
the international news market in Europe. Sonia Marguin, research marketing manager, Euronews, interview, 11 May 2001.
6. For instance, Mel Karmazin, president of Viacom, the company that controls
MTV and VH1, stated in June 2001 that ‘One of our highest priorities is to
expand globally’ (cited in Grimes, 2001).
7. Louise Thorley, programme manager, ITC, interview, 2 August 2001.
8. ASTRA 1A, launched in December 1988, was the first satellite with such
capabilities and a footprint over Europe.
9. See www.ses-astra.com
10. Other attempts to establish pan-European television services in the 1980s
include EBU’s Eurikon and Europa, News International’s Sky Channel and
ITV’s Super Channel (Collins, 1998).
11. Errol Pretorius, director of advertising sales at the National Geographic
channel, encapsulates the commercial philosophy of this group of players in
the PETV industry: ‘Don’t count the people you talk to, talk to the people
who count. I’d rather talk to a thousand people who can afford to buy a new
Volvo, than talk to a million people who can’t.’ Interview, 14 August
2001.
12. Daya Thussu has observed a similar trend in several other media markets,
notably in South Asia (Thussu, 2000: 184–99).
13. Vickie Perdersen, commercial controller, British Eurosport, interview, 24
May 2000.
14. Richard Copeman, senior news producer, British Eurosport, interview, 15
May 2000.
15. Richard Godfrey, senior vice-president, MTVNE, interview, 17 April 2001.
See also Burnett (1996: 96).
16. While MTV tries to please a pan-European audience, local channels were
able to include local artists on their schedule and to select from the
international repertoire only those titles that their audience liked.
17. Richard Godfrey, senior vice-president, MTVNE, interview, 17 April
2001.
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EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION 17(2)
18. Jamie Caring, talent and music coordinator, MTVNE, interview 12 March
2001.
19. Richard Godfrey, interview, 17 April 2001.
20. Richard Godfrey, interview, 17 April 2001.
21. Jeremy Nye, interview, 20 July 2001.
22. Sonia Marguin, interview, 11 May 2001.
23. Localization is expensive and significantly increases operating costs (Cable
and Satellite Europe, September 2000: 46).
24. Jeremy Nye, interview, 20 July 2001; Sonia Marguin, interview, 11 May
2001.
25. Arjan Hoekstra, Deputy Managing Director, British Eurosport, interview, 6
June 2000.
26. Similar systems have emerged in Asia and the Middle East (Page and
Crawley, 2000; Sreberny, 2000; see also Straubhaar, 1997).
27. Interview, 17 April 2001.
28. Sonia Marguin, interview, 11 May 2001.
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