European Broadcasting Union


EBU members eye Nordic 12 expansion & highlight ‘pre-buy network’ as streamers face squeeze

European Broadcasting Union (EBU) members have urged producers to consider the organisation’s ‘pre-buy network’ when looking for drama funding, particularly with the financial squeeze affecting streamers. The EBU-backed scheme allows producers to pitch their shows to members of the organisation, which represents 112 organisations in 54 countries, allowing them to then use their collective budgets […]

EBU & WBD secure Olympics rights in Europe from 2026

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) will control all media rights to the four Olympic Games in the 2026-2032 period after striking a deal with The International Olympic Committee (IOC).  The EBU and WBD presented a joint bid to acquire all media rights across 49 territories in Europe – for events […]

Exclusive: What the future holds for Europe’s public broadcasters

Public broadcasters face pressure like never before, with squeezed budgets and their very funding models under intense scrutiny. Marie-Agnès Bruneau takes a trip around Europe to find out what’s happening across the continent Europe’s public service media have faced turbulent times of late, as the traditional licence fee funding model faces challenges across the continent. […]

TBI Weekly: What’s next for France’s public broadcasters?

Public broadcasters across Europe are facing an existential crisis, as politicians look to scrap licence fee models. Marie-Agnes Bruneau reports on the latest developments in France and reveals how the alternatives stack up. Earlier this year, the French government unveiled plans to axe the public broadcasting licence fee, something it presented as a very simple […]

EBU secures Fifa Club World Cup rights

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU)’s Eurovision Sport has signed a deal with Japanese agency Dentsu for exclusive media rights to the FIFA Club World Cup 2019 and 2020. The EBU is an international alliance of 56 public service media organisations, and includes the likes of ITV, Channel 4, TF1 and RTE. It is best-known for […]

Ex-RTÉ boss joins EBU as director general

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has appointed the former director general of Irish national broadcaster RTÉ as its new director general. Noel Curran, who left RTÉ last year, takes over from the EBU’s outgoing director general, Ingrid Deltenre, and is due to take up the position at the beginning of September. Commenting on the hire, […]

New additions to EBU board

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the organisation that represents European public broadcasters, has unveiled its new executive board line-up, with three new additions.  The new board members are Gilles Marchand, Marko Filli and Tonio Portughese. Marchand was named as the new director of Swiss pubcaster SRG SSR last month ahead of taking up his new […]

Rose-tinted spectacle

Jeroen Depraetere, head of television and future media at the European Broadcasting Union, outlines the changing trends in television programming ahead of the annual Rose d’Or Awards in Berlin tomorrow. European television, and especially public service broadcasting, is experiencing exciting times. The business of television as we knew it is no longer. As a matter […]

What next in the Netherlands?

From Big Brother to The Voice via Deal or No Deal and Splash! Dutch producers have proved time and again that they know how to construct an international television hit. But do deep budget cuts at the public broadcast group and the increasing influence of international content threaten the Netherlands’ status as a creative powerhouse? […]

Euro pubcasters slam ‘excessive’ cuts

Europe’s public broadcasting body has issued a statement slamming funding cuts across the continent as “excessive” and “disproportionate”. The statement, adopted unanimously by the European Broadcasting Union General Assembly, comes in the wake of “massive” public funding cuts earlier this month that saw Icelandic pubcaster RUV forced to downsize by 20%. “This is the latest in […]