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AV Industry stands untited in call for an industrial policy for Europe’s creative and cultural industries, urge decision-makers to see bigger picture on spectrum

Meeting in the European Parliament today, AER, APWPT, BNE, EBU, EFJ and UNI MEI called for an industrial strategy for creative and cultural industries based on growth, innovation and jobs.

They organisations European policy-makers to adopt a clear vision, strategy and commitments. In doing so, they remind EU policy-makers that the sector is a leader in terms of GDP and jobs as well as Europe’s greatest competitive asset in the global digital race. The group called on policy-makers to embrace the specificities of the sector as a growth enabler and as a key component of European construction, particularly by putting forward policies that:

Acknowledge the business, investment and funding models to ensure sustainable levels of efforts and investments by enterprises and workers in production, infrastructure and innovation;
Uphold the importance of local / national works as supporting employment, diversity and plurality;
Enshrine guaranteed access to critical resources such as spectrum for services that sustain Europe’s creative and cultural industry.

On spectrum, acknowledging the wisdom of the Lamy report, the Group calls for a comprehensive political approach that recognises the role of free-to-air radio, PMSE and Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT - where the signal is received through a TV aerial) and respects Europe’s ability to continue to create world class content. DTT and radio remain the preferred means by which EU citizens access works and in so doing sustains and finances Europe’s rich cultural diversity and media plurality.

In light of this, the group calls on European policy-makers to make every effort in 2015 to:

Position creative and cultural industries at the heart of Europe’s Digital Single Market strategy
Guide new and sustain existing investments to increase certainty for employers, employees and the public alike as well as to maintain innovation; because a strong democracy requires quality, plural and diverse content
Take decisions on critical resources such as spectrum allocation on the basis of a comprehensive examination of the impact on cultural and creative sector growth and jobs, particularly in forming common positions for EU and global negotiations at the WRC and RSPP

Olivier Huart, CEO of TDF, Chairman of Broadcast Networks Europe, explained that “being proponent of the saying “united we stand stronger”, we are engaging with some of the most prominent organizations in the European Creative industry.  We are urging European policy makers to preserve and enhance the European audio-visual model. In this regard, the decisions on the allocation of frequencies between the audio-visual and telecommunications sectors are crucial as they impact the ability to create and deliver the contents, the plurality of the media and the economics of a sector which represents 14 million jobs and €860bn of turnover in Europe.”

Ingrid Deltenre, Director General of the European Broadcasting Union, stated “we need bold and brave initiatives. We need an industrial policy for the audiovisual media sector to drive innovation, investment in content and the uptake of digital services in the EU. This means acknowledging what is happening in the real world. DTT is the backbone of public service TV access and a pillar of the European audiovisual model. The Lamy report correctly shows that we need both broadcasting and broadband to coexist to meet different demands of the public. We cannot see our needs for UHF spectrum significantly decrease, even in the long term, and this is all the more clear with the coming of age of ultra-high definition viewing.”

Johannes Studinger, Head of UNI Global Union – Media, Entertainment & Arts put forward “Growth, diversity of content and employment depend on the sustainability of the audiovisual ecosystem. DTT is a key pillar for the sustainability of growth and diversity. It provides a platform and environment, which contribute to investment in local productions by enterprise and our members, translating into quality content and employment. Regulation of radio frequencies can weaken or strengthen the balance of the ecosystem. Thus, it is not a technical issue, it is an industrial issue, it is a cultural issue. It is time for the EU to turn to an industrial strategy.  We ask for a strategy that seeks to achieve a sustainable, diverse, fair and inclusive digital single market. DTT must be an integral part of this strategy.”