This book describes and critically addresses the innovations and shifts made in the revision of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) adopted by the European Parliament and Council in 2018. Reflecting on European Union regulation and policy practice in all its Member States, the book’s unique approach places in-depth case study topics against the broader theoretical background. Taking a Europe-wide angle, an international team of authors focuses on key aspects of the AVMSD: the expansion of its scope to include video-sharing-platforms such as YouTube; the update of the rules for commercial communications; the first attempt for harmonized, minimal requirements at EU level regarding transparency of media ownership; new rules to ensure that video-on-demand services offer, invest in, and prioritise European content; the obligation on television distributors and smart TV manufacturers to pass on broadcasters’ signal without any interference, alteration or modification; and, the formalisation and consolidation of new forms of collaboration among national regulatory authorities. This thorough analysis of the cornerstone of European media policy makes this edited collection a crucial reference for scholars and students of media and cultural industries, media law and policy, European and EU media policy, and technology studies.

This book describes and critically addresses the innovations and shifts made in the revision of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) adopted by the European Parliament and Council in 2018. Reflecting on European Union regulation and policy practice in all its Member States, the book’s unique approach places in-depth case study topics against the broader theoretical background. Taking a Europe-wide angle, an international team of authors focuses on key aspects of the AVMSD: the expansion of its scope to include video-sharing-platforms such as YouTube; the update of the rules for commercial communications; the first attempt for harmonized, minimal requirements at EU level regarding transparency of media ownership; new rules to ensure that video-on-demand services offer, invest in, and prioritise European content; the obligation on television distributors and smart TV manufacturers to pass on broadcasters’ signal without any interference, alteration or modification; and, the formalisation and consolidation of new forms of collaboration among national regulatory authorities. This thorough analysis of the cornerstone of European media policy makes this edited collection a crucial reference for scholars and students of media and cultural industries, media law and policy, European and EU media policy, and technology studies.

Diagnosis of the situation of the European audiovisual industry and recommendations to better this situation in the post-GATT era.

Articles offer a historical and socio-political analysis of major media and cultural policies in the European Union: 'The Place of Media and Cultural Policy in the EU', K. Sarikakis'; 'Can State Aid in the Film Sector Stand The Proof of EU and WTO Liberalisation Efforts?', C. Pauwels, S. De Vinck, B. Van Rompuy; 'Cultural Diversity and Subsidiarity: The Case of Cultural Tourism In the European Union', E. Dumont, J. Teller; 'Mediating Social Cohesion: Media and Cultural Policy in the European Union and Canada', K. Sarikakis; 'The EU, Communications Liberalisation and the Future of Public Service Broadcasting', P. Humphreys; 'More Europe: More Unity, More Diversity? The Enlargement of the European Audiovisual Space', H. de Smaele; 'Undermining Media Diversity: Inaction on Media Concentrations and Pluralism in the EU', G. Doyle; 'The Construction of European Identity and Citizenship Through Cultural Policy', L. Tsaliki; 'The EU and the Press: Policy or Non-policy?', D. Hutchison; 'Diverse Journalists in a Diverse Europe? Impulses for a Discussion on Media and Integration', S. Kretzschmar; ' Whither Cultural Diversity: The European Union's Market Vision For the Review of Television Without Frontiers Directive', M. Wheeler.

Containing state-of-the-art contributions on the various domains of European media policies, this Handbook deals with theoretical approaches to European media policy: its historical development; specific policies for film, television, radio and the Internet; and international aspects of the fragmented policy domain.