Television news channels: A European Overview

The European Audiovisual Observatory published on 6 November a new report on the TV news market in Europe covering 38 countries. The report provides an overview of the types of channels both national and international, the balance between public and private and the dominant languages of news channels in Europe. The distribution of both international channels and also the news channels of neighbouring European countries is examined.

This new report, carried out as part of the work commissioned by the DG Communication of the European Commission, sources data from the Observatory's MAVISE TV database.

According to the report:

• Almost 300 news channels are currently available in Europe, of which more than 170 are established in the European Union.

• Private channels dominate the national TV news landscape with more than 80% owned by private companies.

• The pan-European channels with the widest distribution in Europe are CNN International, BBC World News, Al Jazeera (English), Euronews (English) and RT (Russia Today).

• The number of news channels available over free DTT channels has increased to 43, compared to 16 four years ago.

The entire report is may be downloaded free of charge here.

Source: The European Audiovisual Observatory