Working Group on Broadcasting and the Global Environment

International Network on Cultural Policy (INCP)
Background Discussion Paper

In October of 1998, a Special Forum of the International Institute of Communications (IIC) on Promoting Global Cultural Diversity Through Television took place in Rome, Italy . The Special Forum concluded that cultural diversity is crucial to a healthy, functioning global environment, and that achieving a balance of programming from a multiplicity of sources is critical.

This Special Forum was the culmination of Italian-Canadian cooperation and the work of a Canadian Working Group which examined the challenges and opportunities for cultural diversity in international broadcasting. The working papers and report of this Special Forum provide an important critical assessment of the global broadcasting environment in 1998, and concludes that the international community must take measures to ensure that people everywhere experience the full diversity of the best that the world has to offer. The final report outlines the elements of such a strategy.

This short paper provides a brief overview of the key issues and considerations of the global broadcasting environment identified, and the strategy proposed at the IIC Special Forum as a starting point for the deliberations of the working group. The paper concludes by offering questions for discussion.

GLOBAL BROADCASTING ENVIRONMENT - KEY ISSUES AND CONSIDERATIONS

The IIC Special Forum recognized that technological advances involving broadcasting (satellites, the Internet, etc...) offer an astounding spectrum of new venues for the circulation of cultural content worldwide. Television is already globalizing through the sale of programming across national boundaries, co-production agreements between companies and satellites carrying signals to countries across the globe.

The Internet is also fast becoming an increasingly viable option for the distribution and promotion of cultural content. Yet the global reach of the Internet is still extremely small compared to that of television.

Despite these technological advances the natural course of the global marketplace may not ensure the distribution of culturally rich and diverse content. Technological advances could simply fortify and broaden viewership for the few already dominant providers in existence.

The IIC Special Forum believed that we are far from a world in which the full spectrum of our faces and voices is reflected on our television screens. The challenge is to promote cultural diversity through the marriage of traditional broadcasting with new media and expanded global distribution capabilities. In order to meet this challenge, the report identifies the following key obstacles to be overcome:

1. Rights

Rights related issues present a range of significant challenges to the achievement of global cultural diversity in programming. Current program rights do not, for the most part, encourage or support the distribution of culturally diverse programming.

Exclusivity rights give rights holders substantial influence over the retransmissions and repackaging of the broadcasting signals which carry their programming. Nations and their broadcasting and production industries need to be willing to make their programs easily accessible to the international market in an effort to achieve a critical mass of affordable, available and culturally diverse programming. Rights issues must be resolved to allow for greater distribution options at a more affordable cost.

2. Public-Private Roles and Contributions

The capital resources required for any new initiative are not available from a single public or private sector source. Therefore partnerships among public and private cultural broadcasting organizations are necessary to develop an achievable model for global cultural diversity in television.

Public service broadcasters will play a key role in any new global cultural diversity initiative because of their advantageous position, compared to private broadcasters, in clearing the rights of cultural domestic programs that can be attractive for international distribution and broadcasting. However public broadcasters also have a responsibility to first address issues of domestic culturally diverse programming.

3. Market Requirements and Taste Barriers

Demand for news, special affairs and sports programming have, for the most part, been met under the current broadcasting system. Programming efforts should concentrate on what is missing, namely children=s programming, drama, performing arts, feature films and documentaries. The children=s programming which currently exists is becoming homogenized because of the domination of specialized children=s services that carry largely the same body of programming.

In addressing the lack of programming in certain areas it should be kept in mind that true cultural diversity cannot be achieved through translation alone but requires the inclusion of unique stories, contexts and characters from a variety of nations.

4. Legal and Regulatory

In Europe, Asia and around the globe, many nations have adopted comprehensive policies and regulations that limit foreign access to broadcasting markets. While limits may vary between countries and continents, it is clear that initiatives or approaches towards global cultural diversity in television will have to respect national and regulatory and legal frameworks.

5. Generating International Cooperation

Ensuring global cultural diversity demands broad cooperation through the international community. Countries must collaborate bilaterally and multilaterally to address current policy and regulatory constraints on the entry of additional broadcasting signals from other nations. There is also a need to identify other non-state broadcasting actors if international partnerships are to be successful.

6. State of Development

Many nations suffer from a lack of physical and financial resources and the capabilities to accommodate additional international programming and signals. Many of these nations also lack the means to distribute their own programming to international and even domestic audiences.

7. Culture and Development

While the definition of culture and what constitutes cultural programs is not clearly defined. It is important to recognize that television is one of the most dominant forms of and influences on culture and as such has become a powerful factor in international development.

A PROPOSED STRATEGY

The second objective of this exercise was to propose new instruments to achieve greater diversity of cultural expression in broadcasting which, together, could be the foundation for a global television initiative. The strategy proposes that instruments must address three key elements:

I. Supply

Each nation must demonstrate a willingness to achieve a critical mass of affordable, available, and culturally diverse programming by making their programs easily accessible to the international market. Emphasis should be made on supplying adequate programming and signals that are currently missing in the existing international mix (ex., children`s programming, drama, etc). Rights issues are at the core of addressing supply.

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II. Distribution and Dissemination

A multifaceted approach is needed which does not duplicate, but rather links to and builds on existing systems and infrastructure such as:

Global Networks : TV5 is a successful example of a global network. TV5, a French language general interest network with global distribution, uses different satellite links to reach its international audience. It is managed by two operating groups and broadcasts to 70 million homes around the world via 14 satellites. Most of the costs are divided among participating governments, with France absorbing the majority. A second model is WETV, a network where public agencies and governments purchase blocks of airtime on a service in order to distribute programming on the environment, human development and ethical business. WETV is a partnership venture that puts public and private financing together through a corporate and operational structure designed for this purpose. WETV=s programming is acquired from, or co-produced with independent producers in WETV affiliate countries who provide culturally diverse programming. Global rights are cleared for these programs. This formula eliminates the need of centralized production facilities.

A Global Cultural Television Distributor : A new international cultural program distributor could act as a clearinghouse for global programming where countries could acquire, repackage and market domestically the cultural products of other nations. UNESCO=s AEcrans sans Frontières@ project aims to develop a bank of films and documentaries for the use of public service broadcasters in developing countries (the Liaison Bureau is currently investigating the status of this UNESCO project)

III. Viewer Access

Beyond the challenges of supply and distribution, attention must also be given to the constraints that exist at the receiving end of the broadcasting process. In many nations around the world restrictions exist on the entry of additional signals into the broadcasting market. For other nations, the predominant issues are a critical lack of physical and financial resources and the capabilities to accommodate additional international programming and signals. This is particularly true for developing nations. Bilateral and multilateral agreements could be undertaken to ensure greater availability of international programming in domestic markets and could include specific regulatory arrangements, capital investment or exchanges of information and technology.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

The above analysis was undertaken by Canadian and Italian experts in 1998. Using the above as a basis, the following questions for discussion arise:

• How has the global broadcasting environment changed in the last three years? Are the key issues and considerations above valid today? What new issues have emerged?

• How have the Internet, and other new network technologies changed the broadcasting environment? How have they impacted supply, distribution, and access issues?

• Is the following quotation from the IIC report valid in the current environment?
  ADespite these technological advances and market initiatives, the natural course of the global marketplace may not ensure the distribution of culturally rich and diverse content. Left unmanaged, these advances could simply fortify and broaden viewership for the few dominant content providers already in existence.

• How can television be used as a catalyst for social and economic development and the promotion of cross cultural understanding?

• What strategies should be employed by private, public and non-governmental organizations in partnership and/or alone to ensure a diversity of cultural expression bringing local content to global audiences?
  

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