In view of the economic and cultural importance of the broadcasting sector in the EU and its Member States, the appearance of this study of European broadcasting law and policy is timely. The content and delivery of broadcast media such as television are of central importance both for the viewer and for society more generally. Watching television remains a very important leisure activity for most people. Clearly technological innovations such as the internet have combined with the emergence of digital television to produce an increasingly diverse set of ‘offerings’ for consumers, but although internet broadcasting remains for the most part in its infancy, at the same time the introduction of interactive services on digital TV has led to a narrowing of the divide between what is ‘online’ and what is ‘TV’.

Bringing together expertise from the fields of legal and journalism studies, the two authors fill an important gap in the available literature by providing an analysis and critique of the role of the European Union institutions in regulating broadcast media. They draw an important distinction in terms of seeing the viewer both as consumer and as citizen, ensuring that their analysis is not solely market-based, but is also informed by the difficult considerations which surround the future of public service broadcasting, alongside commercially driven offerings.

Part I of the book sets the scene, identifying the general issues which have shaped broadcasting policy in the EU context over the past thirty years, and highlighting the differing provisions of EU law which apply to different aspects of broadcasting policy in the context of a single market, including the regulation of ownership, content and delivery.