This is a map of Europe. Each country is colored according to how their public broadcasting companies are funded and maintained.
Sixteen countries have public media that operate with the help of a television license, which is paid for by the public. Most countries’ public broadcasters are also supported with advertisements on top of the TV license (marked in blue).
Norway, Sweden, and Denmark have public broadcasters funded with a TV license only (red). In addition to the TV license and ads, the public broadcasters of France, Germany, Slovakia, and Albania are also given government grants (yellow).
On the other hand, fourteen countries do not need a TV license for their public networks. Eight of them are supported by both government grants and advertising (light green). The public networks of five countries – Iceland, Spain, Finland, Estonia, and Lithuania – only receive government grants (dark green).
Landlocked Luxembourg only has native commercial channels (orange).
These reads delve deeper into the nature of public broadcasting:
- Public Service Media in Europe: A Comparative Approach
- Reinventing Public Service Communication: European Broadcasters and Beyond
- The BBC – A Winter of Discontent
- Window and Mirror: RTE Television 1961-2011
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