European Commission media policy and its pro-market inclination: The revised 2009 Communication on State Aid to PSBs and its restraining effect on PSB online

Abstract

This article explores the most recent policy-making of the European Commission that is shaping the online expansion of public service broadcasters. This process culminated in the renewal of the Communication on State Aid to Public Service Broadcasters (PSBs). The article argues that, whereas until 2002, the Commission was supportive of new media initiatives by PSBs, the more recent reasoning – substantiated in Communication 2009 – reveals a more restrictive approach towards PSB online. Communication 2009 sets a higher barrier to PSBs’ ventures in the new media by requiring stricter controls on PSBs’ expansion through a new ‘ex ante test’. The article concludes by highlighting the increasing weight of private broadcasters and publishers on EU policy-making.