The European Audiovisual Observatory has published the 2018 data on audiovisual media services in Europe from the MAVISE database.
This new report finds that the UK was still by and large in 2018 the most prominent audiovisual market in greater Europe (EU28 plus countries) with 1,230 TV channels and 201 pay-on-demand services established in the country, many of which were targeting other European audiovisual markets.
The UK was also found to be the biggest contributor to the overall audiovisual services supply in the EU28. Around one quarter of all TV channels (28%) and pay-on-demand- services (24%) were established there.
At the end of 2018, there were 11,123 TV channels available in Europe. Of these 5,039 were local TV channels. Further, there were 2,917 on-demand services available in Europe including services established outside of Europe which target the European markets; these comprised 1,624 catch-up TV services, 1,081 pay-on-demand services and 212 free on-demand services.
There were 5,880 TV channels established in Europe (excluding local channels) at the end of 2018. Of these 4,470 were based in the EU28. European regulatory authorities issued 4,838 TV broadcasting licences (excluding local licences). Of these 3,555 were issued in the EU28.
Of the TV channels established in Europe 8% were publicly owned while 91% belonged to a private company and 1% had a mixed ownership (similar figures for the EU28); around 28% of TV channels were available in HD format and the same percentage had a catch-up TV service on offer; around 4% of TV channels had a time-shifted version (identical figures for the EU28).
Of the 968 pay-on-demand services established in Europe 853 were based in the EU28; among these, just 2% were owned by public service broadcasting organisations and 1% had a mixed ownership.
Concentration of TV channels and pay-on-demand services established in the EU28 | 2018 – In number of services and % share
Pay business models dominate
One out of five television services established in the Europe by 2018 was accessible via digital terrestrial television (20%), and the rest could be accessed via cable, satellite, or Internet protocol television (IPTV).
Most television channels were pay/or premium services while 41% established in Europe were available free-to-air. The results were similar for the EU28.
The dominant business model for pay-on-demand services was subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) (59%), which came before transactional video-on-demand (TVOD) (41%).
Breakdown of TV channels established in EUR40 + Morocco by type of access and kind of licence | 2018 – In % share
Growing footprint of audiovisual media services targeting other markets
As with television (i.e. Europe n=563; EU28 n=477), the United Kingdom was in 2018 by far the major hub for pay-on-demand services targeting foreign markets with a total of 130 services aimed at other European markets of which 99 were serving the EU28 alone.
More than one fifth of all TV channels (21%; n=917) and over a third (36%; n=306) of pay-on-demand services based in the EU28 were specifically targeting other EU28 markets. In Europe 19% (n=1136) of TV channels and 43% (n=413) of pay-on-demand services were serving non-domestic markets. They were predominantly owned by large broadcasting and entertainment corporations, the majority of which are of American origin.
The United Kingdom, the Czech Republic and Luxembourg accounted for 69% of all TV channels targeting other EU28 markets, and so were 75% of pay-on-demand services based in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Netherlands.
Top audiovisual media hubs primarily targeting other EU28 markets by country | 2018 – In number of services
