Parliament calls for support for public service television
The European Parliament, in an own-initiative report adopted on 19 September 1996, has called for greater support for public service television in the developing multimedia society. The Parliament is particularly concerned by the growth of private multi-national broadcasting groups with monopolistic characteristics, demonstrated, in particular, by their acquisition of exclusive rights for sporting and other major events. Calling for the public service remit of state-supported broadcasters to be recognized, the report states that public broadcasters should be excluded from the Community's rules prohibiting the granting of state aid. The report invites the Commission and Member States to support the promotion of culture through public service television. The Parliament considers that the promotion of cooperation between public broadcasters in Europe should be a priority for the Commission. It also believes that pan-European channels, such as ARTE and EuroNews, should receive financial support from the Community. In this context, the report calls on the Commission to undertake a feasibility study into the creation of pan-European public service channels.