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 News From You
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Week ending September 6, 2014
La Commission fédérale des médias (COFEM) a examiné l'aide aux médias d'information. Dans un rapport destiné au Conseil fédéral, au Parlement et au public, elle fixe les exigences que les mesures d'aide devraient remplir pour préserver la liberté des médias. Le groupe d'experts estime que le concept d'aide doit veiller au respect scrupuleux de la liberté des médias et mettre l'accent sur les prestations journalistiques qui contribuent de manière essentielle au débat démocratique. Le service public de la radio et de la télévision sera traité par la COFEM dans un rapport ultérieur.
La COFEM préconise l'abandon de l'actuel système de rabais sur les tarifs postaux et soumet à discussion de nouvelles mesures d'aide dans le domaine des médias.
Dans son rapport, la COFEM souligne l'importance persistante des médias d'information (mass-médias) pour la société et la démocratie. La numérisation provoque des bouleversements majeurs, notamment dans les quotidiens nationaux et régionaux. A terme, le modèle commercial des quotidiens n'est plus viable. Cette situation a une influence sur les possibilités journalistiques. L'évolution des médias est certes avant tout l'affaire des entreprises de la branche, mais c'est aussi une question politique. Le processus de transformation devrait être accompagné, les innovations techniques encouragées et la culture journalistique maintenue et développée.
Le profond changement qui affecte la branche est à mettre non seulement sur le compte de la numérisation des médias, mais aussi sur celui des nouvelles habitudes des consommateurs, de plus en plus diversifiées. Il convient de garantir une offre d'information large et variées dans toutes les régions linguistiques et culturelles de la Suisse, et à tous les niveaux politiques. Le journalisme d'agence principalement permet de disposer d'une offre de qualité, étendue et professionnelle, qui peut être utilisée par différents médias. Les agences de presse remplissent une fonction infrastructurelle. A cet effet, la COFEM préconise de soutenir financièrement une agence de presse; elle propose également de soutenir plus activement la formation et la formation continue et veut encourager le lancement de projets novateurs dans le secteur des médias.
A long terme, la COFEM suggère que la Confédération soutienne les innovations des entreprises sur le marché des médias, les projets journalistiques remarquables ainsi que la recherche appliquée dans le domaine des médias. Etant donné que ce deuxième type de mesures suppose une organisation indépendante de l'Etat, la COFEM préconise la création d'une fondation selon un modèle qui a déjà fait ses preuves dans divers domaines, avec Pro Helvetia (culture) ou le Fonds national suisse (recherche). Cette fondation permettrait de mettre en œuvre diverses mesures d'aide indépendantes de l'Etat, avec la participation active de la branche.
Les recommandations de la COFEM partent du constat que les médias se trouvent dans un processus de transformation irréversible et que le journalisme traverse une crise provoquée par les changements techniques et la remise en question des modèles commerciaux existants. Le processus concerne tous les médias, y compris la radio et la télévision. A ces éléments s'ajoute une internationalisation croissante du secteur des médias, avec l'entrée sur le marché suisse de nouveaux concurrents. Dans un pays aussi petit et varié que la Suisse, la diversité et la qualité des médias revêt une importance toute particulière pour la démocratie. De l'avis de la COFEM, l'actuel système d'aide à la presse n'est pas en mesure de faire face à ces enjeux.
Dans son rapport, la COFEM décrit l'importance des médias d'information dans leur ensemble et évalue le système actuel d'aide à la presse. Dès l'automne elle se penchera sur le service public de la radio et de la télévision.
SevenVentures Pitch Day (7VPD) goes international: The start-up prize from ProSiebenSat.1, Germany’s largest TV group, will have an international alignment: The start-up competition specifically targets founders and consumer start-ups intending to enter or grow in the European market with their business idea or product. To support that objective, the ProSiebenSat.1 Group will award the competition winners with a total of €7 million in TV media volume in addition to further media prizes from TF1 (France), Dogan TV (Turkey), TVN Group (Poland) and Modern Times Group (Northern Europe).
SevenVentures Pitch Day will be held on November 13, 2014 in London at the NOAH Conference, Europe’s leading investor and internet conference. Young entrepreneurs who offer their product or services to end customers and who are already fairly established in their respective home markets can apply on www.sevenventures.de/en/7vpd to participate in the SevenVentures Pitch Day. As a reflection of the International focus of the event, this year’s call for applications is being directed at start-ups outside of Germany. The objective is to facilitate entry into the European market starting with Germany for innovative entrepreneurs from around the world who can benefit from the strong marketing reach of the association of TV companies.
From all the applications, 7 candidates will receive free tickets for Noah conference in London, where they will present their forward-looking business idea. In a series of short sessions, participants will have the opportunity to pitch their idea to an international and hand-picked six-member jury. At the same time, SevenVentures Pitch Day will be broadcasted live on the Internet. This enables the audience – as a seventh digital member of the jury – to vote and participate in the decision-making process. In 2013, marketplace for travel related activities, GetYourGuide was able to win over the jury.
For additional information on applying and joining the competition, please visit: www.sevenventures.de/en/7vpd.
Applications can be submitted online until October 5, 2014.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) welcomes the European Commission’s High Level Group report recommending that the EU safeguard access to spectrum below 700 MHz for digital terrestrial television until 2030. However, it is concerned about the early release of the 700 MHz frequencies.
The group chaired by former European Commissioner and WTO Director General Pascal Lamy looked at future use of the UHF spectrum band between 470 to 790 MHz which is essential for the broadcast of free-to-air digital terrestrial television (DTT).
DTT is the most popular TV platform in Europe, reaching 100 million households and 250 million viewers, and it is an essential, innovative platform for meeting universal obligations of public service broadcasters and delivering content to mass audiences.
EBU Members welcome the report’s recommendation that the “EU should adopt a common position against the co-primary allocation of the core audiovisual band (470-694 MHz) to the mobile service at WRC 2015”.
"The EBU believes safeguarding spectrum below 700MHz will enable public service broadcasters and the European audiovisual sector to continue reaching all sectors of the population, sustain broader content choice, and secure investments and innovation over the long term," said Simon Fell, the EBU's Head of Technology & Innovation.
Following a thorough assessment of consumer demand, network supply and Member State diversity, the report stressed that broadcasters and citizens should not be disadvantaged by the transition of DTT out of the 700 MHz band, and the costs of transition should be duly addressed.
“It is essential that broadcasters are not financially weakened by any loss of the 700MHz band. Member States must heed the report's conclusions on compensation and transitional arrangements,” added Mr. Fell.
All costs should be offset, including investments in new and even more efficient technologies and the expense of mitigating mobile interference of DTT reception.
The EBU is concerned about the recommendations that the 700 MHz band be released to other stakeholders, especially mobile phone operators, by 2020 with the flexibility of +/- 2 years.
"There is a danger that this will not give broadcasters and viewers enough time to adapt to appropriate spectrum arrangements and ensure the necessary upgrade of DTT networks and consumer equipment, especially in countries where DTT is the main TV platform," said Mr Fell.
The broadcasting industry argues that an early release date is likely to cause disruption to TV services in a number of Member States, especially where, owing to the lack of capacity, the transition reduces the volume and quality of content offered to viewers.
The report notes that because of the "recent assignments in the 800 MHz band, the 700 MHz band is not immediately needed for mobile services" and proposes a "stock take" by 2025 to provide a factual basis for future policy decisions on spectrum allocation.
The EBU believes this should include all relevant market and technology developments as well as all relevant frequency bands for terrestrial broadcasting and mobile broadband.
With its Members, the EBU has formed the most innovative centre of research and understanding on spectrum, and represents its Members at various international bodies responsible for spectrum allocation, including the European Union, the ITU and at the national regulatory level.
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