Number of Channels in Europe On the Rise

STRASBOURG: Despite the global economic downturn, more than 245 new channels launched in Europe in 2009, according to the European Audiovisual Observatory, while 220 services were shuttered.

Of the new launches, sports was a dominant genre, accounting for 38 of the channels rolled out last year, followed by kids with 17. The bulk of the new services—150-plus—were made available on cable, satellite and IPTV platforms, but there were also some launches of DTT channels. The number of new launches outpaced the number of channel closures, which stands at 220. This includes the more than 100 Spanish channels that ceased broadcasting with the closure of Prisa’s Localia network.

DTT is emerging as a lucrative arena for new services; 24 countries now have digital terrestrial television systems up and running, and three others are in the process of launching. The Observatory estimates that there are more than 730 channels being broadcast over European DTT networks, as compared with 500 in April 2009. Pay-DTT platforms are beginning to emerge, alongside more IPTV and mobile platforms. From 2008 to 2009, the number of cable operators fell from 4203 to 4063, while pay-DTT operators rose from 14 to 20, IPTV operators rose from 68 to 90 and mobile TV platforms rose from 40 to 64.

Of the 7,200 European channels in 27 EU member states and candidate countries Croatia and Turkey, 43 percent are national channels and 6 percent international. One in ten European channels are public-service offerings. The U.K. is the originator of 1,033 channels, followed by Italy (388), France (297), Germany (227) and then Spain (195). By genre, movies/fiction dominates with 496, followed by 419 for sports, 318 for entertainment, 218 generalist services, 252 for music, 251 adult channels, 250 cultural/educational/doc services, 224 kids’ channels, 223 news/business/parliamentary channels, and 170 lifestyle/travel/weather offerings. Factoring in non-European channels, the Observatory reports that there are more than 8,600 channels available to audiences in the region.