EBU 1950 – 2010: from shaky antennae to streaming sports live in HD

16 February 2010 23:47.

Everything and nothing has changed

On 12 February 1950 broadcast professionals from 23 countries came together in Britain’s southern coastal resort of Torquay to found the EBU as the post-WWII successor to the International Broadcasting Union. The EBU’s “most essential task” was defined as being the “defence of the interests of broadcasting in the technical and legal fields”. Has anything really changed in 60 years?

Radio was the medium at the time and the first meeting concentrated largely on radio matters. Within a few months television was on the agenda. New technology brought new opportunities. But only the most intrepid could see them. Television was a new medium with an uncertain future and costs were hard to estimate. Many were reluctant to take up the challenge, but a few visionaries saw beyond national boundaries and recognized television’s potential to unite, and the need to work together to succeed. They pursued their dream. The first television link-up took place in summer 1950. Members worked together to deliver the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II internationally. The first official Eurovision transmission from Montreux in 1954 brought together expertise from Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and the UK.

The “new” technology needed the pooling of international knowledge and resources, and a lot of initiative in order to develop the best solutions. The EBU’s success today continues to depend on creating communities of individuals, bringing the best ideas together and having the courage and vision to explore new territory.

Once the technology was working the pioneers realized that they needed programmes to exchange between EBU Members. The 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was a successful European event but not one which could be easily replicated. Programme-makers had to find subjects of broad international interest and which could be screened across countries. Variety shows could work, but fees to performers would have to increase. Local agricultural events avoided rights problems but were of limited interest. Football, the World Cup from Bern in 1954, provided the breakthrough. Initially the EBU asked to have the rights for free, but in the end it agreed to indemnify the Football Associations, to a maximum of CHF 10,000, if there were any shortfall in the gate money. The television event was a huge success. This was the beginning of the EBU not only delivering the pictures internationally on a regular basis, but also identifying and developing programmes with appeal across cultures.

The programming and content delivered across all media remain important drivers for the EBU’s Members today. News, sport, events and a wide range of programming developed with the support of the EBU supplement Members’ own content and help them remain distinctive in a crowded marketplace.

However, technology and programmes alone are not enough to succeed in the business of broadcasting. Solving legal issues, one of the reasons the founding fathers got together, remains very important to the EBU’s daily business. However, rights acquisition has moved from a promise to make up a shortfall to an Association to complex negotiations for territories and rights across different media – and huge sums of money. Today’s legislative and political environments present challenges which those early visionaries could never have imagined. Competition in a crowded marketplace results in a large number of strong views as to what public media should and should not do, and how they should be financed. The EBU’s voice advocating the position of Europe’s public media is vital to ensuring the best legislative and political framework for the future.

Some of today’s challenges may be different from those of 60 years ago, but many things remain the same. The EBU’s founders would be pleased to see that we are embracing the best technology and using it well: the amazing HD pictures delivered live across media from Vancouver will give European audiences more and better sport than ever.

The early pioneers would enjoy the spectacle of the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 from Norway where we will unite not only Europeans to “Share the moment” for one night, but also viewers around the world. They would certainly be most delighted that the broadcasters they brought together remain true to the founding vision and belief that by working together they are stronger and more able to tackle the changes and challenges of the industry today, and in the future.