CALL FOR EVIDENCE

FOR AN EVALUATION

Title of the evaluation

State aid rules for public service broadcasting – evaluation

Lead DG – responsible unit

DG Competition – Unit C4 State Aid, Media, Telecom, IT

Indicative timetable

(planned start date and completion date)

Start date: Q4 2025

Planned completion date: Q4 2026

Additional information

Communication from the Commission on the application of State aid rules to public service broadcasting https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=oj:JOC_2009_257_R_0001_01

This document is for information purposes only. It does not prejudge the final decision of the Commission on whether this initiative will be pursued or on its final content. All elements of the initiative described by the document, including its timing, are subject to change.

A. Political context, purpose and scope of the evaluation

Political context

The Broadcasting Communication sets out the legal framework governing public funding of public service broadcasting. To comply with State aid rules, the Broadcasting Communication requires that the financing of public service broadcasting is transparent, proportionate and subject to effective supervision mechanisms.

The Broadcasting Communication was last revised in 2009. It does not contain any fixed review clause or expiry date and has not been evaluated since its last revision. Since 2009, there have been a number of developments in the sector:

I.Major technological and market developments (including online and on-demand content distribution and consumption) have taken place, leading to the emergence of new players and new business models;

II.The EU regulation has evolved (notably with the adoption of the revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive and of the European Media Freedom Act) and there have been developments in the case law of the EU Courts; and,

III.The Commission has been handling an increasing number of cases, and has adopted several decisions on public service broadcasting.

There is a need, therefore, to assess whether the Communication still provides up to date guidance for stakeholders. The evaluation would also explore if there is a potential to simplify and clarify the rules.

Purpose and scope

Purpose

The main goal of the evaluation is to check whether the Broadcasting Communication is still fit for purpose. This involves assessing how well the Communication has performed, whether it has facilitated the application of State aid rules in the sector, and whether Member States have had difficulties in interpreting or applying it.

In this regard, the evaluation will analyse how the Communication has functioned and to what extent it achieved its objectives of:

I)providing guidance on the financing of public service broadcasting and preventing distortions of competition;

II)increasing transparency and legal certainty for stakeholders;

III)contributing to the wider objectives of State aid enforcement.

Scope

The evaluation covers only the Broadcasting Communication. It will not cover any other State aid legislation.

Timeframe & content

The evaluation covers the period from the Broadcasting Communication’s entry into force in 2009 to the present day.

The evaluation will cover how the 27 Member States finance their public service broadcasting systems.

Evaluation criteria

The evaluation will assess the following five criteria.

Effectiveness

·To what extent has the Broadcasting Communication achieved its objective of contributing to the transparency of the financing of public service broadcasting?

·To what extent has the Broadcasting Communication achieved its objective of providing guidance for stakeholders on how the Commission applies State aid rules for the financing of public service broadcasting?

·Has the Broadcasting Communication contributed to legal certainty in the sector?

·How effective has the Broadcasting Communication been in limiting distortions of competition, including between private operators and public service broadcasters?

Efficiency

·To what extent have the requirements set by the Broadcasting Communication led to increased transparency in state spending?

·What are the costs and benefits (both monetary and non-monetary) for the different stakeholders associated with applying the requirements set by the Broadcasting Communication?

Relevance

·How relevant has the Broadcasting Communication remained over time, given the technological, market and legal developments since 2009?

·In light of recent technological, market and legal developments, does the Communication continue to provide Member States and stakeholders with sufficient guidance?

Coherence

·To what extent is the Broadcasting Communication internally coherent (i.e. how much do the rules in the Communication complement each other) and externally coherent (i.e. how consistent is the Communication with other EU legislation)?

EU added value

·Has the Broadcasting Communication provided added value compared to a situation without such guidance?

B. Better regulation

Consultation strategy

The aim of the consultation activities is to collect evidence and views from stakeholders in order to assess the effectiveness, efficiency, coherence, relevance and EU added value of the Broadcasting Communication.

The consultation activities will involve:

·A 12-week online public consultation aimed at the general public (launched in parallel with the publication of this call for evidence), with a general questionnaire in the 24 official EU languages, where respondents can reply in each of the 24 official EU languages.

The public consultation will be accessible through the Commission’s ‘Have your Say’ web portal and it will be promoted through the Commission’s official communication channels (including social media) and at selected events and in speeches.

The results of the public consultation will be made public in a factual summary report, published on the ‘Have your Say’ portal.

·Targeted consultations in the form of:

§a request for information to Member States to gather information about the implementation of the Broadcasting Communication. It will be submitted to the relevant authorities via their Permanent Representations to the EU, and they will be able to reply in all 24 official EU languages;

§a targeted questionnaire aimed at stakeholders directly involved in or affected by the Broadcasting Communication, will feature specific questions of a more technical nature. It will be available in English only. Respondents can reply in all 24 official EU languages. This consultation will be accessible through DG Competition’s consultations webpage.

The results of the consultation activities will be set out in a synopsis report that will be annexed to the Staff Working Document summarising the evaluation’s findings.

Why we are consulting? 

The Commission aims to assess whether the Broadcasting Communication has achieved its original objective of providing guidance for the financing of public service broadcasting, and whether Member States have experienced difficulties in interpreting or implementing it.

The evaluation will collect evidence on the Broadcasting Communication’s effectiveness, efficiency, coherence and EU added value. It will also assess the relevance of the Communication, particularly given the technological, market and legal developments that have taken place since 2009.

The consultation activities for the evaluation will collect views from all stakeholders.

Target audience

The main target audience of the evaluation is public authorities in Member States, including national regulators responsible for applying the Broadcasting Communication and supervising public service broadcasting.

The target audience also includes companies active in the sector (such as public service broadcasters, private broadcasters, other audiovisual media providers and digital publishers).

Additionnally, the target audience comprises business and industry associations, consumer associations, European institutional bodies active in the field of audiovisual and media policy, and researchers and academia.

Data collection and methodology

The evaluation will use data provided by stakeholders, statistical information, internal analyses, the Commission’s experience with past cases, as well as any relevant, publicly available studies.

The Commission will summarise the results of the evaluation in a Staff Working Document. The evaluation will provide a basis for a decision about whether a revision of the current rules is necessary.