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Project Topic
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PSM-AP asks how the cultural and social values of public service media (PSM) are being transformed by platformisation and what factors are propelling or inhibiting change in different national contexts. For almost 100 years, PSM have played a central role in European culture and society. However, in the past decade, PSM have begun to be transformed by platformisation, a particular facet of digitalisation in which a small number of global platforms (Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple) dominate the digital media landscape (Van Dijck et al, 2018). PSM organisations have responded by developing new production, delivery and aesthetic practices that could alter, undermine or enhance the value that they provide to society and culture. To understand how and why platformisation is transforming PSM, this project will utilise a comparative framework based on the six public service values of universality, independence, excellence, diversity, accountability and innovation outlined by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU, n.d.). This framework will be used to analyse 130 in-depth interviews with commissioning, channel/service, curation and audience research teams, the programmes and catalogues of PSM organisations, and trade, regulatory and policy documents in six countries (Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Italy, Poland, UK). Contextualised in relation to wider data on the governance, media markets and cultures in each country, this comparative analysis will deliver a clearer understanding not only of how platformisation is transforming PSM across Europe, but also the national, international and transnational factors that are propelling or inhibiting change. Knowledge exchange with, and dissemination to, stakeholders and publics through industry workshops, reports, policy briefs, blogs and press articles, will enable the translation of the research findings into industry and policy recommendations at national and transnational levels, aimed at securing the ongoing public value of PSM.
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