European Television in the Digital Age

Stylianos Papathanassopoulos is Associate Professor, Department of Communication and Media Studies, National University of Athens

"This book by Stylianos Papathanassopoulos is a treasury of information and of carefully set out argument ... For students of the media system, it is invaluable and has no substitute." Times Higher Education Supplement"European Television in the Digital Age provides a well-informed, well-researched and comprehensive overview of the issues and the dynamics that impact on European television systems at the beginning of the 21st Century. By charting the key moments in the development of the television industry in the last century, it provides a sound foundation for understanding the present state of the industry as it faces the challenge of digital television. This book will be essential reading for all those who want to better understand the recent past, the present and the prospects for the future of the television industry in Europe." Ralph Negrine, Director, Centre for Mass Communication Research, University of Leicester "Stylianos Papathanassopoulos has achieved the near-impossible feat of providing a survey and assessment of issues and developments in West European television that manages to be integrated, inclusive and detailed at the same time. It does justice to the considerable diversity of the European television scene, while highlighting shared circumstances and underlying dynamics. There is presently no more authoritative guide to this complex topic and unlikely to be one for the foreseeable future. It has a story to tell as well as a fund of information to offer." Denis McQuail, Department of Politics, University of Southampton

• Figure and Tables. Abbreviations.Acknowledgements.Introduction: European Television in the Digital Age.Part I: The Issues.The Effects of Deregulation: An Overview.Going Digital: The Advent of Digital Television in Europe.Public Service Broadcasting in the Digital Age.The Funding of Television in the age of Digitalization.Media Concentration in the Age of Digital Television.Politics in the Television Age.Part II: European Television in the Twenty-first Century.From the General and National to the Particular and Local.More News and More News Channels.More Sports Channels: The Advent of Sports Channels in Europe.More Music Television Channels: Europe Dances to a New Rhythm.More Children’s Channels: The Fastest Growing Television Market in Europe.Conclusions: Television and its Viewers in the Internet Age.References.Index.