European Broadcasting Union

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; , UER) is an alliance of public service media organisations in countries within the European Broadcasting Area (EBA) or who are members of the Council of Europe. , it is made up of 123 member organisations from 56 countries, and 31 associate members from a further 20 countries. It was established in 1950, and has its administrative headquarters in Geneva.

The EBU owns and operates the Eurovision and Euroradio telecommunications networks on which major television and radio broadcasts are distributed live to its members. It also operates the daily Eurovision news exchange in which members share breaking news footage. In 2017, the EBU launched the Eurovision Social Newswire, an eyewitness and video verification service. Led by Head of Eurovision Social Newswire, Derek Bowler, the service provides members of the EBU with verified and cleared-for-use newsworthy eyewitness media emerging on social media.

The EBU, in co-operation with its members, produces programmes and organises events in which its members can participate, such as the Eurovision Song Contest, its best known production, or the Eurovision Debates between candidates for president of the European Commission for the 2014, 2019 and 2024 parliamentary elections. Noel Curran has been director-general since 2017.

General description

thumb|The classic opening ident that preceded all [[Eurovision (network)|Eurovision network transmissions until 1994. The logotypes of both the sending and receiving companies were shown in the middle. This sample shows the 1988-1997 logo of the BBC.]]

alt=The candidates standing onstage|thumb|European Commission presidency candidates at [[Eurovision Debate (May 2019). Left to right: Zahradil, Cué, Keller, Vestager, Timmermans, Weber.]]

EBU members are public service media (PSM) broadcasters established by law but are non-partisan, independent, and run for the benefit of society as a whole.

EBU members come from as far north as Iceland and as far south as Algeria, from Portugal in the west to Azerbaijan in the east, and almost every nation from geographical Europe in between. Associate members from the United States include ABC, CBS, NBC, CPB, NPR, APM, and the only individual station, Chicago-based classical music radio WFMT.

The statutory purpose of the European Broadcasting Union is to promote broadcasting, in particular

promotion and development of the concept of public media (i.e. radio, television and other electronic media) and their values, in particular, universality, independence, quality, diversity, accountability and innovation, as stated in the Declaration on the Core Values of Public Media of the European Broadcasting Union.
protecting and improving freedom of expression and information, which is one of the most important foundations of a democratic society and one of the fundamental conditions for its progress and development of every person.
strengthening media freedom and pluralism, the free flow of information and ideas, and the free formation of opinions.
the use and development of information and communication technologies as a means of realizing the right, regardless of State borders. express, seek, receive, and disseminate information and ideas, regardless of their source.
development of cultural diversity, intercultural dialogue and exchanges in order to promote tolerance and solidarity.
protecting and popularizing Europe's cultural heritage and developing its audiovisual creativity by providing an increasing selection of programs and services.
strengthening the identity of peoples, social cohesion and integration of all individuals, groups and communities.
meeting the expectations of the public in the information, educational, cultural and entertainment fields through the production and distribution of a wide range of high-quality programs.

The minimum membership fee in the European Broadcasting Union for a broadcasting organization is 45,000 Swiss francs, and the maximum is 4,000,000 Swiss francs.

Members benefit from:

Access to content ranging from exclusive sports rights to exchanges for news, music, and children's programmes.
Representatives in Brussels, and in other international arenas, lobbying for PSM and ensuring the optimal legal and technical framework for broadcasters.
Opportunities for sharing, learning and collaborating through conferences, working groups, training, and dedicated advice and guidance.
A centre for learning and sharing new technology and innovation with a team of experts providing strategic advice and guidance.

The EBU's highest-profile production is the Eurovision Song Contest. The EBU also organises the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, the Eurovision Young Musicians competition, and other competitions which are modeled along similar lines.

Radio collaborations include Euroclassic Notturno—an overnight classical music stream, produced by BBC Radio 3 and broadcast in the United Kingdom as Through the Night—and special theme days, such as the annual Christmas music relays from around Europe. The EBU is a member of the International Music Council.

Most EBU broadcasters have group deals to carry major sporting events including the FIFA World Cup and the inaugural European Championships. Another annually recurring event which is broadcast across Europe through the EBU is the Vienna New Year's Concert.

Eurovision Media Services is the business arm of the EBU and provides media services for many media organisations and sports federations around the world.

Ident

Marc-Antoine Charpentier's Prelude to Te Deum is the hymn played before and after broadcasts organised under the Eurovision network, including the Eurovision Song Contest.

History

thumb|[[Vienna New Year's Concert]]

The EBU was a successor to the International Broadcasting Union (IBU) that was founded in 1925 and had its administrative headquarters in Geneva and technical office in Brussels. It fostered programming exchanges between members and mediated technical disputes between members that were mostly concerned with frequency and interference issues. It was in effect taken over by Nazi Germany during the Second World War, and thereafter the Allies viewed it as a compromised organisation that they could not trust.

In the spring of 1946, representatives of the Soviet radio committee proposed forming a new organisation; however, at the same time preparations were being made for an inter-governmental "European Broadcasting Conference" in Copenhagen in 1948 to draw up a new plan for frequency use in the European Broadcasting Area. It was considered necessary to have an organisation that could implement the "Copenhagen Wavelength Plan" but there was disagreement among broadcasters and particularly a fear expressed by the BBC that a new association might be dominated by the USSR and its proposal to give each of its constituent states one vote. France proposed that it would have four votes with the inclusion of its North African colonies. The United Kingdom felt it would have little influence with just one vote.

On 27 June 1946, the alternative International Broadcasting Organisation (IBO) was founded with 26 members and without British participation. The following day the IBU met in General Assembly and an attempt was made to dissolve it but failed; though 18 of its 28 members left to join the IBO. For a period of time in the late 1940s both the IBU and IBO vied for the role of organising frequencies but Britain decided not to be involved in either. The BBC attempted but failed to find suitable working arrangements with them. However, for practical purposes, the IBO rented the IBU technical centre in Brussels and employed its staff. The BBC then proposed a new solution based on the IBO changing its constitution so there will be only one member per International Telecommunication Union (ITU) country, thus ensuring a Western majority over the USSR and its satellite states. In August 1949 a meeting took place in Stresa, Italy, but it resulted in disagreement between delegates on how to resolve the problems. One proposal was for the European Broadcasting Area to be replaced by one that would exclude Eastern Bloc, the Levant, and North Africa.

After Stresa, a consensus emerged among the Western Europeans to form a new organisation and the BBC proposed it be based in London. Meetings in Paris on 31 October and 1 November 1949 sealed the fate of the IBU and IBO, but it was decided not to allow any broadcaster from West Germany to be a founder of the new organisation. On 13 February 1950 the European Broadcasting Union had its first meeting with 23 members from the ITU defined European Broadcasting Area at the Imperial Hotel in Torquay, United Kingdom. The first president was Ian Jacob of the BBC who remained at the helm for ten years while its operation was largely dominated by the BBC due to its financial, technical, and staff input. The most important difference between the EBU and its predecessors was that EBU membership was for broadcasters and not governments. Early delegates said EBU meetings were cordial and professional and very different from the abrupt tone of its predecessors. Broadcasters from West Germany were admitted since 1951 and a working relationship forged with its Eastern counterpart, the International Radio and Television Organisation (OIRT), which existed in parallel with the EBU until its merger on 1 January 1993. when at 4:30 p.m Central European time, the first live broadcast from Montreux, Switzerland, from the Daffodil Festival, a flower festival held every two years since the end of the 19th century (1897), took place under its auspices the year in honor of the return of spring. On the same day, at 19:00 Central European time, a broadcast was organized from the Vatican — a visit to the Apostolic Palace (Sixtus V Palace) and St. Peter's Cathedral, which ended with a sermon by Pope Pius XII on television and a blessing in six languages. An important event was the coverage of the first Olympic Games for the network, the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo. During the 13 days of the Games, more than 54 programs were broadcast on the network with the participation of the main broadcaster, the Italian RAI. During the Olympic exchange, broadcasters from the GDR and Czechoslovakia temporarily joined the network for the first time. The landmark events broadcast on the network in 1956 also include the wedding of Prince Rainier II and Grace Kelly, broadcast with the participation of the Monaco RMC, and the broadcast of the Tour de France cycling race on the continental air.

In 1958, the first news exchange was carried out between EBU member broadcasters through live broadcasts from the Vatican dedicated to the death of Pope Pius XII.

By 1964, 21 EBU members were involved in the exchange of news, transmitting and accepting 1,134 pieces of content. On January 1, 1968, at 6:30 p.m. Central European time, a new exchange channel "EVN-2" was opened, used to transmit color television broadcasting materials. In 1974, the exchange volume amounted to 5,000 pieces of content, and the number of exchange channels reached three - "EVN-0" was added.

In 1989, the Euroradio exchange system was launched. The purpose of the launch was to "ensure the international exchange of high-quality digital audio programs". In 1994, the exchange of radio programs in digital quality began through the ERC (Eurovision Radio Center) control center located in Geneva, Switzerland.

The growing deregulation of national media systems has enormously changed the media landscape in Europe. Faced with growing competition and interest in membership from commercial broadcasters in most European countries, in 1990 the EBU emphasized its status as an organization of public broadcasters in its Marina Charter. Although its television broadcasts were previously based on free data exchange systems between active participants, the EBU commercialized its activities (Eurovision Network Services) and began selling broadcast rights to broadcasters outside the Union in 1994.

In 2022, the Eurovision Documentary Development Scheme (EDDS) program was launched in order to organize the joint production of documentaries and TV series, which was joined by 27 broadcasters from 15 countries.

In April 2025, the EBU, in partnership with its Members, launched Eurovision News Spotlight, a collaborative network for fact-checking and open-source intelligence (OSINT) to actively combat online falsehoods and misinformation across Europe.

Technical activities

The objective of the EBU's technical activities is simply to assist EBU Members (see below) in this period of unprecedented technological changes. This includes the provision of technical information to Members via conferences and workshops, as well as in written form (such as the EBU Technical Review, and the EBU tech-i magazine).

The EBU also encourages active collaboration between its Members on the basis that they can freely share their knowledge and experience, thus achieving considerably more than individual Members could achieve by themselves. Much of this collaboration is achieved through Project Groups which study specific technical issues of common interest: for example, EBU Members have long been preparing for the revision of the 1961 Stockholm Plan.

The EBU places great emphasis on the use of open standards. Widespread use of open standards (such as MPEG-2, DAB, DVB, etc.) ensures interoperability between products from different vendors, as well as facilitating the exchange of programme material between EBU Members and promoting "horizontal markets" for the benefit of all consumers.

EBU Members and the EBU Technical Department have long played an important role in the development of many systems used in radio and television broadcasting, such as:

The AES/EBU digital audio interface, formally known as AES3;
Serial and parallel interfaces for digital video (ITU-R Recommendations 601 and 656);
RDS – the radio data system used on FM broadcasting.
The EBU Loudness Recommendation R 128 and 'EBU Mode' meters (EBU Tech 3341)

The EBU has also actively encouraged the development and implementation of:

Digital radio (DAB) through Eureka Project 147 and the WorldDAB Forum.
DVB (Digital Video Broadcasting) through the DVB Project and DigiTAG.
Digital radio in the bands currently used for AM broadcasting through Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM).
Standardisation of PVR systems through the TV-Anytime Forum.
Development of other content distribution networks on the internet through P2PTV; EBU Project Group D/P2P, from November 2007 to April 2008, with a trial of selected member channels, thanks to Octoshape's distribution platform. The EBU is also part of the European P2P-Next project.

Management

The highest body is the General Assembly, the General Assembly, consisting of representatives of member organizations. The General Assembly has all the powers necessary to achieve the objectives of the EBU, as well as the inherent powers to oversee all other bodies of the union. It is authorized to resolve issues of approving the organization's budget for the next financial year, determining the amount of membership fees and other mandatory payments, forming the Executive Committee, electing senior officials of the union, admitting, suspending or expelling broadcasting organizations from membership in the union, and other issues stipulated by the EBU charter, as well as those eligible for inclusion on the agenda. on the recommendation of the Executive Committee.

Since 2007, the General Assembly has been meeting twice a year, for a summer session (usually in late June or early July) and a winter session (usually in late November or early December). The summer session is open to EBU member and associates The General Assembly may be convened for an extraordinary session, which may be attended only by EBU members.:

{| class="wikitable"

!Position

!Name and surname

!The broadcasting organization

|EBU President

|Delphine Ernotte

|Groupement des Radiodiffuseurs français de l’UER

|EBU Vice President

|Cilla Benkö

|Sveriges Television och Radio Grupp

| rowspan="9" |Member of the Executive Committee

|Tim Davie

|British Broadcasting Corporation

|Katja Wildermuth

|Arbeitsgemeinschaft der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten der Bundesrepublik Deutschland

|Simona Agnes

|Radiotelevisione Italiana

|Nicolau Santos

|Rádio e Televisão de Portugal

|Milen Mitev

|Bâlgarsko Nacionalno Radio

|Roland Weißmann

|Österreichischer Rundfunk

|Mykola Chernotytskyi

|Suspilne Ukraine

|Monika Garbačiauskaitė-Budrienė

|Lietuvos Radijas ir Televizija

|Nathalie Biancolli

|Groupement de Radiodiffusion Monégasque

Five EBU bodies are directly accountable to the Executive Committee: the Audit Committee and the Human Resources Committee, which are composed of the members of the Executive Committee themselves, two expert groups — the statutory (legal) group and the financial group, and the Sports Investment Council, which reports to the Executive Committee only on the acquisition of sports rights for specific projects. In case of absence or incapacity of the President, his powers are exercised by the Vice President. Since November 30, 2023, the powers of the EBU Vice-President have been performed by Cilla Benkö Lamborn (Sweden).

The Director General of the EBU manages the permanent services of the European Broadcasting Union. The permanent services of the EBU are designed to ensure the practical implementation of the objectives of the union under the guidance of the competent authorities of the EBU, namely, advising the bodies of the EBU, broadcasting member organizations and partners, projects and the implementation of operational activities.

The main office of the EBU is located in Geneva (Since 1950, the office has been located at Rue de Varembé 1, from 1978 to the present — at L'Ancienne-Route 17A). Additional offices and representative offices operate in Brussels, New York, Rome, Moscow and Washington. The EBU Technical Center is also located in Geneva. In response, the EBU set up a makeshift studio the same day near the former ERT offices in Athens in order to continue providing EBU members with the news-gathering and broadcast relay services which had formerly been provided by ERT. The EBU put out a statement expressing its "profound dismay" at the shutdown, urging the Greek Prime Minister "to use all his powers to immediately reverse this decision" and offered the "advice, assistance and expertise necessary for ERT to be preserved". Starting on 4 May 2014, the new state broadcaster New Hellenic Radio, Internet and Television (NERIT) began nationwide transmissions, taking over ERT's vacant active membership slot in the EBU. On 11 June 2015, two years after ERT's closure, NERIT was renamed as Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT), which reopened with a comprehensive program in all radio stations (with nineteen regional, two world-range and five pan-Hellenic range radio stations) and three TV channels ERT1, ERT2 and ERT3.

Belarusian and Russian state broadcasters (2021–22)

The Belarusian Television and Radio Company (BTRC) has been accused of repressing its own employees, having fired more than 100 people since a wave of anti-Lukashenko protests in 2020 following alleged election fraud. Many of them have also been jailed. Many voices have been raised against the participation of BTRC in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 representing Belarus, the argument being that the EBU would make a political statement if it did endorse BTRC by essentially and silently saying that democracy is unimportant and so are basic human rights such as freedom of speech.

On 28 May 2021, the EBU suspended the BTRC's membership as they had been "particularly alarmed by the broadcast of interviews apparently obtained under duress". BTRC was given two weeks to respond before the suspension came into effect, but did not do so publicly. The suspension of the broadcaster was made effective on 1 July 2021. Although initial reports mentioned that it would expire after three years, in April 2024 the EBU confirmed that the suspension had been made indefinite.

The three Russian members of the EBU, Channel One Russia, VGTRK, and Radio Dom Ostankino are all controlled by the Russian government. On 21 February 2022, the Russian government recognized the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, disputed territories that are internationally recognized as part of Ukraine. Ukraine's public broadcaster Suspilne called on the EBU to terminate the membership of Channel One Russia and VGTRK, and to consider preventing them from participating in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 representing Russia, citing the Russian government's use of both outlets to spread disinformation surrounding the Russo-Ukrainian war. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, several other public broadcasters joined UA:PBC in calling for Russia's exclusion from the 2022 Contest; Finland's Yle and Estonia's ERR stated that they would not send a representative if Russia was allowed to participate. After initially stating that both Russia and Ukraine would be allowed to compete, the EBU announced on 25 February 2022 that it would ban Russia from participating in the Contest.

The three Russian broadcasters announced, via a statement released by Russian state media, that they would withdraw from the EBU on 26 February, citing increased politicization of the organization. The EBU released a statement saying that it was aware of the reports, but that it had not received any formal confirmation. On 1 March, a further statement from the EBU announced that it had suspended its Russian members from its governance structures. On 26 May, the EBU made effective the suspension of its Russian members indefinitely.

In 2023, an extensive investigation by the EBU Investigative Journalism Network uncovered evidence of a Kremlin-sponsored initiative to take Ukrainian children from the war-torn country to Russia, a war crime under international law.

Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest

The Gaza war has led to calls for the EBU to exclude Israel and its broadcaster Kan from the Eurovision Song Contest, and demonstrations against its participation have taken place since .

Members

thumb|350px|Map of countries with EBU member broadcasters (as of May 2024)

thumb|350px|Countries with active EBU member broadcasters coloured in order of accession since 1950

The Charter of the European Broadcasting Union provides for two main forms of participation in the activities of the EBU:

Current members

The members of the EBU are broadcasting organizations or groups of broadcasting organizations that meet all the technical and legal criteria for membership and operate on the territory of the member States of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) located in the European Broadcasting Area (EBA), or in a member state of the Council of Europe located outside the EBA.

, the list of EBU members comprises the following 75 broadcasting companies from 56 countries.

|All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company

|RTR

|1993

Radio Mayak (MK)
Radio Orpheus (OP)

|RDO

|1996

The decision to suspend BTRC's membership was made by the EBU Executive Board at a meeting on May 28, 2021. In a statement posted on the official website on the same day, it was reported that the Belarusian broadcaster has two weeks to provide explanations before the suspension takes effect. At the end of the 86th EBU General Assembly, which confirmed the earlier decision of the Executive Board, the suspension came into force on July 1, 2021. In an interview with the Belarus Today website published on July 1, 2021, BTRK CEO Ivan Eismont said that "for now, we are talking about putting our relations on pause for three years." At the same time, there is no information about the timing of the suspension in the official public statements of the European Broadcasting Union. On April 23, 2024, information appeared about the position of the European Broadcasting Union regarding BTRK, set out in a response to the ESC Discord service, according to which the suspension of the broadcaster is indefinite.

The decision to suspend the membership of Russian broadcasters was taken by the EBU Executive Board at a meeting on May 26, 2022, entered into force immediately, is indefinite and subject to periodic review.

| 1992

| rowspan="2" |

|Egyptian State Broadcasting

|ESB

|1950

|1958

|Egyptian Radio and Television Union

|ERTU

|1985

|2017

| rowspan="2" |

|Eesti Raadio

|ER

| rowspan="2" |1993

| rowspan="2" |2007

|Eesti Televisioon

|EE/ETV

| Finland

| MTV3

| FI/MTV

OWL

| 1993

| 2019

| rowspan="7" | France

| RTF

| 1950

| 1964

| ORTF

| 1964

| 1975

| TDF

| 1975

| 1982

| TF1

| 1975

| 2018

| Europe 1

| E1

| 1978

| 2022

| OFRT

| 1983

| 1992

| Canal+

| C+

| 1984

| 2018

| Greece

| New Hellenic Radio, Internet and Television (, )

| NERIT

| 2014

| 2015

| rowspan=3| Hungary

| Duna

| 2013

| rowspan=3|2015

| MR

| rowspan=2|1993

| MTV

| rowspan="2" | Israel

|Kol Yisrael — Israel Broadcasting Service

|IBS

|1957

|1965

| Israel Broadcasting Authority (, )

| IBA

| 1965

| 2017

|Jordan Television Corporation

|JTV

|1970

|1985

| Libyan Jamahiriya Broadcasting Corporation ()

| LJBC

| 1974

| 2011

| ERSL

| 1996

| 2022

| Maltese Broadcasting Authority

| MBA

| 1970

| 2003

| rowspan="2"|

| Groupement de Radiodiffuseurs Monégasques:

Radio Monte Carlo (RMC)
Télé Monte-Carlo (TMC)

| GRMC

| 1950

| 2021

| Telemontecarlo (now La7)

| TMC

| 1981

| 2001

| rowspan="2" |

|Radiodiffusion Nationale Marocaine

|RNM

|1956

|1961

|Radiodiffusion-Télévision Marocaine

|MA/RTM

|1969

|2005

| rowspan="3"|

| Dutch Radio Union ()

| NRU

| 1947

| rowspan="2"|1967

| (Dutch Television Foundation)

| NTS

| 1951

| TROS

| 1964

| 2014

| rowspan="2" |

|Emissora Nacional

|EN

|1950

|1976

|Radiodifusão Portuguesa SA

|RDP

|1976

|2007

| Russian State TV and Radio Company «Ostankino»

| RTO

| 1993

| 1995

| (Alliance of Public Radios and Televisions)

| UJRT

| 2001

| 2006

| rowspan=3| Slovakia

| SRo

| rowspan=2|1993

| rowspan=2|2011

| STV

| Radio and Television of Slovakia (Rozhlas a televízia Slovenska)

| RTVS

| 2011

| 2024

| rowspan=3| Spain

| Antena 3 Radio

| A3R

| 1986

| 1993

| COPE

| 1998

| 2019

| SER

| 1982

| 2020

| Sweden

| TV4

| SE/TV4

| 2004

| 2019

| rowspan="2" | Tunisia

|Radiodiffusion-Télévision Tunisienne

|RTT

|1957

|1990

| (Tunisian Radio and Television Establishment)

| ERTT

| 1990

| 2007

| rowspan="3" |

|Derzhkomteleradio

|DRTU

|1993

|1995

|National Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine

|NTU

| rowspan="2" |1995

| rowspan="2" |2017

|National Radio Company of Ukraine

|NRU

| rowspan="4" | United Kingdom

| Independent Television Authority

| ITA

| 1959

| 1972

| Independent Television Companies Association

| ITCA

| 1959

| 1981

| Independent Broadcasting Authority

| IBA

| 1972

| 1981

| Commercial Radio Companies Association (now Radiocentre)

| CRCA

| 1981

| 2006

| Jugoslavenska radio-televizija / Jugoslovenska radio-televizija ()

| JRT

| 1950

| 21/05/1992

Associate members

thumb|350px|Countries with associate EBU membership

Any group or organisation from an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) member country, which provides a radio or television service outside of the European Broadcasting Area, is permitted to submit applications to the EBU for Associate Membership.

It is also noted by the EBU that any broadcaster that is granted Associate Member status does not gain access into Eurovision events

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%"

! Country

! Broadcasting organisation

! From

! To

| rowspan=2|

| C7

| 1970

| 1999

| C13

| 1973

| 1999

| rowspan=2|

| Australian Fine Music Network

| AFMN

| 2008

| 2010

| FreeTV Australia

| Free

| 1962

| 2024

| Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas

| BCB

| 1975

| 1999

| Bangladesh Television

| BTV

| 1974

| 2026

| Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation

| BB/CBC

| 1971

| 2005

| RD

| 1972

| 1975

| Televisión Boliviana

| TVB

| 1970

| 1999

| rowspan=6|

| ABERT

|1962

|1980

| DA

|1950

|1980

| Emissoras Unidas de Rádio e Televisão

| EURT

| 1961

| 1969

| TV Globo

| GLOBO

| 1970

|1999

| Network of Independent Broadcasters ()

| REI

| 1974

| 1975

| RN

| 1974

| 1975

| rowspan=2|

| CTV Television Network

| CTV

| 1969

|1999

| Agency for Tele-Education in Canada

| ATEC

| 1975

| 1981

| Chadian National Radio ()

| RNT

|1955

| 1974

| TVN

| 1970

|1999

| IRV

| 1970

|1999

| RTC

| 1974

|2009

| TSN

| 1969

| 1971

| Teleamazonas

| 4TA

| 1975

|1999

| RTG

|1960

|2009

| Gambia Radio & Television Service

| GRTS

|1962

| 2010

| Ghana Broadcasting Corporation

| GBC

|1953

|1990

| (Greenlandic Broadcasting Corporation)

| KNR

| 1978

| 2011

| Guyana Broadcasting Service

| GBS

| 1977

|2009

|1950

| 1969

| TH

| 1969

| 1971

| rowspan="2"|

| Asia Television ()

| ATV

|1957

| 2010

| Television Broadcasts Limited

| TVB

| 1973

| 2012/2013

| All India Radio

| AIR

| 1979

| 2021

| rowspan="2"|

| RRI

| 1973

| 1981

| TVRI

| 1973

| 1981

| Iraqi Broadcasting and Television Establishment

| IBTE

| RTI

|1961

|2010

| Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation

| JBC

| 1970

| 1981

| rowspan="6"|

| Mainichi Broadcasting System (, )

| MBS

| 1970

|2009

| TV Asahi

| ANB

|1960

| 2009

| Fuji Television

| FTN

| 1969

| 2012/2013

| National Association of Commercial Broadcasters in Japan

| NACB

|1984

| 2012/2013

| Nippon Television Network Corporation (, )

| NTV

|1953

| 2009

| Tokyo FM

| TFM

| 1986

| 2021

| The Voice of Kenya

| VK

|1964

|2010

| Kuwait Broadcasting and Television Service

| KBTS

| 1970

|2010

| Liberian Broadcasting Corporation

| LBC

|1964

| 1981

| RTM

| 1971

|2010

| Malawi Broadcasting Corporation

| MBC

|1964

|2010

| Television of Mauritania

| MR/TVM

| 2003

| 2013

| rowspan=5|

| TSM

|1960

| 1973

| (Mexican Independent Television)

| TIM

| 1969

| 1973

| TCM

| 1969

| 1973

| TVA

| 1973

| 2005

| CMRT

| 1973

|1999

| rowspan=2|

| Nepal Television ()

| NTVC

| 1985

| 2010

| Association of Community Radio Broadcasters Nepal

| ACORAB

| 2023

| 2026

| ORTN

| 1967

| 1981

| Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation

| NBC

|1962

|2010

| rowspan=2|

| Radio Pakistan ()

| RP

|1950

| 1974

| Pakistan Television Corporation ()

| PK/PTV

| 1971

| 2010

| Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation ()

| PBC

| 2002

| 2014

| National Broadcasting Corporation

| NBC

| 1977

|2015

| rowspan="3"|

| Teledos

| T2

| 1969

| 1971

| Compañía Peruana de Radiodifusión

| AMÉRICA

| 1969

|1999

| Panamericana Televisión

| PANTEL

| 1969

|1999

| rowspan="3"|

| Qatar Television and Broadcasting Service

| QTBC

| 1973

|2009

| Al Jazeera Children's Channel ()

| JCC

| 2008

| 2013

| Qatar Radio ()

| QR

| 2009

| Saudi Arabian Broadcasting and Television Service

| SABTVS

|1962

|2012

| RTS

| 1973

| 2006

| rowspan=2|

| Ceylon Broadcasting Corporation

| CBC

|1967

| 1973

| Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (, ) (, )

| SLBC

| 2007

| 2010

| South African Broadcasting Corporation

| SABC

| 1951

| 2022

| Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation ()

| MBC

|1961

| 2009

| Sudan Television Service

| STS

| 1976

|2009

| Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation

| TBC

|1960

|2010

| rowspan="2"|

| Emirates Media Inc.

| EMI

| 2006

| United Arab Emirates Radio And Television – Dubai

| UAERTVD

| 2006

| rowspan="11"|

| National Association of Educational Broadcasters

| NAEB

| 1981

| Time Life Television

| TIME

| 1970

| United States Information Agency

| USIA

| National Educational Television

| NET

| 1970

| Educational Broadcasting Corporation

| EBC

| 1971

| Corporation for Public Broadcasting

| CPB

| 1972

|2025

| Cable News Network

| CNN

| International Broadcasting Bureau

| IBB

| 2007

| Minnesota Public Radio

| MPR

| 2004

| 2007

| New York Public Radio

| NYPR

| 2012

| 2016

| WGBH Educational Foundation

| WGBH

| 2014

| RTV

|1963

| 1981

| C12

| 1970

| 1976

| rowspan="4"|

| 1969

| 1970

| VV

| 1973

|1999

| RCTV

|1953

| 2010

| RCR

|1960

| 2010

| VZ

|1976

|1997

| Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation

| ZBC

|1980

| 2010

Approved participant members

Any groups or organisations from a country with International Telecommunication Union (ITU) membership, which does not qualify for either the EBU's Active or Associate memberships, but still provide a broadcasting activity for the EBU, are granted a unique Approved Participants membership, which lasts approximately five years. An application for this status may be submitted to the EBU at any given time, providing an annual fee is paid.

The following eight EBU broadcast members had status as Approved Participants in November 2024.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%"

! Country

! Broadcasting organisation

| rowspan="3"|

| Euronews

| EURONEWS

| Institut national de l'audiovisuel

| INA

| TV5Monde

| TV5

| JP Makedonska Radiodifuzija

| JP MRD

| Radio Television of Vojvodina

| RTV

| rowspan="2"|

| Catalunya Música

| CAT

| Cellnex

| CELLNEX

The following members previously had status as Approved Participants. is an annual international song competition between EBU members, that was first held in Lugano, Switzerland, on 24 May 1956. Seven countries participatedeach submitting two songs, for a total of 14. This was the only contest in which more than one song per country was performed: since 1957, all contests have allowed one entry per country. The was won by the host nation, Switzerland. The winner of the , which took place in Vienna, Austria, is Bulgaria.

Let the Peoples Sing

Let the Peoples Sing is a biennial choir competition, the participants of which are chosen from radio recordings entered by EBU radio members. The final, encompassing three categories and around ten choirs, is offered as a live broadcast to all EBU members. The overall winner is awarded the Silver Rose Bowl. The first winner was Glasgow Phoenix Choir, conducted by their Chorus Master Peter Mooney, from Scotland in the 1961 competition that was held in London. The most recent winner is Copenhagen Girls Choir from Denmark, conducted by Anne-Terese Sales, in the 2024 competition that was held in London.

Jeux sans frontières

Jeux sans frontières () was a Europe-wide television game show. In its original conception, it was broadcast from 1965 to 1999 under the auspices of the EBU. In 1980, at the peak of its popularity, the game show attracted an audience of 110 million viewers across Europe. The original series' run ended in 1982, but was revived in 1988 with a different composition of nations and was hosted by smaller broadcasters.

Eurovision Young Musicians

Eurovision Young Musicians is a competition for European musicians that are between the ages of 12 and 21 years old. It is organised by the EBU and is a member of EMCY. The first competition was held in Manchester, United Kingdom on 11 May 1982. The televised competition is held every other year, with some countries holding national finals. Since its inaugural edition in 1982, it has become one of the most important music competitions on an international level. The winner of the most recent contest, which took place in Bodø Municipality, Norway, is Austria.

Eurovision Young Dancers

Eurovision Young Dancers was a biennial dance showcase broadcast on television throughout Europe. The inaugural competition was held in Reggio Emilia, Italy on 16 June 1985. It uses a format similar to the Eurovision Song Contest. Every participating country has the opportunity to send a dance act to compete for the title of Eurovision Young Dancer. The competition is for solo dancers, and all contestants must be between the ages of 16 and 21, and not professionally engaged. The winner of the most recent contest, which took place in Prague, Czech Republic, is Poland.

Euroclassic Notturno

Euroclassic Notturno is a six-hour sequence of classical music recordings, assembled by BBC Radio from material supplied by EBU members and streamed back to those broadcasters by satellite for use in their overnight classical-music schedules. The recordings used are taken not from commercial CDs, but from earlier (usually live) radio broadcasts.

Junior Eurovision Song Contest

The Junior Eurovision Song Contest () is an annual international song competition that was first held in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 15 November 2003. Sixteen countries participated in the , with each submitting one song. The inaugural contest was won by Croatia. The winner of the most recent contest, which took place in Tbilisi, Georgia is France.(2026)

Eurovision Dance Contest

The Eurovision Dance Contest (not to be confused with Eurovision Young Dancers) was an international dancing competition that was held for the first time in London, United Kingdom, on 1 September 2007. The inaugural contest was won by Finland. The competition was repeated in 2008 when it was held in Glasgow, United Kingdom, but has not been held since. The winner of the most recent contest is Poland.

Magic Circus Show

The Magic Circus Show was an entertainment show organised by the EBU, which took place in 2010, 2011 and 2012 in Geneva, Switzerland. Children aged between 7–14 representing eight countries within the EBU membership area performed a variety of circus acts at the Geneva Christmas Circus (). The main show was also accompanied by the Magic Circus Show Orchestra.

Eurovision Choir

The inaugural Eurovision Choir, featuring non-professional choirs selected by EBU members, took place on 22 July 2017 in Riga, Latvia, hosted by the Latvian broadcaster Latvijas Televīzija (LTV). Nine countries took part in the first edition. Carmen Manet from Slovenia was the first winner and the winner of the most recent contest, which took place in Gothenburg, Sweden, was Vocal Line from Denmark.

European Sports Championships

The European Sports Championships is a multi-sport event involving some of the leading sports in Europe. The European Governing Bodies for athletics, aquatics, cycling, rowing, golf, gymnastics and triathlon, coordinated their individual championships as part of the first edition in the summer of 2018, hosted by the cities of Berlin, Germany (already chosen as the host for the 2018 European Athletics Championships) and Glasgow, United Kingdom (already chosen as the host for the 2018 European Aquatics Championships, and which concurrently also hosted the events of the other sports).

Olympic Games

The EBU first covered the Olympic Games in 1956, and has historically acquired broadcasting rights on behalf of its members. The amount paid by the EBU steadily increased over time, paying US$22 million for broadcasting rights for Los Angeles 1984, US$240 million for Atlanta 1996, US$394 million for Athens 2004 and US$746million for Vancouver 2010 and London 2012.

In 2008, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to negotiate individually with broadcasters for rights to the 2014-2016 Olympic Games – as the EBU had not "offered enough money". The IOC subsequently signed individual deals with broadcasters in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Turkey and the UK, selling the remainder of the broadcasting rights to Sportfive for US$315 million. Despite an attempt by the EBU to purchase broadcasting rights for the 2018-2024 Olympic Games, the IOC awarded a contract to Discovery Communications in June 2015. The EBU criticised the decision, stating that it shows a "shift in the IOC’s positioning of the Olympic Games as a free-to-air event that reached all of the European television audience – to a pay event with minimum free-to-air obligations".

In January 2023, the IOC announced that a joint bid from the EBU and Warner Bros. Discovery had been awarded rights for all Olympic Games from the 2026 Winter Olympics to the 2032 Summer Olympics. The joint bid follows criticism of the 2015 deal to award European television rights to Discovery. Each EBU member will broadcast at least 200 hours of coverage of the Summer Olympics and at least 100 hours of the Winter Olympics, whereas Warner Bros. Discovery will have unlimited rights.

European Broadcasting Union

General description

Ident

History

Technical activities

Management

Belarusian and Russian state broadcasters (2021–22)

Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest

Members

Current members

Associate members

Approved participant members

Let the Peoples Sing

Jeux sans frontières

Eurovision Young Musicians

Eurovision Young Dancers

Euroclassic Notturno

Junior Eurovision Song Contest

Eurovision Dance Contest

Magic Circus Show

Eurovision Choir

European Sports Championships

Olympic Games

See also

Notes

References

External links