European Broadcasting Union (EBU)

Initial strong audience figures from EBU Members UWCL Final coverage have marked the first season of our new five-year agreement with UC3. For the first time, 22 EBU Members broadcast the UEFA Women’s Champions League Final live, extending the reach of women’s club football through free-to-air coverage across Europe. Early audience results include: 📈 Record-breaking audiences for Radiotelevisión Española in Spain 📈 A strong 36.6% market share for Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) in Norway 📈 A total audience of 872,000 viewers for RTP in Portugal These figures demonstrate the continued value of collaboration between our Members and rights holders in delivering major sporting events like the UWCL Final to the widest possible audiences and supporting the growth of women’s sport. Read the full release via the link in the comments.

How to tackle AI's use of copyrighted material? 🚨 At the 31st Legal and Policy Assembly in Madrid, hosted by Radiotelevisión Española, our Richard Burnley said: "Public service media invest in producing trusted journalism and creative content. AI scrapers continue to exploit this work without consent, attribution, or compensation, threatening the long-term sustainability of the media sector. We call for robust legal safeguards that will encourage creativity and respect copyright. It is time for European law makers to take this seriously before it is too late." Discover more about our policy work, including on AI, at the link in comments ⤵️

 🎤 Seen and heard at our Legal and Policy Assembly Antoine Bernard (Reporters Without Borders (RSF)), Alfonso Morales Fernández (Radiotelevisión Española), Diana Riba i Giner (European Parliament) and Miguel Ovejero Pérez (CNMC (Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia)) share their thoughts on the biggest EU files for public service media. They spoke about the European Media Freedom Act, the revision of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive and more. The Legal and Policy Assembly guides the work of the EBU in Brussels and national legislative debates that shape future media legislation. We aim to secure the right legislative frameworks for public service media! More insights coming tomorrow 📣

As risks linked to climate and geopolitics grow, operational resilience is a greater imperative for PSM. The PSM Crisis Preparedness Toolkit helps Members plan for disruption – from cyberattacks and power outages to natural disasters. 💪 Access the Handbook https://lnkd.in/d6Fbx_rQ Discover more about the EBU’s work on this issue at our topic page https://lnkd.in/dWvGzs3B Catch up with the introductory webinar https://lnkd.in/d7XB3_pq

The Directors General of Czech Radio and Česká televize have written an open letter to Prime Minister Babiš, calling on the government to halt legislative proposals that would cut funding and destabilize both organizations. They are calling on the PM to halt deliberations and establish an expert working group to facilitate a factual, professional and transparent debate on the future of public service media. "Public service media are here for everyone. Therefore, decisions regarding their future should not be the result of a unilateral political move, but the outcome of a broad public debate and agreement across the political spectrum."   Their appeal also reflects the principles of the European Media Freedom Act, which stresses the importance of adequate, sustainable and independent funding for public service media.

What's next for radio? 📻 At their Assembly, our Radio Committee Members shared the focus points they believe will shape the future of radio — and what we should be doing about it. 👥: Sibyle Veil, Mirko Stular, Sofia Taavitsainen, Eliana Čandrlić Glibota, Giedrius Masalskis, Graham Ellis, Andrea Borgnino, Philippa de Roten, Iryna Korniienko, Rusudan Manjgaladze, Michael R., Javier Sánchez, Ingrid Thurnher, Rene Zavoral   Learn more about the radio committee, link in comments!

🎻 The finalists for Eurovision Young Musicians 2026 have been revealed! Expertly hosted by our Member Public TV Company of Armenia, 11 exceptional young classical musicians from across Europe will take to the stage in Yerevan on 6 June 2026 for one of the continent’s leading competitions for emerging talent. Read more about the participants and the competition at the link in comments. 👇 Wishing all of our participating Member broadcasters luck ahead of the Final next week: AMPTV (Armenia – Host Broadcaster), RTBF (Belgium), ΡΙΚ_CyBC (Cyprus), Česká televize (Czechia), WDR (Germany), Latvijas Televīzija (Latvia), TVP (Poland), RTP (Portugal), Serbian Broadcasting Corporation (Serbia), SVT (Sweden) and SRF - Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (Switzerland)

What an incredible opportunity to share the story of EBU Academy School of AI at an international conference organised by the Vatican, and to explain to Pope Leo XIV what we do.   I would like to share 6 key takeaways from last week's event: 1️⃣ The conference was based on Pope Leo’s message on World Communications Day about protecting our humanity in the AI age - our faces and voices. He outlines three pillars of AI/human alliance: Responsibility, Cooperation and Education. (This week the Pope's first encyclical, a major teaching letter, explores the topic further.) 2️⃣ European Broadcasting Union (EBU) agrees on the importance of these three pillars, as I explained in my conference presentation. Public Service Media's responsible use of AI by trained staff is vital to maintain audience trust. Watch my speech here as part of a panel: https://lnkd.in/e8dkXcBV 3️⃣ This paraphrased quote stood out to me: ‘social media is about capturing attention, while AI is about capturing trust’, shared by Benjamin Rosman, Professor of Machine Learning and Robotics at University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. 4️⃣ Since The Washington Post added AI audio versions of written articles, users are consuming x 5 times more news. CTO  Vineet Khosla has kindly agreed to present to EBU Members via Academy in the near future. 5️⃣ A reminder that journalism has an important role to tell the stories of AI’s societal impact. The conference heard a number of powerful examples of how tools have affected the lives of citizens. 6️⃣ Finally, here is a vivid description of the intensity of artificial intelligence - AI thinks 300 million times faster than you and I, from Neil Lawrence, Professor of Machine Learning at the University of Cambridge.   With many thanks to paolo ruffini of the Dicastery For Communication of the Holy See for the invitation to take part in this enriching event and meeting with Pope Leo, and to the Dicastery/Vatican team, Alessandro Gisotti, Nataša Govekar, Silvia Grechi and Nina Krapic. As I have started to share my experience with colleagues, I’m asked, what is it like to meet the Pope? So, I’ll write about this in the comments. 📸 Vatican Media. #AI #EBUAcademy #GenAI #PublicServiceMedia #Trust

Even in 1997, we thought the WIPO Broadcasting Treaty was a good idea.   This week WIPO holds its deliberations on the Broadcasting Treaty. Will they ratify this major agreement on fighting global piracy? The ball is in your court, World Intellectual Property Organization – WIPO & Member States

🎉 Today marks exactly 70 years since the first Eurovision Song Contest took place in Lugano, Switzerland on 24 May 1956. What began as an ambitious experiment in live television and cultural collaboration between seven broadcasters has evolved into the world’s largest live music event, connecting hundreds of millions of people across borders, languages and generations through music. 🎶🌍 The EBU is celebrating the anniversary with: ✨ A digitally restored 4K remaster of the only surviving footage of the first Eurovision winner, Lys Assia performing Refrain 🎬 A 70th anniversary tribute film  - Crossing the Bridge - celebrating seven decades of artists and audiences being truly “United By Music” 🗳️ Eurofan Voice, Eurovision’s largest-ever global fan feedback initiative, helping shape the Contest’s future 📖 70 Fabulous Facts from 70 Years of Eurovision, showcasing milestones, stories and statistics from Eurovision’s remarkable history 📡From pioneering broadcasting innovation to creating shared cultural moments across continents, the Eurovision Song Contest remains a powerful example of what public service media can achieve through collaboration - inspiring audiences and showcasing artists - United by Music 🤝 https://lnkd.in/dXqE4J_N #Eurovision70 #UnitedByMusic #EurovisionSongContest #PublicServiceMedia #Broadcasting #Innovation 🎵