Author Description

"Broadcasting is an important indicator of a society's political, economical, social, cultural and geographical context. Over the last decades, however, the socio-economical conditions and societal organizational forms have become more and more uniform: diversity among countries is less the case than within each of these countries under scrutiny (e.g., economical, political, cultural, ethnic diverences). Nevertheless, the societal diversity among the western European countries has continued to bear its stamp on the development of the broadcasting scene. The book features descriptions of recent evolutions in various geographical contexts. Under scrutiny are the market structure embedded in the legal context, the different media actors, their cost structure, and barriers to entry. Also, impact on the content, program supply, efficiency and product performance are discussed in terms of audience reception. The accompanying CD-ROM offers facts and figures as well as techniques of analysis"--Back cover.