European Broadcasting Union

• Meta’s blocking of Canadian news on its social media sites, Facebook and Instagram, poses serious problems for Canadian media.
• Outlets that rely on social media to reach their target audiences will likely struggle to get by.
• Add this conundrum to the over-reliance on American telecommunications services, and the need to rethink funding Canadian communication is urgent.

Trickle-down funding just doesn’t work

• Some outlets will no doubt suffer as a result of U.S. tech companies blocking Canadian news.
• Yet, Canadian authorities are sticking to a funding model that relies on dwindling cable TV subscribers.
• Funding from commercial Canadian cable companies trickles down to fund the alert system.
• This fall could put funding for the emergency alert system in jeopardy.

Two lessons for Canadians

• In order to fix these problems, Canadians must bear in mind two lessons about how not to construct communication systems.
• Lesson one: Do not rely on American media and communication infrastructure to protect the interests of Canadians.
• Ensuring safety and services to Canadians is not the priority.
• Lesson two: Do not rely on ever-changing elected leaders or ever-changing commercial communication services to provide stable support for media that serves the needs of all Canadians.
• Statistics Canada reports that Canadians are not prepared for the next pandemic, flood or wildfire.

An independent an well-funded media

• Canadian media and telecommunications services must not be dependent on either U.S. or Canadian commercial interests or Canadian politicians.
• Canadian public service media should be required to provide services beyond the broadcasting technology of the 20th century.
• The old promises of the CBC have not been met, and warnings about reforming Canadian media have been largely ignored.
• The damage to Canadian media caused by social media extortion and the loss of cable TV revenue makes it clear that the time for piecemeal reform has passed.

• LONDON, June 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- New exclusive research from Omdia reveals YouTube, TikTok and Twitch are the most popular video services with the under 25 age group in Spain.
• Unveiling the latest research from Omdia on trends across the generation Z (gen Z) market at Conecta Fiction & Entertainment 2023 in Spain, Omdia Senior Director Maria Rua Aguete said: "TikTok, YouTube and Twitch are dominating the gen Z market.
• Netflix remains a key player and appears in all the other age groups but not with gen Z."
• The second screen is also critical for gen Z as they use their smartphones to consume a great deal of content."

• As the 2022 runners-up, the United Kingdom stepped in to assist with hosting duties.
• It was the eighth time Eurovision has not been hosted by the winner, and the fifth time the UK has helped out.
• It is, however, the first time the contest has not been hosted by the winner due to an active conflict situation.
• Read more:
  Ukraine's Eurovision win shows us that despite arguments to the contrary, the contest has always been political

The politics of the non-political contest

• According to reports, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s request to address the audience was denied by the European Broadcasting Union because it would contravene their policy that the contest not be used for political ends.
• The Eurovision production didn’t ignore the Russia-Ukraine conflict, but focused on framing it through the more acceptable values-based politics of humanitarianism, empathy and solidarity.
• Read more:
  Ukraine's Eurovision win shows us that despite arguments to the contrary, the contest has always been political

But what about the performances?

• Schmetterlinge’s Boom Boom Boomerang in 1977 mocked the commercialisation of the European music industry.
• Reigning champions Ukraine placed sixth with Tvorchi’s Heart of Steel, while their co-hosts placed second-last – a reversal of fortunes from last year’s second-place finish.
• While this vote isn’t enough to shift the contest’s outcome, it is a welcome recognition of the contest’s global reach and audience.
• (It was reported anecdotally many Finnish supermarkets sold out of piña colada ingredients this weekend.)

Eurovision powerhouses

• Loreen is now the second person to win Eurovision twice, the first woman to win twice, and the first LGBTQIA+ artist to win twice.
• Somewhat auspiciously, the 2024 Eurovision marks the fiftieth anniversary of ABBA’s iconic first win for Sweden in 1974 – again, at a Eurovision hosted by the UK.

Australia’s highest ever finish

• It is also the end of Australia’s five-year participation agreement with the European Broadcasting Union.
• Western Australian prog-synth band Voyager made a strong case for the continuation with Promise.

• During a week of two semi-finals, 37 competing countries will be whittled down to 26.
• Around 160 million people are then expected to tune in to the grand final on Saturday May 13.
• Clarity on this point can, however, be found by understanding a little bit about the rules and practices of international politics.

A different kind of union

• The actual participants in Eurovision are the TV broadcasters who are members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), an international organisation which is open to membership from across the European Broadcasting Area.
• Israel, which has won four times, has participated since 1973 on this basis.
• Broadcasters from Belarus and Russia were expelled from the EBU in 2021 and 2022 and are ineligible to complete.
• While Kosovo’s statehood is recognised by a majority of European countries, it is not a full member of the EBU.
• EBU membership requires a country to be a member of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), which in turn requires UN membership (which Kosovo does not yet have).

An international rules-based system

• Eurovision is also a pretty good example of how rules operate in international partnerships.
• Rules about the staging of Eurovision entries – original song not previously released, maximum six people on stage – are strictly enforced and do change over time.
• But more than that, it helps us understand both the complexity of the international and European legal orders, the interpretation and application of rules, and the ever presence of politics.
• As France memorably sang in 1991, C'est le dernier qui a parlé qui a raison (It’s the last to have spoken who is right).