With the number of national broadcasting outlets on the decline throughout the European Union, regional authorities have been taking up the slack while moving their operations to a virtual space.
Though a number of these broadcasters provide content in common European languages including English, a number of them are working to reach lesser-served communities by offering material in various indigenous languages. The availability of dedicated domain name services has made it easier for individual media consumers to connect with these stations if they so choose.
According to some reports, the number of radio broadcasters in the European Union has been on the decline since 2011. Between 2016-2017, the number fell by as many as 300 outlets. Local broadcasters that may have seen their traditional outlets close down have instead found a new life through these services.
Termination of Longwave Broadcasting Services
Some of the most dramatic radio broadcast terminations have occurred on legacy long wave frequencies. Deutschlandfunk Kultur closed its 177 kHz transmitter in 2014, but it saw new life as a cultural broadcaster that could reach a younger generation by focusing heavily on the podcasting industry. Though broadcast regulators have yet to release hard numbers, it’s very possible that more people listen to the various online feeds than the original broadcasts.
New EU regulations make online radio broadcasts easier to share across national boundaries, which should prove helpful to those who need to cross borders without the use of conventional radio-based technologies. Environmental advocates have found this trend praiseworthy considering the amount of energy used by longwave broadcasters. With concerns about the impact of tower radiation as well as the bulk amount of electricity needed to keep a system on the air, it’s likely that many of the remaining broadcasters will eventually move online.
Some reports suggest that most outlets that do so are able to find a very different type of audience than they originally had, especially if they broadcast online in a language that’s more difficult to find content in. Others, however, have warned of several new challenges faced by those who may not have much experience with this kind of transition.
Issues Faced by EU Broadcasters
Bandwidth is perhaps the most important resource when it comes to providing an online radio service. Internet radio broadcasts that have become popular often draw more bandwidth than their hosting packages allow. This is a particular problem for those in underserved communities as they often cannot raise sufficient funds to pay for that much bandwidth. While some organizations have reached out to national governments as well as the EU for financial assistance, comparatively few applications are ever filled out of the many that are written on an annual basis. There are relatively few hard numbers available to journalists regarding the numbers of applications filed due to the fact that most do so on an informal basis.
Others struggle to figure out how to register a domain name in their specific jurisdictions. This is especially true of those who elect to use .fm or .am domains, which are attractive for online radio services but actually tied to the nations of Micronesia and Armenia. Some have tried to escape these restrictions by applying for the more obtuse .radio top-level domain, which is offered by the European Broadcasting Union.
Since the EBU is burdened with the task of ensuring that radio domains are not used by cybersquatters attempting to collect advertising revenues and spend them outside of the European economic area, applications are sometimes slow and difficult. Moreover, tax breaks are difficult to come by for programming directors. In one case, card playing wasn’t classified as a sport and therefore certain cultural activities were taxed.
Nevertheless, those stations that do make it in the online space tend to become very valued members of their specific communities.
Preserving Unique Cultural Identities on the Virtual Airwaves
In spite of the fact that English is widely used online, over 90 percent of EU users prefer content in their local language. This seems to extend to podcasts as well as conventional streaming broadcasts. Many listeners will gravitate toward whatever material is available in their local language. In many cases, the only content usually offered is the news so listeners will often be quite grateful if provided with anything other than simple translations of major international news stories.
Indigenous languages that are vanishing in daily life are increasingly infrequent online, which is another reason that certain feeds are able to grab such a disproportionately large number of listeners. English and Spanish podcasts represent the overwhelming majority of content posted online, which means that nearly anything posted in other languages stands a high probability of gaining traction within a community that speaks the relevant language.
While organizations that would like to post this kind of material face a great deal of challenges in doing so, they’re likely to continue to make attempts considering the benefits their communities might gain as a result.
