MITIL 2001 - Daily sessions schedule

Wednesday June 20, 14:30

BUILDING EUROPEAN AUDIOVISUAL BRIDGES

Castillo (Ideas & Solutions)

Round Table

Presentations made by organisations whose aim is "to bridge the gap" and bring together from all over Europe, now more than ever before, and no matter the language, broadcasters with a common purpose - audiovisual harmony and cooperation.

Participants:
- Peter Wagner, Audiovisual Eureka, BE
- Tihomir Divjak, Radio televizia Yugoslavia, YU
- Nebojsa Ristic, Coordinator for TV of ANEM, YU
- Jaroslav Korytar, Director POLAR TELEVIZE, CZ
- Sinan Burhan, Secretary General of Local television Union, TR
- Andrea Rivetta, General Secretary of CERTIL, BE
- Peter A. Petersen - GM Aalborg tvr group, DK
- Jimmy Støvring - General Secretary for Denmarks local TV Organisation, DK

• Joining forces for a better access to the European market
  Mr. Walter Lerouge (BE)
  Audiovisual EUREKA (Brussels)
  
  1/ Co-productions among local TV stations:
  - short description of channel’s activity (audience rate, numbers of viewer, employees, programmes produced per month)
  - co-productions among local TV stations
  - current obstacles of co-production
  - database of local productions
  
  1/ Impact of the European Union on local TV stations:
  - besides basic freedoms on which the EU was built, do the TV local stations profit from the more united Europe?
  - are they considered at all as an important part of the media society?
  
  2/ The role of the association of local European TV stations:
  - are local TV stations willing and able to create a pan-European platform, which would represent their interests and needs at national and European levels?
  - expectations from such a platform/Audiovisual Eureka’s proposals for the creation of an association
  
  3/ Cost sharing as possible model of cooperation between NGOs, foundations and other institutions interested in developing of local TV Broadcasting.
  - Models of co-operation
  - Concrete proposal - establishing of loan fund for production
• The Role of IREX/PROMEDIA Programme in improvement of TV broadcasting in countries in transition (based on experiences in Yugoslavia)
  Mr. Rastislav Durman (YU)
  IREX/ProMedia Program for Serbia (Beograd)
  
  1) The Goals of IREX and ProMedia Program in general (developing democracy through developing independent journalism, only well informed citizens can make valid decisions)
  2) TV Media in Serbia before and after October 5; what should we expect in the future?
  3) IREX Activities in Serbia (TV only) with recent results
  
  - CITY TRIBUNAL from City TV Foundation Kosice as example of succesful co-production, also benefits and obstacles which were present in the project
  - Training as basic activity
  - Improvement of local TV production (with focus on standards which allow produced programs to be interesting for regional, national and multi national TV market)
  - Facilitation in boiling contact between local productions and potential market
  - Stimulation co-production projects and program exchange
  - Grant policy as improvement of station’s sustainability
  - IREX database on WEB, possibilities of language extension

moderation: EUREKA (BE) / IREX (US)

THE ART OF SURVIVAL

Rivage (Broadcasters showcase)

How a cultural TV channel survived the recent hostilities in Yugoslavia.

• Development of a private culture specialised TV channel in atypic circumstances - ART TV, Belgrade
  Mr. Milan Atanaskovic (YU)
  ART TV (Belgrade)
  
  The topic aims to explain the process of the founding in Yugoslavia in 1991 of the only private TV channel specialised in culture and its development over the last ten years.
  
  With several wars over the last decade, and the falling apart of Yugoslavia, there have been sanctions, isolation, inflation and many social problems; the environment has not been typical for the founding and the development of a new TV station. ART TV has, therefore, developed some pioneering ways to survive in difficult circumstances, both from the programme and technological point of view.
  
  ART TV has not been subsidised by any government or non-government organisation; so, it is also interesting to show how a cultural programme can function commercially and not devalue.

Wednesday June 20, 16:00

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Castillo (Ideas & Solutions)

"Signal compression or Ideas compression?"

• Compression - what for?
  Prof. Dr. Murat Kunt (CH/TR)
  EPFL, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (Lausanne)
  
  Information highways let people think that the roads for information will be large, like the motorways.
  
  One may wonder what need there is then for compression as we do not compress cars to go on the road. Although only car manufacturers produce cars in limited numbers, nowadays, everybody produces information without limits. When more than 6 billion people send video on the net, there will be no need to be a Nobel prize-winner to realise that there will be a traffic jam.
  
  On a different note, compression is also necessary, as the brute force digitised information is not in its most compact form. Finally, it is well known that nature does not like space; the more there is, the more there will be stuff to fill it.
  
  The first compression should come from the producers. If what they say is not any better than silence, they had better shut up. There is no need to fill these highways with anything. High quality content comes first.
  
  Then, there must be a technical compression, which is feasible with increasing performances. Such a compression will allow more people to access to quality content.
  
  Finally, one should not fool oneself with freedom and liberalisation which are new and subtle forms of regularisations.

Wednesday June 20, 18:30

OPENING CEREMONY & MITIL 2001 AWARDS

Castillo (Ideas & Solutions)

Welcome addresses and opening ceremony:

- Mr. Yves CHRISTEN (CH)
Mayor of Vevey
- Mr. Frédérik RIEHL (CH)
Deputy director OFCOM (Swiss Federal Office for Communications)


MITIL 2001 Awards:

Presentation and screening of the prize-winning programmes.

- Mr. Roger WORROD (CH/UK)
Master of Ceremonies
- Mrs. Eva DEKANOVSKA (CA)
president of the Jury

Members of the International Jury, MITIL 2001

moderation: Roger Worrod (CH/UK)

Thursday June 21, 09:30

CONTENT SYNDICATION & PROGRAMME SHARING

Castillo (Ideas & Solutions)

Can one be local and global at the same time?
How can independent stations work together?
An analysis of various European models which takes a look at the way in which they
work, why they succeed or fail and how the future has to be seen.

Why is programme syndication interesting? What are the technical barriers?
How is sharing content with others implemented while maintaining our local
presence? Sharing programmes for a co-producer represents economical benefits
while maintaining identity by broadcasting/co-producing programmes with other
colleagues.

Technical barriers/solutions include mailing of tapes/programmes, formatting, live
broadcasting and the dissemination of simultaneous information. Syndication should
have one objective : Reduce costs to further enrich programming.
If the ONLY benefit is cost savings, then the strategy is doomed to failure.

• How to survive in a global market?
  Mrs. Eva Dekanovska (SK)
  TV Global (Kosice)
  
  TV GLOBAL is a commercial TV station that does not broadcast from the country’s capital but from Kosice, the second largest city in Slovakia. It was founded against the competitive background of two state television stations (STV1 and STV2) and two commercial television stations (TV MARKIZA and TV LUNA).
  
  To be able to cope with this kind of competition, TV GLOBAL had to offer a distinctive concept and philosophy.
  The founders based their thinking on the fact that local broadcasting would become increasingly popular and that its topics related more closely to the viewers compared with the broadcasting aims of the so-called «big television» networks.
  
  The financial resources of local television in Slovakia are limited. This results in irregular, time restricted and frequently repeated broadcasting. As soon as the local broadcasting time is over, viewers switch to other channels that offer formats such as country news, sport, feature films, series, entertainment shows, etc.
  
  TV GLOBAL offers viewers both local and global broadcasting on one channel. TV GLOBAL broadcasts a full format programme from one centre, 22 hours/day via satellite. For a period of two hours daily (6 p.m. and 9 a.m.), the local television stations (terrestrial and cable) have the opportunity to disconnect and broadcast their own programmes.
  
  Both global and local advertising time is fixed and contractually based. The local television stations contribute to news and sport. The production of documentaries is also becoming very promising.
  
  The income of local televisions is generated from the sale of their programmes and from the share on global sales of commercials. All local television stations are members of the Association of Local TV Broadcasters that provides training, study courses, professional and legal advisory services and other types of assistance. Today, it can be stated quite clearly that the founding of TV GLOBAL contributed to the survival of local television in Slovakia and improved the quality of broadcasting.
  
  In its own way, TV GLOBAL became «the largest TV school of the world».
  The question as to whether TV GLOBAL will survive remains unanswered...
• Circuit de Televisions Locals de Catalunya: Local TV stations and Public Administration working together for the benefit of local media, and -Sharing a daily weather forecast information programme.
  Mr. Joan Vila (ES)
  Gavŕ Televisió (Gavŕ)
  
  It is probably the most important step taken to improve Local TV communication in Catalonia : more than 30 Local TV stations, members of the association, Televisions Locals de Catalunya (TLC), have formed a syndication structure with the assistance of the «provincial» public administration of Barcelona (Diputació de Barcelona), by means of a public company set up to support Local Media (Agčncia de Comunicació Local, ACL). This experience is known as Catalonia’s Local TV Circuit (Circuit de Televisions Locals de Catalunya).
  
  Sharing news and programmes to enrich every member’s own production, this is the main objective of Local TV Circuit. All the TV stations have their independence to use the pieces of news and the programmes they consider more appropriate to their programme style.
  
  Everything is sent by satellite from a central node in Barcelona to all the stations. News is provided by a TV news agency twice daily : at 1.15 pm and 5.30 pm. Programmes are produced by TV stations or by independent private producers. All of them are selected with the agreement of the majority of the members in a content commission. Some of them are sponsored by the ACL itself or by other public and private companies. Programmes are sent by satellite every day, from Monday to Friday, 4 pm to 5.30 pm. At 5.45 pm, TV stations receive the weather forecast information programme.
  
  Gavŕ TV (the local TV station of Gavŕ, a city of 40,000 inhabitants near Barcelona) has, since April 1999, produced several daily three minutes’ weather forecast programmes that are sent by satellite to other TV stations all over Catalonia, some of them more than 1000 kilometres away.
  
  As at June 2001, the number of TV stations that broadcast Gavŕ TV’s programme «El temps» increased to 12. They pay a monthly fee of about 180 euros for the service. The satellite system of distribution is part of what we call «Circuit de Televisions Locals», an experience of sharing news and programmes made by some 30 Local TV stations in Catalonia, with public administration support.
  
  The programme consists of 2 parts: the first explains the weather situation in Catalonia as a whole using the Meteosat satellite images of the previous hours and predicts the weather for the next day using a Catalonia map (this part is identical for all the TV stations); the second part is personalised for every TV station, with all the local data, maximum and minimum temperatures of the previous hours, amount of rainfall, if any, and local or zonal weather predictions for the next day.
  
  Two people work at this task - one meteorologist who prepares the weather information in advance and then explains it to the TV viewers with the help of very simple graphics; and one technician who records it and packs it. A chroma-key system to incorporate the graphism (symbols and maps) is used during the process. The meteorologist retains the information received by ‘phone or fax from different weather observers living all over Catalonia and also via Internet from several weather information webs. The programme is recorded daily in the Gavŕ TV studios at 4 pm, despatched by car to Barcelona and sent finally by satellite to all receivers at 4.45 pm. The local TV stations broadcast it between 6 and 9 pm.
  
  Gavŕ TV and the official Weather Service in the Autonomous Government (Servei de Meteorologia de Catalunya) came to an agreement some months ago to cooperate in the preparation of «El temps», especially in the area of information exchange and notification in the event of severe weather alerts.
  
  Gavŕ Televisió is dependent on the Town Council. It began operating in 1998, broadcasts 18 hours daily from 8.00 am to 2.00 am. It introduces every day one and a half hours of new content from its own production and a half hour more from what we call the Local TV Circuit, mentioned above. These 2 hours are repeated every evening from 8.00 pm to 2.00 am and the next morning from 8.00 am to 7.59 pm (multidiffusion system). Its daily audience is approximately 10,000 viewers.
  
  Gavŕ Televisió has an annual budget of 115,000,000 pesetas (691,000 euros) There are 14 full-time employees - journalists, technicians and other professionals. Seven digital camcorders and three non-linear edition systems (Media 100) form the technical basis of its broadcasting production.
  
  Gavŕ Televisió produces programmes also for other local TV stations. In September 2001, it will produce a weekly 15 minutes’ programme on the «territorial economy» called «Impulsos».
• OLA - Onda Local de Andalusia, the Andalusian Network
  Mr. Manuel Chaparro (ES)
  Ema RTV
  
  EMA-RTV was founded in 1984 in response to the lack of law for public radio and tv stations and a non-recognition by the autonomous government of the importance of these small local media.
  
  It was in 1991 that public, associative and community broadcasters in Andalusia finally obtained a specific law. Since then, around 120 radio and 30 television stations broadcast legally, in a similar number of counties and towns, all over the South of Spain.
  
  Presently, with more than 90 associates, EMA-RTV is recognised as one of the most dynamic and revitalising local media movements in an Autonomous Community (along with Catalunya), involved in municipal broadcasting. EMA-RTV plays a useful role within social collectives where the need for local information is not fulfilled by private media due to its unprofitable nature and the non-speculative objectives of its service.
  
  Satellite 24 Hour Programming :Onda Local de Andalusia - OLA
  
  Conscious of the need for a vehicle that would allow better integration of municipal broadcasting at an independent level, and the need to make our own productions, EMA-RTV began a pilot experiment in 1994/95 : OLA, a daily two and a half hours’ programming, broadcast via satellite (HISPASAT), for all its members. Today, OLA offers eight hours with programmes of local information. The aim of this model is to get closer to the people who are familiar with the everyday events of the «global village» and ignore the minorities who appear mainly in the news when they are part of a catastrophe. The proposal is to establish an open circuit and relay information between counties and towns that, in many cases, are far from each other.
  
  MEMBERSHIP SERVICES
  
  -Direct access to our 24 hour programming by satellite
  -Technical assistance
  -Legal consulting
  -Local and external representation
  -Reduction of equipment and administrative costs
  -Continuous free workshops and seminars for professional broadcasters
  -Promotion in media directories and in the Radio and TV local media map
  -Participation in provincial and regional publicity campaigns
  -Participation in EMA-RTV’S web site, and access to Internet
  
  EMA-RTV is a member of the World Association of Community Broadcasters, AMARC, and of the European Audiovisual Association CIRCUIT!
• ANEM Network - more than just a network
  Mr. Nebojsa Ristic (YU)
  ANEM TV Network (Belgrade)
  
  ANEM (Association of Independent Electronic Media) is not just a simple group, society of local and regional TV stations.
  
  There are deeply rooted common values of press freedom, objectivity, impartiality and balance. These values are even more important when times are at their hardest in South Eastern Europe; despite the pressure of the former régime, and the lack of resources, the members of our Association achieved a great deal and made a lot of good programmes.
  
  And, because they had to survive, they developed, at the same time, many forms of cooperation.
• When one and one is more than two.
  Mr. Lars Jespersen (DK)
  TV Denmark 2 (Aalborg)
  
  - Synergy and integrated cooperation in the newsroom
  - Value added network, sharing your content
  
  Multi-skilling and content sharing are buzzwords in media cooperation. US companies build large million dollar media centres to fulfil the dream of the modern newsroom. But it does not have to be complicated and expensive.
  Local radio and television broadcasters in Denmark have found a way to cooperate. Content sharing is not something they talk about, it is daily business. It is controlled from Aalborg, where Radio ANR and TV Denmark Aalborg are located.
  
  Lars Jespersen is Head of News at the station. In this workshop, he will describe content sharing, value added chains and multi-skilling done « the Danish way » and how computer newsroom systems are integrated. He will discuss the convergence newsroom staff, and coopertation between television, radio, internet and newspaper media. One project is to broadcast through news media mobile screens, webpads, and handy pda’s.

moderation: Hubert Lalande (CA)

THE ADDED VALUE OF ARCHIVES

Rivage (Broadcasters showcase)

Archiving is still a headache, a nightmare even?
Analysis of the global approach and existing solutions, and analysis of a particular experience which illustrates that archives do, in fact, offer positive advantages and an added value - such as online programme marketing.

• Enhancing the value of local televisions’ archives. The archiving project of Belgium’s French-speaking local television stations.
  Ms. Anne Vivé (BE)
  Fédération Belge des TV Locales Francophones (Namur)
  
  Local television stations have their own history. The sequences that they have produced over the years have accumulated to form their heritage. This heritage, which is a living record of local television stations and regional development, is in a state of constant formation.
  
  Today, it is proving difficult to manage, both from the standpoint of the medium (physical deterioration of cassettes, space used up) and content (feeding the database, lack of standards, etc.).
  Yet, it is a wonderful reservoir of images that could be used not only by television itself but also via the sales hubs that are developing on Internet.
  
  Belgium’s French-speaking local television stations are keen to exploit their archives and find solutions to meet tomorrow’s expected challenges and so they asked their Federation to study the matter with the particular aim of examining each station’s specific organisation and developing some ways to find the solution.
  What should be selected? On what media should the heritage be conserved? How should these images be stored and managed? What forms of consultation and dissemination should be considered? These were some of the questions we reviewed.
  
  At the end of this study, priority was given to optimising and harmonising the television stations’ archiving procedures. This is the first phase of the ARCHE (Archivage Harmonisé Elémentaire for "Elementary Harmonised Archiving") project, which will ultimately lead to the creation of an exchange network among the twelve television stations concerned.
  
  The presentation of our project and our study’s findings will include proposed solutions on a local television scale. In the course of this "case study", we hope also to trigger off an exchange of ideas and experiences in this area.
• The RTC TV Online Experience
  Mr. Jean-Louis Radoux (BE)
  RTC TV Ličge (Ličge)
  
  Our channel was founded in 1977.
  
  In line with the vast majority of other channels, building a library was our «last» preoccupation, the one you think of when everything else is done. Like everyone else, we have a database with references of all our programmes.
  
  In 1994, having realised how often we had to re-shoot some pictures, it became clear it would be necessary to build an image library with an innovation: we wanted to sort the documents by title and analysis on a dedicated software.
  Static archiving became the first step. It was combined with new ways of transmission.
  To that end, in 1996, with the rapid development of the Internet, the database was available on the website of our channel, www.rtc.be
  
  Now, with the arrival of digital technologies, new developments will allow consultation, at low resolution, of an ensemble of productions enabling the conservation on DVD and also the possibility of inter-connection between televisions at low cost.
  
  From an old fashioned vision, archiving is now looking at the future : from the start, a document is archived and available to others on the Internet, archiving and broadcasting are linked to give it a new dimension and a new value. Our aim is to take part fully in this evolution.
• The "Canal Blau" digital experience
  Mr. Joan C. Lluch (ES)
  Canal Blau Informació (Vilanova La Geltrů)
  
  One of the criteria Canal Blau Information - the municipal television of Vilanova i la Geltrú - has used in establishing the new operational systems of the communicative process of television, radio and internet, has been the digitalisation and coordination of all of them.
  
  In this way, the whole process of reception of images, edition, file and broadcasting has a common factor : the use of digital systems.
  This process has been considered for use in the future as file and bank images, excelling the strict sense of television and broadening all the possibilities to be broadcast in terrestrial, digital, UMTS, webcasting in the concept related to television "ŕ la carte", Interactive TV, and all the innovations that arise from comprehension of the image.

Thursday June 21, 11:00

THE POWER OF ASSOCIATIONS

Rivage (Broadcasters showcase)

How association structures can help small broadcasters to develop and expand.

• The place of local television in the media organisation in Turkey
  Mrs. A. Seyda Açikkol (TR)
  Turkish Local TV Union (Ankara)
  
  -The place of local television for the democratisation of Turkey
  -Challenges facing local broadcasting in Turkey
  -Coping with these challenges : Local Television Union
  
  The first commercial media organisation in Turkey’s civil broadcasting history was founded in 1992. In the meantime, private radio and television foundations began to broadcast all over Turkey.
  
  There are today 232 local television and 765 local radio stations broadcasting in various regions. The development and activation of the electronic media at such a fast speed in only a few years has, without a doubt, given rise to many problems. The legal, technical and personnel infrastructure was not ready. In this process, as it was new and interesting, the broadcasting establishments relied, to a large extent, on the support of the public.
  
  However, criticisms and complaints were to follow as the developments were irregular and aimless. The legal arrangement, governed by law number 3984, did not bring about the positive results which were expected. During this period, the national media was always under the magnifying glass. Truth was determined by a system of «trial and error», even when positive evaluations were to hand.
  
  In the meantime, hundreds of local television and radio foundations in the rest of the country were left unsupported.They were all, on the basis of their individual strengths, trying to survive and resist against political, ideological and economic pressures. They were living under a threat of losing their economic and intellectual independence.
  
  Many local television and radio stations began to struggle for principles such as the protection of human rights and liberties, satisfying the public’s expectations, protection of nature and the environment and a more sophisticated atmosphere in the Turkish media organisations.
  
  The presentation will assess this process with regard to the place of the local media in Turkey, the problems which confront them, and the challenges facing the independence of these local media organisations. Finally, the place of the Local Television Union in finding solutions to the problems encountered by the local media.
• The European Audiovisual Association CIRCUIT!
  Ms. Carme Mayugo (ES)
  CIRCUIT! / Clot RTV-Sant Martí (Barcelona)
  
  The European Audiovisual Association CIRCUIT! develops, from a community point of view, all tasks related to local television and audiovisual production.
  CIRCUIT! is made up of ten organisations from different European regions, which share an extensive and successful experience in the communication and audiovisual sector for crossborder and inter-regional cooperation and development.
  
  The members of CIRCUIT! are based in the following countries and regions : Northern Visions Media Centre (Dublin, Ireland), Fedekas (Madrid, Spain), Cooperativa SudNord (Rome, Italy), TV.TV. (Albertville, France), EMA-RTV and RTV Chipiona (Andalucia, Spain), Fundación Ttipi Ttapa (Bera de Bidasoa, Basque Country, Spain), Associació d’Amics de la Rŕdio i la TV del Clot-Camp de l’Arpa (Barcelona, Spain), Aldudarrak Bideo (Aldude, France) and La Factoria Sinňptica (Girona, Spain).
  
  These structures decided to establish a European association founded in April 2001: to share experiences and to establish joint action plans, believing in the potentiality of audiovisual content and new technologies to erase borders and to establish a new framework of European life.
  
  The aims of CIRCUIT! are :
  
  -To stimulate the participation of who might benefit from initiatives
  -To facilitate the dissemination of knowledge
  -To unify different geographical areas and social sectors
  -To strengthen development possibilities
  -To facilitate cooperation
  -To create job opportunities

Thursday June 21, 14:30

WHO NEEDS SATELLITES?

Castillo (Ideas & Solutions)

Presentation of successful Satellite Broadcasting experiences (Radio & TV).

• Servicing the TV and Radio world : the «evolving media scope» of a telecom operator
  Mr. Frank Meert (BE)
  Belgacom (Brussels)
  
  Following an introduction to Belgacom, we review Belgacom's satellite diffusion solutions and leading cutting-edge services designed for the TV and Radio market. Examples and reference cases will show the practical view of Belgacom's evolving media world of today.
  
  Starting with the more traditional contribution and diffusion approach to TV broadcasting alone. Looking for the most cost-effective solution with investment sharing, compression and dedicated tailored solution. Belgacom has done it for the European Community by implementing their TV programme contribution and diffusion in 14 langages!
  
  Moving on with Internet interaction: streaming, hosting, carrying voice and images over a fixed data network infrastructure as Belgacom has done for the European Football Championship FORTO 2000.
  
  And, last but not least, creating with its customers new concepts as Belgacom has done with Liberty TV, mixing together the traditionnal broadcasting communication means with the personal touch of telephone communication, along with the Internet huge information pipeline and process facilitator.
  
  Today, no need to say Belgacom has the latest technologies with Multimedia over Satellite and Internet over Satellite.
  
  All of those technologies would be worthless if there were not the people to put them together and make things happen. Belgacom and You. We are looking forward to meeting you at our conference.

moderation: BELGACOM (BE)

"OUR" TELEVISION x 2

Rivage (Broadcasters showcase)

And the similarity does not end with a name!
A duo from two different parts of Europe with the same approach: "our" television means "your" television both in Belgium (NO Télé) and Slovakia (TV NASA).

• Mr. Jean-Pierre Winberg (BE)
  NO TELE (Tournai)
• "Our Local", or "Our Global"?
  Mrs. Eva Dekanovska (SK)
  TV Global (Kosice)
  
  The development of new democracies in the countries of the former Eastern European Bloc after 1990 has led also to the significant development of local TV broadcasting. Slovakia is no exception to the rule.
  
  Until this day, 70 licences have been granted for terrestrial or cable broadcasting. The granting of a licence is subject to the Slovak Radio and Television Council’s approval.
  
  The private TV NASA («our» TV) started to broadcast in 1996 in the second largest town of Slovakia, Kosice.
  
  From its early days, it has operated as a low budget TV station, based on the possibilities of the existing market. It supported the concept of close contact with the viewer. A daily four hour broadcast was followed by its being repeated.
  All programmes were prepared and produced by 12 full-time staff and approximately the same number of external co-employees. Except for the three member management team, no-one else had a formal education in the media.
  
  Within a short period of one year, TV NASA became very popular in the town. It became also the most popular local TV station in Slovakia and enjoyed a high ranking in the country’s research on TV stations and the number of their viewers.
  
  It is the only local TV station which does not show any loss. But despite this, the economic situation in the country made it necessary for the management to find financing solutions for the future. The TV GLOBAL project became one of them. Today, TV NASA is a part of TV GLOBAL’s broadcasting network and it operates on the same principles as any other local TV, broadcasting within the framework of TV GLOBAL.
  
  The management has founded also the Slovak Association of Local TV Broadcasters, the European Association of Local TV Broadcasters, the International Festival of Local TV Broadcasters and, last but not least, the network of local televisions which broadcast under the name, TV GLOBAL.

Thursday June 21, 16:00

PRODUCERS & BROADCASTERS: CLIENTS OR PARTNERS?

Castillo (Ideas & Solutions)

Round Table

What is needed in order to take the right steps for these two sectors to be able to
cooperate successfully in the future.



Producers:
Ruud de BRUIN, (NL)
Jean-Marc FONSECA, (FR)
Claude MANGOLD, (CH)

Broadcasters:
Carme MAYUGO, (ES)
Charles XUEREB, (MT)
Roland KUBINA, (SK)

• Panel discussion
  
  
  A relatively new phenomenon, the development of local and independent television stations is quite considerable; not only can this be measured by the number of broadcasters and hours of transmission but also the quality of their programmes.
  
  It would, therefore, be reasonable to assume that independent audiovisual production houses could benefit from this development and that a fruitful co-operation has been established with the broadcasters.
  
  Unfortunately, however, the situation is far from being so idyllic. In fact, the broadcasters, confident of their own local vocation, tend to think that they are capable of producing «in house» all that they need. The producers, for their part, are convinced that these broadcasters do not have sufficient financial resources available and that it is not worthwhile to work with them.
  
  Local TV stations, by definition, broadcast for a local public. It is, therefore, logical to assume that the topics handled by these broadcasters are related essentially to the problems which concern a particular geographical area. And, yet, these TV stations are becoming professional, are developing all the time, have a more and more comfortable budget at their disposal and are capable of producing themselves, or ordering from outside sources, programmes of topical interest.
  
  These topics can, for some, be of interest to a public greater than initially foreseen. One thinks first of all of «neighbouring» local TV stations but a larger range can be projected provided the programmes are produced in a professional manner.
  
  This is the opportunity for independent producers to propose topics, economically interesting, to one or several broadcasters. Co-operation between broadcasters and producers has an extraordinary development potential.
  
  A round-table discussion will be held, within the framework of MITIL, to tackle this problem. Three European producers, who work regularly with independent broadcasters, and three TV broadcasters will participate in a lively and thought-provoking discussion which, we hope, will be «profitable» for all concerned.

moderation: Frederik Stucki (CH)

SERVING THE COMMUNITY

Rivage (Broadcasters showcase)

Two examples of how television can succeed as a "community link"

• Tele K model and local television in Spain
  Mr. Francisco Pérez (ES)
  TELE K (Madrid)
  
  Tele K is an important reference for local television in Spain. It has, since 1992, developed into a model of economic and informative independence.
  
  In addition to being a channel, it is also a television school, where professionals of large companies and television producers are formed. All this was possible thanks to economic contributions of neighbours, the management of small companies and associations of the industrial neighbourhood of Vallecas, located in the suburbs of Madrid.
  
  The background, organisational structure, financing sources and programming formula will be explained in detail.
  
  A panorama of the local television sector in Spain will, at last, be explored, from its origins and legal regulations, to the current status, characterised by the incorporation of large companies in the field of communication.
• Canal 20 - for young people, by young people
  Mrs. Edith Farine (FR)
  Maison de l'image (Strasbourg)
  
  The Maison de l’Image (Image Centre) was founded in May 1999. There are three partners, the City of Strasbourg, the Video Association, «Les Beaux Jours», and the Regional Cooperative of Cultural Cinema. They decided to share their resources and their competences to create an educational project related to images. The aim of this public institution is to make it possible for each and everyone to have access to the audiovisual environment so that they may have the opportunity to represent the world in image and in sound.
  
  Create a channel of expression for and with the young.
  As we were attached to the service for young people, «Jeunesse Education Populaire», it was our wish that the young participate in this project.
  
  Five associations have, since the summer of 1999, been proposing television broadcasts which do not cease to develop. Two new associations have joined forces with us and two other associative organisations are working also on a broadcasting project for «Jeune Public».
  
  We broadcast, every evening on Canal Info. Strasbourg, a programme lasting 30 minutes, aimed at the 15 - 25 age group. This programme consists mainly of pieces of entertainment dealing with the latest news in the world of cinema, life in Strasbourg ; the subjects are treated in a somewhat lighthearted and humorous manner, and yet with seriousness and sensitivity.
  
  A new mode of expression which frees itself of codes?
  We have noticed that young people have an incredible passion for expression and a growing need to create. In France, however, the television system does not yet appear to reply to this need, apart from the conventional structures of commercial broadcasting.
  
  How do innovations find their place and how does one avoid that an original creation is formatted according to television standards?
  
  The aim of the «Maison de l’Image» is to be a small-scale free expression laboratory, which reveals a person’s sensitivity and assists in constructing an awareness of the world outside.
  It puts the accent on creativity and the art of image writing.
  
  The young people who take part in the project, although born of the tv generation, are working for a freestyle tv which is totally detached from the figures imposed by sttandard television. There is still the problem of image interchange, which limits the project’s further development. Thanks to the «Maison de l’Image», the audiovisual landscape has, nonetheless, developed in Strasbourg. Furthermore, several young directors who made their début at Canal Info. Strasbourg, assist regularly with different broadcasts on other regional channels.
  
  
  What is the role of local tv?
  Springboard ? Bridge?
  It is our wish that local television be a tool of expression which inrtegrates also associations and the public but many questions are in abeyance.
  How does one take the local public’s opinions into account?
  How does one go about making young people express themselves?
  How does one teach them to step back and take a critical look at a televised speech?
  When will there be a real local citizens’ television, accessible to many people, which privileges dialogue, debates, and which creates a social link and projects a feeling of local belonging?
  Local television can contribute to demystifying the aura which surrounds television and bring the viewers closer.
  
  Young people want to be able to express themselves freely, subjectively, on matters which concern them; their images reveal a genuine wealth both from a living and imaginative point of view.
  
  As I see it, over and above the task of media coverage, it is necessary to undertake a work of mediation, which, alone, will allow for the generating of democratisation, not only demonstration. A long-term job which should encourage new forms of expression and social communication.

Friday June 22, 09:30

WEBCASTING FOR COMMUNITIES

Rivage (Broadcasters showcase)

Using webcasting as the Internet itself: to develop dedicated audiences at community level - ethnic, political, commercial. Two "Swiss Made" examples show the way.

• Partnerships are a must for thematic television projects
  Mr. Philippe Nicolet (CH)
  SwisswatchTV (Lausanne)
  
  Founded in March 2000, SwissWatch TV was launched at the Basel International Watch and Jewellery Show. The aim was to provide ongoing information and updates, and to spread awareness abroad of this important sector of Swiss industry.
  
  In view of its strictly thematic character, such a channel can only flourish through the establishment of strong links and partnerships with existing media.
  SwissWatch TV was born out of the collaboration of NVP Nicolet Video Productions and the «Journal Suisse d’Horlogerie», which has been in circulation for 125 years and is the oldest publication of its kind.
  
  In its first year at the Basel Show, SwissWatch TV organised and aired debates, interviews and discussions with industry leaders and creative designers, also available on the internet.
  
  In 2001, coverage of the Basel show was increased to a 24-hour service, via local Basel cable TV as well as the internet. SwissWatch TV concluded partnerships with Newsweek and BBC World ; various of its shows were aired on EuroNews and on Swissair long distance flights.
  
  It is, however, primarily with local television stations that the closest links are forged.
• Addressing the Vietnamese community, worldwide, via Internet
  Mr. Blaise Favre (CH)
  Vietnet.tv (Yverdon)
  
  Vietnet’s objective is to provide the Vietnamese overseas communities with a Vietnamese-speaking television on the web, filling the lack of any television programme in this language outside of Vietnam.
  
  The programmes consist of a 26 minutes’ weekly news selection in Vietnamese and daily news in English, touristic and cultural documentaries, music, cooking lessons, Vietnamese language courses, a special page on the overseas communities, and business opportunities in Vietnam.
  
  Vietnet.tv has an exclusive licence with Vietnamese television for the rebroadcasting of VTV4 (the international channel of Vietnamese television) on the Internet which is about 90% of Vietnet.tv programmes. The rest (10%) is Vietnet.tv’s own production.
  
  All these programmes are available on demand. Some of them are changed daily, some every 4 or 5 days. The encoding goes from a 28K modem to a broadband access for a high quality full screen viewing.
  
  Vietnet.tv was launched on January 24, 2001, for the Vietnamese New Year’s Day. At the moment, about 50% of the audience is located in North America (30% in Canada and 20%in the US), in Switzerland (20%), France (10%), the rest of Europe (10%) and 10% in other parts of the world.
  
  Vietnet.tv’s team comprises six persons, all Vietnamese, with the exception of the founder and manager, Blaise Favre. The studios are located in Yverdon, Switzerland.

moderation: Hubert Lalande (CA)

JUST PUSH THE "PLAY" BUTTON

Castillo (Ideas & Solutions)

On the one hand, old-fashioned, handmade techniques.
On the other, fully automated expensive systems.
Is there an alternative for broadcast scheduling, digital content management or production systems?
Yes, there is!

• Multi-channel broadcasting and automated scheduling
  Mr. Eric Carpreau (BE)
  NO TELE (Tournai)
  
  No Télé, the regional television of Belgium's Western Hainaut.
  
  How to integrate the broadcasting of a local TV station with the commercial
  management of its own advertising bureau in a perfectly automated way while
  staying open to existing and future standards.
  
  How to handle the various aspects of multi-channel broadcasting while
  maintaining a common programming trunk.
  
  We have been looking for an expandable and open solution to the various
  aspects of local broadcasting while making it as self-supporting and
  automated as possible.
• Production information system for low budget local TV broadcasters: principles and realisation.
  Mr. Aleksandar Spasic (YU)
  TV Pirot (Pirot)
  
  Are inexpensive home/office PC’s just toys or tools in TV production? Has the low budget TV broadcaster a need for specialised, i.e. expensive, hardware instead of common PC’s?
  
  Principles of cost-effective production information system design and one realisation based on inexpensive equipment are considered in this presentation.
  
  Smart software solutions for the teleprompter, logo insertion, flying tape, time insertion, subtitler, archives, are already implemented in channels where the term, «low budget», has a real meaning.

Friday June 22, 11:00

ON UNEQUAL TERMS

Rivage (Broadcasters showcase)

One delimited territory and two TV stations - one national and one private - to cover the same audience... A success story with a difference.

• TeleTicino: a local private TV facing a public giant - on the same ground!
  Mr. Filippo Lombardi (CH)
  TeleTicino (Melide)
  
  The success story of TeleTicino - the only private TV of Italian-speaking Switzerland - started in 1994, with a short daily news programme and less than ten young people, working with very high dedication...
  Today we are about 40, sending 24 hours a day and producing ourselves an average of fifteen hours fresh programmes a week, mainly in the fields of news, reports, political and social debates, and a little local entertainment.
  
  Peculiar were two aspects. On the one hand, the very late (and still unsatisfactory) liberalisation of the Swiss TV law (private channels are authorised only since 1993, and have to face quite a number of restrictions). On the other hand, the direct competition - practically on the same, reduced territory - of this small private local channel with a powerful public service TV, the Televisione della Svizzera Italiana (TSI). The last one - as a part of the SSR-SRG, the State company, with 6 channels covering the whole Switzerland, two per language: German, French and Italian - benefits largely from "national solidarity".
  
  TSI receives, therefore, 23% of the total financial means of the Swiss TV (high taxes, plus commercial income) whereas the Italian-speaking minority only represents 4 % of the population. It counts on some 800 people, for producing two "national" programmes which can actually concentrate their main efforts on the same local target than TeleTicino, although with 20 times more means and a clear added value also on the local publicity market!
  
  How was it possible to face this extraordinary imbalance, and still find a way to develop TeleTicino in order to reach the present audience and financial break-even point? With some priorities in local aspects, dynamic journalistic approach, political independence, commercial skill and low budget working habits, which we shall be delighted to share with you at MITIL during this meeting.

THE ART OF VIRTUAL ADVERTISING

Castillo (Ideas & Solutions)

Discover the sensational technology of virtual advertising!
PVI Europe can make the marketing message part of the excitement itself - nothing can be more powerful.

• PVI Europe, revolutionising the advertising arts!
  Mr. Frank Aernout (BE)
  PVI Europe (Zaventem)
  
  The television medium, as we know it, is changing rapidly and more dramatically than it has over the past 50 years. Rather than just generic broadcasts, the TV medium is moving into narrowcasting and ultimately into individualised viewing. The coming of DVR’s and TiVO’s will only enhance the speed of these changes. And with that will inevitably come the slipping power of the traditional ways of advertising.
  
  But one important thing will still be true : television is pure excitement, and full of emotion. That’s why advertisers will always want to get as close as they can to the viewers at such magic moments as a stunning goal, that incredible jump at the end of the cycling race or the long awaited kiss in their favourite sitcom. The art of advertising is to make sure the viewers associate the marketer’s products and services with these exciting moments.
  
  And that’s exactly the power PVI’s Virtual Imaging can give to advertising !

moderation: PVI Europe (BE)

Friday June 22, 14:30

THE DIGITAL WAY: from production to broadcasting

Castillo (Ideas & Solutions)

Cost-effective solutions to pave the digital way, from production to broadcasting.

• The digital chain under control
  Mr. Georg-D. Boos (CH)
  avision ag
  
  The digital way derives from an idea developed during a visit to a
  customer's site. This customer, a local tv station in Switzerland, had the very unique idea of doing tv programming, but had also a serious problem of getting this "on air" at a reasonable cost.
  
  The product ,"the digital way", was born. The digital way is, quite simply, a fully automated playout server, with desktop integration for the people working at the tv station. ......
  
  During the presentation, and using a live example, the possible workflows, the integration in Internet, Video-On-Demand and Merchandising will be demonstrated.

moderation: AVISION (CH)

IS YOUR CHANNEL OPEN?

Rivage (Broadcasters showcase)

Discover the OPEN TV experience in Europe and the ACCESS TV channels in the Netherlands.

• Discover the OPEN TV experience in Europe and the ACCESS TV channels in the Netherlands.
  Mr. Ruud de Bruin (NL)
  OLON-Organization of (Public) Local Broadcast Stations in the Netherlands (Nijmegen)
  
  After the Second World War, new media institutions arose from the remains of war torn Europe. In each country in Western Europe media democracy developed according to its local democratic traditions. Germany tried to make up for its past, Sweden had a long democratic tradition. The Netherlands had its history of private/public access based on political and religious beliefs and in Eastern Europe, Spain, Portugal, the dictatorships had a firm grip on their media. France, although democratic, but strongly centralised, did not have a history of public access and still does not.
  
  At the same time, the US had its first amendment of its Constitution (freedom of speech) translated into the electronic media.
  
  Italy, chaotic as ever, had a strong government grip on the media.

Friday June 22, 16:00

LOCAL RADIO FORMATS & EXPECTATIONS

Castillo (Ideas & Solutions)

Which local audience's expectations and how to serve them the best.

• What are local audiences’ expectations and how to serve them best Why listeners prefer independent and local stations.
  Mr. Claudio Astorri (IT)
  Pro Radio (Milano)
  
  A local station is not a product, it is a free access service, it is a «living being» in a community of people.
  
  This session will describe an example of a local radio format with «living stationality» suggested by listeners themselves.
  It comes from a very recent qualitative local research study made for RADIO ALTA, Bergamo, in Italy.
  
  .Do you know that news is not the information service the most required by local listeners ?
  -Do you know that traffic and weather are top priorities ?
  -Do you want to know what are the most interesting items for local listeners ?
  -Do you think listeners want more room for a few stories or less room for more stories ?
  
  Let’s see how all of this has been turned into radio action and sales too...

ITALIAN STYLE

Rivage (Broadcasters showcase)

Espresso, pizzas, soccer... and television.
Italy has the largest number of independent and local Radio & TV stations in Europe: 1'700!
How do they all survive? - Discover the unique experience of TELENOVA and how it succeeds, with 5 other TV stations, in making an "audience hit" by broadcasting live soccer games without paying the rights.

• The History of Private TV and Radio Stations in Italy
  Mr. Andrea Rivetta (IT)
  Broadcast & Production (Milano)
  
  1974
  The first technical trials for cable transmissions by a private TV station, Telebiella, take place in Biella, a town in the Piedmont region of north-western Italy.
  
  1975
  A historic year: Italy’s first private radio stations begin FM transmissions despite the monopoly of the public radio and television service. Even though the Italian police seize the equipment of these radio "pioneers", by the end of the year there are 100 stations regularly broadcasting their programmes.
  
  1976
  The courts in Milan decide in favour of the private broadcaster Radio Milano International, order the release of the station’s equipment and rule that the law does not foresee a state monopoly. Article 21 of the Italian Constitution establishes the right to the freedom of expression and the matter is thus referred to the Italian Constitutional Court.
  
  1978
  The Constitutional Court rules that it is not possible to prevent private radio and TV broadcasting, and that it is up to the Italian parliament to provide the legislation necessary to regulate such activity. By the end of the year, there are an estimated 1,500 radio stations and 100 TV stations in Italy.
  
  1980
  Silvio Berlusconi appears on the broadcasting scene, announcing plans to transmit a quiz show nationwide with the collaboration of Canale 5, a grouping of local TV stations.
  There are now around 2,500 private radio stations and over 500 TV stations.
  
  1982
  Berlusconi transforms Canale 5 into a national TV station and acquires Italia 1 from the Rusconi Editore publishing group and Rete 4 from the Mondadori publishing group, thus creating a private TV corporation without precedents. In the radio sphere, certain local broadcasters, like Radio 105 and Radio Deejay, begin to develop a national presence.
  
  1984
  Some judges start shutting down the national private TV and radio operations but a parliamentary decree by the Craxi government enables Berlusconi and the national radio stations to carry on broadcasting.
  
  1985
  Parliament begins debating a law on the regulation of the Italian radio and TV sector, 10 years after the first private broadcasts.
  Private radio stations now number about 3,000, and TV stations over 1,000.
  
  1990
  Parliament approves the famous Mammě Law, named after Oscar Mammě, the member of parliament who presented it: the first ever law to regulate the sector. Fifteen years have passed since the first "free" broadcasts.
  There are now 4,100 private radio stations and 1,400 private TV stations.
  
  1991
  The big publishing groups (beginning with L’Espresso) start acquiring private radio stations.
  
  1992
  A political and social ‘earthquake’ rocks Italy. The "Mani Pulite" (Clean Hands) anti-corruption enquiry shakes parliament and heralds a period of radical change. Telepiů launches the first satellite transmissions (as yet unheard of in Italy), while more and more local radio and TV stations are organising themselves into "syndications", groupings which share several hours of programming. The first computers are being used by stations to provide broadcast automation. Many local stations improve their programming.
  
  1994
  The 1994 general election sees Berlusconi’s first political victory, though the government he heads lasts only seven months. The "conflict of interests" issue emerges - a problem still not resolved!
  
  In the local broadcast sector, fierce competition and the possibility of buying and selling frequencies leads to a natural concentration of companies.
  There are now something like 3,500 radio stations and just over 1,000 TV stations.
  
  1996
  In the radio sector, national "circuits" begin to appear, with stations linking up basically to share news programmes. One reason for this is that the law foresees a refund of 80% of the costs for subscribers to such news services.
  
  1998
  Italian pay-TV is born. Satellite broadcasting is on the increase, also for freely accessible satellite transmissions, while cable TV is still practically non-existent.
  
  1999
  The year of new national TV licence allocations, to be followed by local ones. The provisions produce no change, however, since all stations are allowed to continue broadcasting. The first moves are made towards digital TV automation.
  
  2000
  A real revolution begins as a result of the possibility of freely concentrating ownership. As a result of the buying and selling of stations and their frequency rights, there are now about 1,400 radio stations and 600 TV stations - a phenomenon which also brings about an increase in advertising revenues and greater professionalism in the local broadcasting field. Today, most Italian radio and TV stations are computerised and most use satellite links to receive programmes and information.
  
  Local TV stations currently attract around 10 million contacts on an average day (from a total of 23 million) while local radio stations draw around eight million listeners daily (from a total of about 30 million).
• TELENOVA and the sports coverage
  Mr. Fioravante Cavarretta (IT)
  TELENOVA
  
  Founded in Milan in 1978 by Periodici San Paolo, a catholic publishing group whose publications include the weekly magazine Famiglia Cristiana (with a circulation of over a million), Jesus, Il Giornalino, Club 3 and Vita Pastorale.
  
  For the first three years, Telenova produced its own programming and established itself at a regional level as a "family" station. Content centred on information, with a daily news programme, ‘Telenova Notizie’, and also more in-depth reports in transmissions like ‘Prima Pagina’. Then came sports, with coverage of soccer (the ‘Milan-Inter’ programme was particularly successful), basketball, ice hockey and cycling, as well as programmes like ‘Cabina Matrimoniale’ and ‘Famiglia e Dintorni’ which deal with family issues. Programming also included music, with transmissions presented by show-business celebrities like Memo Remigi, Barbara D’Urso, Diego Abatantuono and Raffaele Pisu, plus the flagship religious transmission, ‘Jesus’.
  
  Between 1982 and 1985, Telenova participated in a television circuit, Euro TV, which was made up of a group of local broadcasters and covered the whole of Italy. Telenova left Euro TV and, in September 1986, together with another 20 local broadcasters, set up the national TV consortium Cinquestelle, a grouping headed by Telenova.
  
  In 1993, with the ending of the TV circuit experience and free of the restrictions imposed by membership of the consortium, Telenova was finally able to fully express its editorial line and broaden its informational and cultural reach, becoming a focal point for Church affairs in both the city of Milan and the region of Lombardy as a whole.
  
  Today
  Current Telenova programming centres on local news and information. There are six daily news programmes; sports reports, religious information and various other regular items. The experience and high degree of professionalism built up over the past 20 years or so have enabled Telenova to work on prestigious co-productions such as the ‘Frontiere dello Spirito’ (Frontiers of the Spirit) religious programme produced in collaboration with Mediaset, and other productions with Sat2000, the satellite channel of the Conferenza Episcopale Italiana, the ruling council of the Catholic church in Italy.
  
  Market
  In the difficult market of local television, still dominated by regulatory uncertainty and an excessive number of players, Telenova has earned itself a top-ranking position in the Lombardy ratings. It is seen as a full-content channel with quality programming for the whole family. The fact that it belongs to a renowned, solid and autonomous catholic publishing group strengthens its image as an independent broadcaster free of restrictions.
  
  Sport
  In recent years, programmes which cover the Italian soccer championship have become firmly established on almost all local stations in northern Italy, including Telenova.
  
  These programmes offer live coverage of matches from reporters at the stadiums. Every Sunday, Telenova links up with 12 soccer stadiums in collaboration with a number of other broadcasters: Telenordest and Telearena for the Veneto region; GRP for Piedmont; Telegenova for Liguria; Telesanterno for Emilia Romagna and Gold TV for Lazio. Both terrestrial and satellite links are used for these transmissions.
  
  The presenters and their studio guests are thus able to comment live on the action and also carry out interviews with players and other personalities before, during and after the game, creating a very appealing product, one which many nationwide broadcasters have imitated.

Saturday June 23, 09:30

IS THERE STILL A PLACE FOR LOCALS IN SWITZERLAND?

Castillo (Ideas & Solutions)

Round Table.

- Mr. Yves CHRISTEN, Mayor of Vevey, National Councillor
- Mr. Marc FURRER, Head of the Federal Office for Communications
- Mr. Filippo LOMBARDI, speaker TELESUISSE
- Mr. Christian STAERKLE, President of Privat Radio Schweiz
- Mr. Blaise ROSTAND, SSR-SRG (public radio and TV)
- a representative of the Swiss newspapers publishers

• Panel discussion Which new radio and TV law do we need in Switzerland?
  
  
  Switzerland is a wonderful country - but not an easy one for private radio and TV.
  
  Jokingly, some people call it "the last soviet country of the world, in the field of electronic media"!
  Just imagine another country where the State company owns six TV channels (the only six with nationwide coverage, the only ones receiving frequencies for wireless diffusion) and some 14 radio channels. And where private TV can only be distributed by cable and within a limited area, authorised by a government office. And where the only audience control system - controlling also the private channels - belongs to the same State company...
  
  Well, there are certain historical, geographical, cultural and other reasons for this situation, but anyhow... A first step towards liberalisation was taken ten years ago. Now, the country is facing a big debate around the project of a new radio and TV law. Will it grant more effective freedom for privates, or, on the contrary, will it increase even more the privileges of the State company? And will it support or harm the Swiss electronic media altogether, in favour of their foreign challengers?
  
  This debate can be of interest also for the situation in other countries, where technical, financial and editorial inequalities between public service and private channels are still under discussion, as is the case also at EU level.
  
  The panel will be led by the journalist Nicholas WILLEMIN, with the participation of Marc FURRER, Head of the Federal Office for Communications, Yves CHRISTEN, MP and Mayor of the Town of Vevey, Filippo LOMBARDI, Speaker of Telesuisse, association of all Swiss private TV, Christian STAERKLE, President of Privat Radio Schweiz; Blaise Rostand of the SSR-SRG (public radio and TV) and a representative of the Swiss newspapers publishers.

moderation: Nicolas Willemin, Ringier (CH)

NETWORKING AND MULTI-MEDIA

Rivage (Broadcasters showcase)

Local pluralism - survival of the fittest?
Could regional co-production and networking between medias be the answer?
When would there be successful results?
Who could be the most successful players?

• The complete local information center - any media, any time
  Mr. Peter A. Petersen (DK)
  Aalborg TVR group (Aalborg)
  
  What is the role of local media in a world where the global village is old news and the agenda is multimedia. Peter A. Petersen has for years fought for the idea of the complete local information centre, and has built up a multimedia house with 200 employees.
  
  Behind it lies the vision of local media as the individual citizen’s gateway to information.
  
  Hear about this vision, and how it develops in the ongoing explosion with still greater bandwith and mobile internet, new combinations of media forms and terminals and a society where information is everywhere in the air we breathe.
• The "Neapolis" project
  Mr. Joan C. Lluch (ES)
  Canal Blau Informació (Vilanova La Geltrů)
  
  Local television has already become a pilot test of the Neapolis project. As far as content is concerned, television has become a specialised channel in local news and news from the surroundings. This specialisation will allow it, in a not too distant future, to be a permanent local news service.
  
  In other words, a permanent local news provider. And this is done using digital systems, distributing the information through different forms : television, radio, Internet. They have, therefore, become digital journalists.
  
  The fact that local television is already using these processes opens the door to possible future evolutions in this field. Nothing is rare in the digital systems ; advanced technologies can, therefore, be used to distribute audio-visual services and other content to the citizens, individually or collectively.
  
  For this reason, if it is done through cable, terrestrial, digital, UMTS, or Internet (webcasting), different channels can be broadcast at a low cost with a high social profitability ; information channels, local sports, formation, etc.
• Local pluralism: Survival of the fittest? Could regional coproduction & networking be the answer?
  Mr. Charles Xuereb (MT)
  Multimedia Education & Broadcasting Centre (Sliema)
  
  -In the nineties Europe bloomed in local pluralism
  -Standards were initially lowered because of demand higher than supply
  -The audiences were not prepared and in ten years of fragmented broadcasts from a number of sources (big stations, small stations, networks and satellites), most audiences ended up confused and not knowing what they wanted (vide Big Brother as an example of «uncultured» but successful tv)
  -In time, the better programmes/channels started dictating audiences. Farmed-out productions were creating new independent broadcasting moguls cutting the edge over better equipped channels. Is theirs a long story of success or a medium one until the better times roll?
  -Audience surveys are carried out to decipher the People’s Choice
  -Are they correct? Manipulated by commercial interests? How could one know what viewers want to watch? Is the consumer targeted well ? What does she/he want?
  -One needs to keep on inventing and re-inventing the product and strive to create effective synergies between content and commerce.
  -Could one strive to get non-politically motivated broadcasting tenacity?
  -When could one achieve successful results? Definitely not overnight.
  -What could long-term plans be like? Who could be the most successful players? What type of productions could provide the successful recipe to play on a level-field with giant producers/channels?
• Success without Newspapers?!
  Dr. Günter Heuberger (CH)
  Radio Top / Tele Top
  
  The Top-Group is growing since 1984 in small steps to the 4th place in Radio in Switzerland. The TV-Business in Switzerland is much harder because of the strong foreign programms, which have no language-barrier.
  
  The key factors of success for the Top-Group are
  - Vision
  - Attractive format
  - Best people in house approach
  - Technology driven
  - Partnerships
  - Open minded, faster, tougher
  
  In Switzerland most Radio- and TV-stations are in the hand of newspapers. Radio Top and Tele Top are independent from any media groups. We think that we can act faster when we have no newspapers as strategic shareholders. It's clear that this way is for us tougher, but in the long run we will have more success.

moderation: Norbert Korsmeier (DE/ES)

Saturday June 23, 11:00

THE "STEAD" PROJECT

Rivage (Broadcasters showcase)

STEAD (Small Televisions of Europe for Audiovisual catalogues and Databank) is an important European project on Local Television.

• Building a European Network & Database for Local Broadcasters
  Mr. José Pereira (ES)
  University of Santiago de Compostela
  
  The STEAD project is an initiative aiming to create a virtual network for the European local televisions, in order to:
  
  · Establish a network of European researchers on micro-communication, with census and relevant information on stations (sorted by countries and regions), information on on-going research, and publishing and acquisition of reports and studies on the local televisions sector. In addition, the project will stimulate e-work and sharing tasks, and develop e-work services that will be later included in the web portal.
  · Create a market around European local televisions, by stimulating local-international relationships for TV stations, producers and distributors. It will also promote contacts and provide the platform to establish fruitful relationships between academia, manufacturers, and local televisions. The project will conduct research on establishing commercial relationships between local TVs from different European countries through an e-commerce platform. A prototype of this platform will also be integrated in the portal. The presence of equipment manufacturers will permit the development a directory of technology providers for local TVs, with personalised offers.
  · Create an informative network for European local TVs, focused on critical issues such as the European legal framework, social aspects, organisational limitations, etc. It is also contemplated to stimulate valid references for European regulations, in order to help break the obstacles encountered by European local televisions.
  
  Regarding the network itself, there will be a central server that will act as the main node, providing centralised services, whereas the regional nodes will hold region- and country-specific services. These will be provided in both English and the local language.
  
  STEAD will be designed and developed in a way that supports and enhances multilingual and intercultural aspects, while offering a set of services that are thematically related and homogeneous, and that foster e-economy for regional development.
  
  Through the creation of these virtual and physical networks, STEAD aims to generate dynamics and serve as a point of reference for the development of the European audio-visual sector.

moderation: José Estéban (ES)

Saturday June 23, 20:30

THE MITIL CO-PRODUCTION SESSION

Rivage (Ideas & Solutions)

A special evening session on how to close co-production deals.
Meet with producers and broadcasters.
Three of MITIL’S illustrious partners accept the challenge to make and finalise all contacts and proposals that have been established during MITIL between broad-casters and producers.

Session directed by:

Roger WORROD (CH/UK)
YT&T (Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow)TM

Carme MAYUGO (ES)
CIRCUIT! / Clot RTV-Sant Martí (Barcelona)

Norbert KORSMEIER (DE/ES)
Streaming:Content (Münich)