by Stelios Papathanassopoulos

Transcription

1 MASS MEDIA by Stelios Papathanassopoulos Professor, University of Athens Looking back on recent Greek media history, one observes various periods of dramatic change in the sector. The most recent took place in the mid-1980s and, especially, in the late 1980s with the deregulation and privatization of the broadcasting system. Regarding the last25years,oneobservesafirstshiftinthemid-1980sinthenewspaper market. A second one took place in the broadcasting sector inthelate1980sduetothederegulationofthestatemonopolyof broadcasting frequencies, resulting in a plethora of private TV channels and radio stations, both national and local. There are at present 160 private TV channels and 1,150 private radio stations. In the mid- 1990s, there was also a boom in the magazine sector, which resulted inasurgeofnewmagazines. Inthefirstdecadeofthe21 st century,greeceispreparingtoenter the digital era, which will result in further changes in the media sector in general and the field of television in particular. about GREECE 441

2 INFORMATION, TECHNOLOGY and RESEARCH In addition, the country s broadcasting sector has undergone commercialization, adopting a marketled approach, resulting in more channels, more advertising, more programimportsaswellasanexplosion in new home-made productions for the needs of the plethora of TV channels. As in other countries, publishers and other business-oriented interests have entered the broadcasting landscape in large numbers. Since the mid-1990s, there have been variouseffortson the partofthe state to regulate the sector(regarding radio and television licenses, advertising time, program quotas, protection of minors and media ownership). Although developments in the Greek media sector have resulted in upheavals, the media system has proved surprisingly adaptable andflexibleinthefaceofchange. To appreciate this, one must keep in mind that Greece has worked under Western democratic rule for only30yearsnow,anditsmedia system has suddenly had to deal with all the obstacles that its Western counterparts have taken years to overcome. PRINTED MEDIA The newspaper press Traditionally, the press in Greece observed all developments in political life and played an important role on the political scene. However, since the restoration of parliamentary democracy in 1974, the press has been going through a process of modernization. The development of advertising as one of its main sources of revenue in the1960shasworkedasacatalyst concerning newspapers political choices, and especially neutralized the partisan division approach. Moreover, the entry of new printing technologies in the 1980s, the entry of entrepreneurs and businessmen in the media sector, as well as the stiff competition from television have changed the field since the 1980s. As a result, the content of the press has become more objective and the traditional close association with particular parties or individuals has been superseded by a tendency to identify more with a political camp, right, left or center. This has arisen partly outoftheneedtoattractabroader spectrum of readers to increase circulation at a time of economic difficulties, while it has also reflectedadriftwithinthepoliticalcommunity itself towards larger parties. However, the political stance of the newspapers is always present, especially in periods characterized by a politically intense climate and, of course, during elections. Regardless of the fact that the level of literacy among the population is high, newspaper readershipislow.sincethearrivalofprivate television and radio and with the plethora of magazines, newspaper advertising and readership have come under pressure. There are about 280 local, regional and national daily newspapers in Greece. However, the biggest 22 nationally, daily and Sunday, circulatedtitlesin2006werelocatedin Athens. The regional press has limited sales, with the exemption of the regions of Thessaly, the Peloponnese and Crete. Moreover, in Athens and Thessaloniki, people 442 about GREECE

3 MASS MEDIA have access to free daily and weekly papers. These papers are mainlyfoundatmetroandbusstations. Another characteristic is that there is a strong Sunday press, again mainly based in Athens, since almostalldailieshaveasundayedition.mostofthesundaypapersoffer a supplement or they increase theirnumberofpagesinorderto cater to the interests of a wider readership. By and large, due to the competition of the electronic media,thegreekpresshastriedto cope with the new conditions by redesigning their titles and/or publishing new ones. In 1989 there were 13 dailieswith a total average circulation of 1.27 million copies, while in 2006 there were 23titleswithatotalaveragedaily circulation of approximately 417,000 copies. On the other hand, the press share of advertising revenue has increased in the last decade(from18percentin1988to 19.3 percent in 2006, according to the annual reports of the advertising monitoring agency Media Services SA( ). Additionally, about GREECE 443

4 INFORMATION, TECHNOLOGY and RESEARCH Source: Athens Daily Newspapers Publishers Association Greek newspapers present two further paradoxes. Firstly, while the average circulation of newspapersingreeceisfalling,thesame cannotbesaidforthenumberof dailytitles.thoughanumberofestablished newspapers suspended or ceased publication over the last 10 years, new titles, or old ones under new ownership, seem tobespringingupallthetime.examiningtheannualdataoftheassociation of Athens Daily NewspaperOwners,oneseesthatin1979 there were 12 morning and afternoon dailies published in Athens with an average daily combined circulation of 713,000 copies. In 1989, the bestyear for dailies in thelast20years,therewere22titles with an average daily combined circulation of 1,128,589 copies. However, with circulation declining since 1999, the number of papers increased marginally to 23. Secondly, since 1993, when the publishers saw that the sales of their newspapers were declining rapidly, almost all newspapers started offering free gifts to their readers, ranging from books, cars andhousestomusiccdsandfilm DVDs. These offers seem to have halted the decline of circulation, andsince2005therehasbeenan increase in sales, especially as regards the Sunday editions. Periodicals and magazine Press TheGreekmarkethasawealthof magazine titles, with more than 900 popular and special-interest titles. However, there are about 50 consumer magazines mostly monthlies of real importance. While circulation of the general-interest weekly magazines has declined, the special-interest monthlies are gaining the upper hand. The TV listings market has expandedaswelltoreflecttheincreasein programming and now comprises nine titles. The highest-circulation magazines are linked to TV game shows and offer cash prizes. During , there was a new explosion in the magazine sector with new titles entering the field and competing for the attention of Greek readers. This growth was also reflected in their advertising revenues. However, the Greek magazine sector has entered a period ofreshapingintermsoftitlesand publishersinordertocopewiththe new and highly competitive media environment. 444 about GREECE

5 MASS MEDIA By and large, the main developments in the Greek magazine sectorduringthelastfiveyearsarethe following: first, the old weekly information-oriented magazines have perished. Some years ago, this category represented the bulk ofmagazinesales.thisisalsorelatedtotheentryinrecentyearsof the Sunday newspapers into the magazine market, through supplements that could be considered magazines in their own right. Secondly, there has been an increase since 1992 in thevolume ofspecialized magazines, which have tried to attract the interest of younger Greek readers. Thus, one notes new titles in women s and men s interest magazines, music and computer magazines, sports, business and financial magazines, motorcar and motorcycle magazines, technology, history, home furnishing and decoration magazines and so on. Third, TV guide magazines still attract the highest salesinthemagazinesectorbutit is questionable as to whether the market can support new titles. Fourth, there has been an increase in light-entertainment magazines, which cover gossip about celebrities and their personal lives. Fifth, in the period there was a major increase in monthly general and specialist magazines, which combine the lifestyle of younger people with politics and socialissues.intermsofsales,tv guide magazines come first and are followed by monthly women s about GREECE 445

6 INFORMATION, TECHNOLOGY and RESEARCH Source: AGB Nielsen Media Research magazines and monthly consumer and life-style magazines. However, thetotalbulkofsalesinthemagazine sector has increased. AUDIOVISUAL MEDIA Terrestrial Analogue Television Private TV The deregulation of Greek broadcasting, as in other European countries, represented more than the removal of certain rules and regulations.asinmostcountries,itwas rather the outcome of the internationalization of broadcasting in addition to pressure from domestic economic forces. As in most European countries, broadcasting deregulation commenced through the radio frequencies (in 1987) and then moved to television (1989). In effect, transmitters sprang up across Greece and, apart from the national TV channels, regional and local stations flourished alloverthecountry,someofthem very successful in their respective regions, and their number today stands at about 145. However, both imported TV programs and domestic production have soared, thanks to massive increases in TV advertising revenue. Although the terrestrial market is overcrowded, with a plethora of national and local stations, and the regulatory structure of Greek TV remains cloudy, most attention is focused on five private channels. While the dominance of two of the private networks Mega Channel and Antenna TV was clear from very early on, challenges from other private channels, including Alpha TV, Alter and Star Channel, have made quite a dentin Mega and Antenna s audiences. In the 2005/2006 TVseason,forthefirsttimesince deregulation, the cumulative monthly shares of the two leading private television channels(mega and Antenna) did not exceed 37 percent. In 2006, they attracted 36.8 percent of the TV market share, while Alpha, Alter and Star attracted 35.6 percent. The five mainstream private channels are pitched at a mass-market audience. Sitcoms, satire shows, game shows, soap operas, movies and made-for-tv films as well as tabloid-style news and informational programs dominate their output. As the private channels 446 about GREECE

7 MASS MEDIA entertainment-dominated schedules have waxed stronger, there hasbeenaparalleldecreaseineducational and documentary programs. Though they initially relied toahighdegreeoncheapimports, private TV channels swiftly built up the level of local and in-house production. The share of domestic production is now larger than imports and this is mostly transmitted during prime-time programming, while imported programs dominate the rest of the broadcasting time. For example, the oncepopular Latin telenovelas have been purged from the schedules of most channels. Viewership of national terrestrial TV channels in prime-time slots: (September 1, August 31, 2006) Private channels TV viewership(%) Mega Channel 18.6 Antenna TV 18.2 Alpha TV 16.0 Star channel 10.0 Alter 8.8 Others 11.0 Public channels ET1 4.2 NET 10.0 ET3 2.4 Source: AGB Nielsen Media Research Public TV A major element in the Greek broadcasting scene used to be the decline in viewership for the public service broadcasting services. Few other public broadcasters in Europe suffered as badly from the introduction of private TV. The Greek public broadcaster, the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT),sawasharpdeclineinitsratings and advertising expenditure duetotheadventofprivatetelevision. ERT s problems stem from the public broadcaster s one-time role as a mouthpiece of government propaganda. This led to the erosion of its credibility in the eyesofthegreekpublicandwas in effect the entry ticket for private television and the total deregulation of thetvsector. In fact, ERT had to pay for the democratization and increased number of television channels, since it was unprepared to meet competition from the private broadcasters. However,inthelastfewyears,the public broadcaster has implemented a long-overdue reorganization whichisnowstartingtobearfruit, althoughthereisstillalongwayto go. ERT s management aimed to turn a new page in the public broadcaster s troubled history. In 1997, the first channel, ET1, became a general channel with more emphasis on entertainment. The second channel, ET2, has been relaunchedunderanewname,net (Nea Elliniki Teleorasi New Hellenic Television), and is mainly a round-the-clock information channel with news bulletins, information programs, talk shows and documentaries. On the other hand, ERThashadtoreducelaborcosts with a system of voluntary retirement for some of its personnel. In terms of financing, ERT appears tobeinbettercondition.itsmanagement claims it will break even forthefirsttimeinits41-yearhistorynextyear,thankstohigherlicensing fees and advertising revenues.onehastonotethatert s main revenue comes from the license fee, which is collected through household electricity bills about GREECE 447

8 INFORMATION, TECHNOLOGY and RESEARCH ( per annum). Advertising accounts for about 10 percent of the public broadcaster s income. However, by focusing on a series of high-profile sporting and other events in the last two years, ERT aims to attract both audiences and advertising money. As concerns television, ERT channels viewership in , according to TV rating company AGB Nielsen Media Research, rose to 16.8 percent(et14.2percent,net10percent, and ET3 2.4 percent). In , the total TV market share for the public broadcaster was 14.9 percent. The public broadcaster consists of: Two national coverage channels (Elliniki Teleorasi 1 [ET1] and NEA Elliniki Teleorasi[NET, previously ET2]) which are based in Athens. A third channel, ET3. This is based in Thessaloniki and has a stronger coverage in Northern Greece but can also be seen in other parts of the country. In effect, itisthe regionalchannelofertandemphasis is given to Northern Greece, the arts and culture. Hellenic Radio (ERA), which broadcasts four national radio channels (ERA 1 through 4) originating from Athens through relay stations. There is also a fifth radio station, the Voice of Greece, which is aimed at Greeks abroad and includes regional programs. ERTWorld,whichisthepublic broadcaster s worldwide satellite service, broadcasting free toairallovertheword. It also publishes its weekly TV/radio listing magazine Radioteleorasis. ERTlookstothefuturewithambition.Inthedigitalera,ERThasalready started operating its terrestrial digital channels(see below). Finally, since January 2004, a new public broadcaster has been established on the UHF frequencies. ThisisVouliTV,anationalchannel with programming produced by the Hellenic Parliament and which covers the works of the Parliament. Analogue Pay-TV While cable TV is virtually non-existent in Greece, pay-tv has found a niche in analogue terrestrial television. It nowadays reaches about 70 percent of the Greek population. Pay-TV officially entered the Greek UHF frequencies on October 15, 1994, when the Greek authorities granted permission for the operation of Filmnet, the country s first pay-tv channel, owned by Multchoice/ Netmed Hellas and a memberofthenetmednvgroup. Netmed NV provides administrative and consulting services to the group, Netmed Hellas is the channel provider, and Multichoice Hellas offers subscriber management services. To enter the terrestrial TV universe of Greece, Multichoice / Netmed HellasleasedoneofERT suhffrequencies, offering a selection of blockbuster movies and live league soccer and basketball games. 448 about GREECE

9 MASS MEDIA In August 1996 Multichoice/ Netmed Hellas launched two additional pay-tv services, Supersport (sports) and K-TV (for children, now supplied by Jetix TV), using and sharing a second frequency leased from the public broadcaster, ERT. In fact,supersportisthe first and only terrestrial Greek sports channel. K-TV broadcasts dailyfrom9amto3pm,afterwhich time Supersport takes over on the same frequency. With the launch of the two new channels, Multichoice/ Netmed Hellas hoped to increase the number of its subscribers. To do that Multichoice/ Netmed Hellas followed an aggressive marketing approach and boughtthetvrightsofthepremium soccer and basketball leagues. In fact, this programming strategy responded by offering three live soccer games of the Greek Premier League every week, the European basketball games of domestic popular teams as well as soccer games from the premier leagues of England, Holland, Spain, Germany, andlatinamerica. Asaresult,the number of subscribers reached 290,000 in Since the international environment was in favor of the development of digital television, the company decided to enter the digital age without, however, abandoning its terrestrial analogue frequencies. Radio As noted above, the radio sector was deregulated with the entry of municipal and private local stations. Nowadays, private stations dominate the radio sector(see statistics at end of chapter). Around 1,200 radio stations broadcast regularly throughout Greece; the about GREECE 449

10 INFORMATION, TECHNOLOGY and RESEARCH Source: Focus Research Bari compilation HELLENIC AUDIOVISUAL INSTITUTE(I.O.M.) most important ones are located in Athens and have networking arrangement with local stations. Generally, each of Greece s 52 administrative regions has two or three local commercial radio stations, with more in the largest cities. However, most of them do not have an official license to broadcast. In 1997 the government invited radio stations operating in the regions of Athens and Thessaloniki to apply for a license. In March 2001, the government announced the 28 most desired radio licenses for the Attica region, causing anger among those stationsnotgrantedalicense.theissue still remains open for seven more licenses in the Attica region, while a similar situation is expected when the new licenses are granted in the other major cities, especially in Thessaloniki, which is the country s second largest city. There are three categories of radio stations in Greece: state-owned, municipal and private. The vast majority are privately owned and of a local character (transmitting via the FM frequencies). Stateowned and municipal radio stations have exhibited a sharply declining trend in audience figures and advertising revenue. As concernstheuseofradio,greekslisten to the radio for approximately four hours daily, while those betweentheagesof25to54arethe most loyal listeners. Digital TV Satellite Greeks have not paid much attention to satellite television, although the deregulation of the Greek television system started through the re-transmission of satellite channels via the UHF frequencies. However, at the beginning of the new century, digital satellite televisionseemstobethenewloveaffair in the world of Greek television. In 2000, there were two digital satellite platforms(nova and Alpha Digital) while a third one(interactive) holds an official license to broadcast. Greek digital satellite television started in March 1998, when Multichoice / Netmed Hellas announced its intentions to operate 450 about GREECE

11 MASS MEDIA its own digital platform, called Nova. Eventually, after some disputes with the government at the time, on May 20, 1999, the NBC awarded Multichoice / Netmed Hellas a license to broadcast. Each household that subscribes to Nova hadtopayasubscriptionof15,500 drachmas( 45.50). Nova officially launched operations on December 16 by securing three transponders oneutelsat shotbirds2,3and4 respectively, all located at 13 degreeseast.thecostofthereception equipment(a satellite dish of 60cm in diameter, access card, decoder and installment equipment) was 149,000 drachmas plus VAT ( 467).Inthefirstmonthofoperation, NOVA attracted 15,000 subscribers. In 2006, the start-up pack for the Nova basic package cost 369 for decoder, dish and smart-card. Subscription fees were 53.90amonth.InMarch2000,a second company, Interactive SA (member of the Intersat Group) was awarded a second digital satellite license. The platform, however, never started transmission,andthenbconoctober28, 2002 decided to recall the license. OneandahalfyearsafterNova s launch, the private TV station Alpha TV announced its plans to enter the digital television market with its platform, Alpha Digital. The second digital satellite platform in the Greek world started operations on October 29, In November 2000, the government granted a license to Alpha Digital Synthesis SA to operate its own digital satellite platform. Those consumers who wished to buy the decoder only had to pay 108,000 drachmas ( 317). Each household that subscribedtoalphadigitalhadtopay a monthly subscription of 14,850 drachmas( 43.6). The main aim of AlphaDigitalwastoofferitsservices to the subscribers at reasonable prices, considering that the cost of pay-tv in Greece was extremely expensive. Keeping in mindthatfootballwasthemostattractive offering of pay-tv, it offered much higher contracts to the football companies of the premier league, and thus 10 out of 18 broke their previous contract with Multichoice/ Netmed Hellas. The result was a battle between the two digital platforms and Greek premier league games became one of the most expensive broadcasts in European television. However,afterayearofintensecompetition, Alpha Digital, with only 35,000 subscribers, on September 9, 2002, announced the suspensionofitsoperationsduetoitsfailure to meet its economic obligations. Its collapse brought the woescausedtosoccerbythetelevision rights problems that affected other European countries. Digital terrestrial television Digital terrestrial television (DTT) seemstobethecountry snextbig move,aswellasapriorityforthe present government. While there isnodigitaloranaloguecabletv serviceingreece,thereasontogo for terrestrial digital is due to international developments and especially the EU, which has called on its member states to switch from analogue to digital by 2012, andtothefactthatthemainpart ofthepopulationlivesinthemajor cities of the country. Specifically, the public broadcaster started three digital terrestrial about GREECE 451

12 INFORMATION, TECHNOLOGY and RESEARCH channels(prisma plus, Cine plus and Sport plus) within the first half of ERT broadcast its first digital program on Prisma plus on March20,2006.Prismaplusisa channel with broad-based appeal thatisfullyaccessibletothedeaf and broadcasts programs with sign language and subtitles for seven hours daily. In May 2006, ERT launched the two other channels,sportplusandcineplus.duringthepilotstage,whichwilllast onetotwoyears,eachchannelwill broadcast a new program for 6-10 hours daily. The reception of the signal is free-to-air, advertisements are not broadcast and the programsaredifferenttothoseofnet, ET1andET3. PROSPECTS FOR THE FUTURE Although it can be said that the media market is saturated, media companies showed satisfactory growth rates in their revenues in 2005, despite initial estimates of a tough post-olympics year. According to data from the companies financial reports, compiled and processed by Hellastat, the total sales of 100 companies(broadcasting stations and publishing enterprises) came to 2.2 billion in2005,against2billioneurosin 2004, an increase of 10 percent year-on-year. Ontheeveofthedigitalera,new opportunities may arise for media companies in the country. Many believethatdigitaltvisinitsinfancy and the market will create vast business opportunities during the years of the realization of convergence and that there is room for major investments in the market. The public broadcaster has already planned its transition from analogue to digital television, while the government has expressed its desire for most private broadcasters to switch from analogue to digital transmission by 2012 and digital satellite has increased its client base. The government aims to regulate the new sector(with resource allocation, licenses, timing of switchover) before it becomes deregulated,asinthecaseofthe analogue frequencies, and also to prevent the dominance of private broadcasters by defending the public broadcaster, which was left helpless back in the late 1980s. The government has already put forward its proposals for discussion with the industry and has expressed its willingness to present its new legal framework for the industry s regulation. The Minister responsible for the media, Theodoros Roussopoulos, has publicly said that the modern age demands our cooperation and commitment to improving the quality of the broadcasting industry, and has also outlined plans for companies to meet certain financial and professional criteria before they are granted licenses. USEFUL LINKS Secretariat General of Communication Secretariat General of Information The National Broadcasting Corporation (Hellenic Radio Television- ERT) about GREECE