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European State-Aid Control and PSB: Competition Policy Clashing or Matching with Public Interest Objectives?

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The Palgrave Handbook of European Media Policy

Abstract

EU state-aid rules center on all government measures that affect public budgets while granting a selective advantage to a company or sector with market distortion as a consequence. Throughout the first decade of the 21st century, state-aid became the focal point for debate over PSB. As these traditional media institutions ventured into new media platforms, such as the web, the debate amplified further and new stakeholders — representing mainly the online news industry — entered the ring. Moreover, the centrality of these issues is illustrated by the oppositional and heated discussions about the so-called public value test that foresees an ex-ante evaluation of the public value and market impact of public broadcasters’ new services. Such a test originated in the UK but was due to EC pressures exported to several other member states of the EU (for an overview, see Donders & Moe, 2011).

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© 2014 Karen Donders and Hallvard Moe

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Donders, K., Moe, H. (2014). European State-Aid Control and PSB: Competition Policy Clashing or Matching with Public Interest Objectives?. In: Donders, K., Pauwels, C., Loisen, J. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of European Media Policy. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137032195_23

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