Appendix 6 - International Music Council

2002-2006 management agreement between the public broadcasting network and the
Flemish Community states that television programming must include a varied range of
culture, reaching on average 15 % of the population. Another performance standard is that
the share of Flemish TV productions and co-productions must be at least 50 % of the total
programme offer between 6 pm and 11 pm. (ericarts Belgium, p. 21)
Broadcasting in French Community
The French Community has adopted provisions to regulate concentrations in the
broadcasting sector in order to ensure the pluralism of the media. Transparency in media
proprietorship should ensure avoiding a too strong concentration. This in turn should
guarantee the pluralism of contents even if powerful operators dominate the market.
Several measures have been taken to avoid the interferences of any unspecified public or
private authority in the treatment of information, and thus to ensure the independence,
autonomy and responsibility of broadcasters. Thus, for example, Article 7, §2 of the 14 July
1997 French Community decree affecting the French public broadcasting services states
that: “the programmes broadcast by the company that contribute to the information or the
education of viewers or listeners, are made in a spirit of objectivity, with no prior
censorship or interference from any public or private authority” (quoted by ericArts
Belgium, p. 22).
The public broadcasting service of the French Community respects cultural groups
regardless of race, sex, ideology, philosophy or religion. Broadcasts are considered as a
factor of social cohesion and should therefore not lead to social segregation (ericarts
Belgium p. 19). Among the objectives for public broadcasting of the French Community is
the aim to reach a large audience, i.e. accessibility.
The French community has created an independent administrative authority: the Superior
Council for the Audiovisual Sector (SCA) which is responsible for regulating the radio
broadcasting sector. The SCA has a mission set by the Government of the French
Community over a five year financial contract period (Ericarts, p.47). The radio services
authorised and controlled by the SCA of the French community are obliged to broadcast in
French except for prerecorded music. Television broadcasters are obliged to broadcast a
certain major proportion of European productions including productions of authors
belonging to the French community. 10% of the broadcasting time has to be spent on
productions whose original version is in French.
Broadcasting in the German Speaking Community
Structures. The Belgian Radio and Television Centre of the German-speaking Community
(BRF), instituted by Act of 18 July 1979, has a remit to offer public radio and television
broadcasting services in German and currently (2002) has two radio stations and one
television channel (since 1999). Legal entities that broadcast radio or television
programmes are obliged to ensure protection of and prominence to the German language in
their broadcasts by moderating a certain proportion (75%) of their broadcasts in German.
The BRF is a service having a management agreement with the government. (ericarts
Belgium, p. 17, p.21)
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