Introduction

Pluralism – the fair, balanced and unbiased representation of a wide range of political opinions and views – is a fundamental component in the working of modern democracies. Assuring pluralism in modern economies, characterised by a well-developed set of media markets, requires political and social actors from across the spectrum to have proper access to the different media.

The last two decades have seen an impressive development in the number and range of media that today contribute to form public opinion, with technological innovations and new policies leading the process. Cable and satellite transmission during the 1980s relaxed the constraint of limited frequencies over the hertzian spectrum that had previously restricted the number of TV channels. Moreover, these technologies, together with encrypted signals over the air, enabled exclusion of non-payers and thereby contributed to the development of pay-TV services, adding a new source of revenues for private operators. At the same time, public policies more favourable to private companies promoted wide reforms of broadcasting markets in Europe, where commercial channels financed with advertising started to erode the audience of the incumbent public channels. Today there are many more channels available to the public than two decades ago. The current phase of development of digital broadcasting will further increase the number and nature of TV services offered to the public, with a convergence between media and telecommunication industries.