European Broadcasting Union

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; French: Union européenne de radio-télévision, UER) is an alliance of public service media organisations in countries within the European Broadcasting Area (EBA) or who are members of the Council of Europe. As of 2024, it is made up of 123 member organisations from 56 countries,^[2] and 31 associate members from a further 20 countries.^[3] It was established in 1950, and has its administrative headquarters in Geneva.

The EBU owns and operates the Eurovision and Euroradio telecommunications networks on which major television and radio broadcasts are distributed live to its members. It also operates the daily Eurovision news exchange in which members share breaking news footage. In 2017, the EBU launched the Eurovision Social Newswire, an eyewitness and video verification service. Led by Head of Eurovision Social Newswire, Derek Bowler, the service provides members of the EBU with verified and cleared-for-use newsworthy eyewitness media emerging on social media.^[4]

The EBU, in co-operation with its members, produces programmes and organises events in which its members can participate, such as the Eurovision Song Contest, its best known production, or the Eurovision Debates between candidates for president of the European Commission for the 2014, 2019 and 2024 parliamentary elections.^[5] Noel Curran has been director-general since 2017.

EBU members are public service media (PSM) broadcasters established by law but are non-partisan, independent, and run for the benefit of society as a whole.

EBU members come from as far north as Iceland and as far south as Algeria, from Portugal in the west to Azerbaijan in the east, and almost every nation from geographical Europe in between. Associate members from the United States include ABC, CBS, NBC, CPB, NPR, APM, and the only individual station, Chicago-based classical music radio WFMT.^[3]

Membership is for media organisations in countries within the European Broadcasting Area (EBA), as defined by the International Telecommunication Union, or who are members of the Council of Europe.^[6]

The statutory purpose of the European Broadcasting Union is to promote broadcasting, in particular

• promotion and development of the concept of public media (i.e. radio, television and other electronic media) and their values, in particular, universality, independence, quality, diversity, accountability and innovation, as stated in the Declaration on the Core Values of Public Media of the European Broadcasting Union.
• protecting and improving freedom of expression and information, which is one of the most important foundations of a democratic society and one of the fundamental conditions for its progress and development of every person.
• strengthening media freedom and pluralism, the free flow of information and ideas, and the free formation of opinions.
• the use and development of information and communication technologies as a means of realizing the right, regardless of State borders. express, seek, receive, and disseminate information and ideas, regardless of their source.
• development of cultural diversity, intercultural dialogue and exchanges in order to promote tolerance and solidarity.
• protecting and popularizing Europe's cultural heritage and developing its audiovisual creativity by providing an increasing selection of programs and services.
• strengthening the identity of peoples, social cohesion and integration of all individuals, groups and communities.
• meeting the expectations of the public in the information, educational, cultural and entertainment fields through the production and distribution of a wide range of high-quality programs.^[7]

The minimum membership fee in the European Broadcasting Union for a broadcasting organization is 45,000 Swiss francs, and the maximum is 4,000,000 Swiss francs.^[8]

Members benefit from:

• Access to content ranging from exclusive sports rights to exchanges for news, music, and children's programmes.
• Representatives in Brussels, and in other international arenas, lobbying for PSM and ensuring the optimal legal and technical framework for broadcasters.
• Opportunities for sharing, learning and collaborating through conferences, working groups, training, and dedicated advice and guidance.
• A centre for learning and sharing new technology and innovation with a team of experts providing strategic advice and guidance.

The EBU's highest-profile production is the Eurovision Song Contest. The EBU also organises the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, the Eurovision Young Musicians competition, and other competitions which are modeled along similar lines.

Radio collaborations include Euroclassic Notturno—an overnight classical music stream, produced by BBC Radio 3 and broadcast in the United Kingdom as Through the Night—and special theme days, such as the annual Christmas music relays from around Europe.^[9] The EBU is a member of the International Music Council.

Most EBU broadcasters have group deals to carry major sporting events including the FIFA World Cup and the inaugural European Championships. Another annually recurring event which is broadcast across Europe through the EBU is the Vienna New Year's Concert.^[10]

Eurovision Media Services is the business arm of the EBU and provides media services for many media organisations and sports federations around the world.

Marc-Antoine Charpentier's Prelude to Te Deum is the hymn played before and after broadcasts organised under the Eurovision network, including the Eurovision Song Contest.^[11][12]

The EBU was a successor to the International Broadcasting Union (IBU) that was founded in 1925 and had its administrative headquarters in Geneva and technical office in Brussels.^[13] It fostered programming exchanges between members and mediated technical disputes between members that were mostly concerned with frequency and interference issues. It was in effect taken over by Nazi Germany during the Second World War, and thereafter the Allies viewed it as a compromised organisation that they could not trust.

In the spring of 1946, representatives of the Soviet radio committee proposed forming a new organisation; however, at the same time preparations were being made for an inter-governmental "European Broadcasting Conference" in Copenhagen in 1948 to draw up a new plan for frequency use in the European Broadcasting Area. It was considered necessary to have an organisation that could implement the "Copenhagen Wavelength Plan" but there was disagreement among broadcasters and particularly a fear expressed by the BBC that a new association might be dominated by the USSR and its proposal to give each of its constituent states one vote. France proposed that it would have four votes with the inclusion of its North African colonies. The United Kingdom felt it would have little influence with just one vote.

On 27 June 1946, the alternative International Broadcasting Organisation (IBO) was founded with 26 members and without British participation. The following day the IBU met in General Assembly and an attempt was made to dissolve it but failed; though 18 of its 28 members left to join the IBO.^[14] For a period of time in the late 1940s both the IBU and IBO vied for the role of organising frequencies but Britain decided not to be involved in either. The BBC attempted but failed to find suitable working arrangements with them. However, for practical purposes, the IBO rented the IBU technical centre in Brussels and employed its staff. The BBC then proposed a new solution based on the IBO changing its constitution so there will be only one member per International Telecommunication Union (ITU) country, thus ensuring a Western majority over the USSR and its satellite states. In August 1949 a meeting took place in Stresa, Italy, but it resulted in disagreement between delegates on how to resolve the problems. One proposal was for the European Broadcasting Area to be replaced by one that would exclude Eastern Europe, the Levant, and North Africa.

After Stresa, a consensus emerged among the Western Europeans to form a new organisation and the BBC proposed it be based in London. Meetings in Paris on 31 October and 1 November 1949 sealed the fate of the IBU and IBO, but it was decided not to allow any broadcaster from West Germany to be a founder of the new organisation. On 13 February 1950 the European Broadcasting Union had its first meeting with 23 members from the ITU defined European Broadcasting Area at the Imperial Hotel in Torquay, United Kingdom. The first president was Ian Jacob of the BBC who remained at the helm for ten years while its operation was largely dominated by the BBC due to its financial, technical, and staff input. The most important difference between the EBU and its predecessors was that EBU membership was for broadcasters and not governments. Early delegates said EBU meetings were cordial and professional and very different from the abrupt tone of its predecessors. Broadcasters from West Germany were admitted since 1951 and a working relationship forged with its Eastern counterpart, the International Radio and Television Organisation (OIRT), which existed in parallel with the EBU until its merger on 1 January 1993.^[14]

Sunday, June 6, 1954, became the official date of the creation of the Eurovision television program exchange system,^[15] when at 4:30 p.m^[16] Central European time, the first live broadcast from Montreux, Switzerland, from the Daffodil Festival, a flower festival held every two years since the end of the 19th century (1897), took place under its auspices the year in honor of the return of spring.^[16][17] On the same day, at 19:00 Central European time, a broadcast was organized from the Vatican — a visit to the Apostolic Palace (Sixtus V Palace) and St. Peter's Cathedral, which ended with a sermon by Pope Pius XII on television and a blessing in six languages.^[18][16]

In 1956, the Eurovision Song Contest was first held, broadcast in 10 European countries.^[19] An important event was the coverage of the first Olympic Games for the network, the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo. During the 13 days of the Games, more than 54 programs were broadcast on the network with the participation of the main broadcaster, the Italian RAI. During the Olympic exchange, Eastern European broadcasters from the GDR and Czechoslovakia temporarily joined the network for the first time. The landmark events broadcast on the network in 1956 also include the wedding of Prince Rainier II and Grace Kelly, broadcast with the participation of the Monaco RMC, and the broadcast of the Tour de France cycling race on the continental air.^[20]

In 1958, the first news exchange was carried out between EBU member broadcasters through live broadcasts from the Vatican dedicated to the death of Pope Pius XII.^[19] At the same time, in October 1958, test news exchanges were conducted with the involvement of five EBU member broadcasters. In 1959, repeated test exchanges took place, and the number of test participants increased to seven. On May 29, 1961, the news content exchange "Eurovision News" began its work in the format of a daily feed under the name "EVN-1". At 5 p.m. Central European time, the participants of the exchange transmitted news and sports materials, the possibility of using which was then discussed at a radio conference under the direction of a news coordinator from the European Broadcasting Union. At the same time, if possible, the video materials had to be transmitted without voiceover and without the presence of reporters in the frame, and their brief text description was transmitted via telex.^[21]

By 1964, 21 EBU members were involved in the exchange of news, transmitting and accepting 1,134 pieces of content. On January 1, 1968, at 6:30 p.m. Central European time, a new exchange channel "EVN-2" was opened, used to transmit color television broadcasting materials. In 1974, the exchange volume amounted to 5,000 pieces of content, and the number of exchange channels reached three - "EVN-0" was added.^[21] In the early years of the Eurovision network, up to 55 percent of the content transmitted on it was sports broadcasts., but with the deployment of the news exchange, the share of news and current content has displaced sports content, taking up 60 percent of the total amount of material transmitted over the network.^[20] By 1995, the number of exchange channels had reached nine.^[21]

In 1967, the first concert in the International Concert Season of the European Broadcasting Union was broadcast from the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London.^[22]

In 1989, the Euroradio exchange system was launched. The purpose of the launch was to "ensure the international exchange of high-quality digital audio programs". In 1994, the exchange of radio programs in digital quality began through the ERC (Eurovision Radio Center) control center located in Geneva, Switzerland.^[23]

The growing deregulation of national media systems has enormously changed the media landscape in Europe. Faced with growing competition and interest in membership from commercial broadcasters in most European countries, in 1990 the EBU emphasized its status as an organization of public broadcasters in its Marina Charter. Although its television broadcasts were previously based on free data exchange systems between active participants, the EBU commercialized its activities (Eurovision Network Services) and began selling broadcast rights to broadcasters outside the Union in 1994.^[23]

In 2021, the digital news service "European Perspective" was launched, designed to offer citizens multilingual coverage of major events, based on content created by 12 public media outlets distributed in the format of a joint online feed, using automatic tools for personalized recommendations of the EBU "PEACH" content, filters to identify the most interesting topics, and a news translation tool. translated into foreign languages by EuroVOX. In the first 8 months of the project's existence, 6.5 thousand articles were published.^[24]

In 2022, the Eurovision Documentary Development Scheme (EDDS) program was launched in order to organize the joint production of documentaries and TV series, which was joined by 27 broadcasters from 15 countries.^[25]

In April 2025, the EBU, in partnership with its Members, launched Eurovision News Spotlight, a collaborative network for fact-checking and open-source intelligence (OSINT) to actively combat online falsehoods and misinformation across Europe.^[26]

The objective of the EBU's technical activities is simply to assist EBU Members (see below) in this period of unprecedented technological changes. This includes the provision of technical information to Members via conferences and workshops, as well as in written form (such as the EBU Technical Review, and the EBU tech-i magazine).

The EBU also encourages active collaboration between its Members on the basis that they can freely share their knowledge and experience, thus achieving considerably more than individual Members could achieve by themselves. Much of this collaboration is achieved through Project Groups which study specific technical issues of common interest: for example, EBU Members have long been preparing for the revision of the 1961 Stockholm Plan.

The EBU places great emphasis on the use of open standards. Widespread use of open standards (such as MPEG-2, DAB, DVB, etc.) ensures interoperability between products from different vendors, as well as facilitating the exchange of programme material between EBU Members and promoting "horizontal markets" for the benefit of all consumers.

EBU Members and the EBU Technical Department have long played an important role in the development of many systems used in radio and television broadcasting, such as:

• The AES/EBU digital audio interface, formally known as AES3;
• Serial and parallel interfaces for digital video (ITU-R Recommendations 601 and 656);
• RDS – the radio data system used on FM broadcasting.
• The EBU Loudness Recommendation R 128 and 'EBU Mode' meters (EBU Tech 3341)

The EBU has also actively encouraged the development and implementation of:

• Digital radio (DAB) through Eureka Project 147 and the WorldDAB Forum.
• DVB (Digital Video Broadcasting) through the DVB Project and DigiTAG.
• Digital radio in the bands currently used for AM broadcasting through Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM).
• Standardisation of PVR systems through the TV-Anytime Forum.
• Development of other content distribution networks on the internet through P2PTV; EBU Project Group D/P2P, from November 2007 to April 2008, with a trial of selected member channels, thanks to Octoshape's distribution platform.^[27] The EBU is also part of the European P2P-Next project.

The highest body is the General Assembly, the General Assembly, consisting of representatives of member organizations. The General Assembly has all the powers necessary to achieve the objectives of the EBU, as well as the inherent powers to oversee all other bodies of the union. It is authorized to resolve issues of approving the organization's budget for the next financial year, determining the amount of membership fees and other mandatory payments, forming the Executive Committee, electing senior officials of the union, admitting, suspending or expelling broadcasting organizations from membership in the union, and other issues stipulated by the EBU charter, as well as those eligible for inclusion on the agenda. on the recommendation of the Executive Committee.^[28]

Since 2007, the General Assembly has been meeting twice a year^[29], for a summer session (usually in late June or early July) and a winter session (usually in late November or early December).^[30] The summer session is open to EBU member and associates^[28] and is held on the territory of one of the union's members^[30], while it is allowed to hold part of the session in closed mode only in the presence of union members.The winter session is open only to member organizations^[28] and is held in Geneva.^[30] By decision of the EBU President, external experts or observers may be invited to the General Assembly session to participate in individual meetings (for example, RTK, the Kosovo broadcasting organization, for the 2023 winter session)^[31] The General Assembly may be convened for an extraordinary session, which may be attended only by EBU members.^[28]

An executive committee, elected by the General Assembly, functions on a permanent basis between the general meetings.The Executive Committee is formed in order to assume responsibility under the supervision of the General Assembly for the implementation of the objectives of the European Broadcasting Union, either directly or through the competent authorities or permanent services of the EBU. To this end, the Executive Committee has a wide range of powers: it submits recommendations to the General Assembly on the EBU development strategy, on the inclusion, suspension and exclusion of broadcasting organizations from the union, on the structure and number of relevant committees, submits five-year strategic and budgetary plans, appoints the Director General on the proposal of the EBU President and independently decides on the termination of his powers, regulates the criteria for membership in the EBU, has the right to single-handedly apply sanctions, up to a ban on participation in certain events and meetings., including participation in the Eurovision television exchange and Euroradio radio exchange systems, and a ban on the nomination of broadcaster officials to the EBU governing bodies (but does not have the right to prohibit a member's participation in the General Assembly), and exercises other powers provided for in the EBU charter.^[28]

In its modern form, the Executive Committee has existed since January 1, 2008, having emerged by combining two governing bodies - the Administrative Council (endowed with executive functions since 1950) and the President - into a single executive body.^[29] The Executive Committee consists of 11 members elected from the EBU member delegations. The Executive Committee is formed taking into account the mandatory presence of representatives of the "main participants" of the EBU, but should also reflect geographical and cultural diversity. The Executive Committee is elected for a two-year term and holds approximately seven meetings per year.^[28]

For the period 2025-2026, the Executive Committee is composed of^[32][33]:

Five EBU bodies are directly accountable to the Executive Committee: the Audit Committee and the Human Resources Committee, which are composed of the members of the Executive Committee themselves, two expert groups — the statutory (legal) group and the financial group, and the Sports Investment Council, which reports to the Executive Committee only on the acquisition of sports rights for specific projects.^[32]

The top officials are the President and the Director General . The President of the EBU exercises general management of the Union and controls its activities, chairs and moderates meetings of the General Assembly and the Executive Committee, and is ex officio a member of the Executive Committee with the right to assign assignments to committee members. Since January 1, 2021, Delphine Ernotte Cunci (France) has been acting as President of the EBU.^[34] In case of absence or incapacity of the President, his powers are exercised by the Vice President. Since November 30, 2023, the powers of the EBU Vice-President have been performed by Cilla Benkö Lamborn (Sweden).^[35]

The Director General of the EBU manages the permanent services of the European Broadcasting Union. The permanent services of the EBU are designed to ensure the practical implementation of the objectives of the union under the guidance of the competent authorities of the EBU, namely, advising the bodies of the EBU, broadcasting member organizations and partners, projects and the implementation of operational activities.^[28] Since September 2017, the powers of the Director General of the EBU have been exercised by Noel Curran (Ireland).^[36]

The main office of the EBU is located in Geneva (Since 1950, the office has been located at Rue de Varembé 1, from 1978 to the present — at L'Ancienne-Route 17A).^[37] Additional offices and representative offices operate in Brussels, New York, Rome, Moscow and Washington.^[38] The EBU Technical Center is also located in Geneva.^[37]

On 11 June 2013, the Greek government shut down the state broadcaster Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) on short notice, citing government spending concerns related to the Euro area crisis.^[39] In response, the EBU set up a makeshift studio the same day near the former ERT offices in Athens in order to continue providing EBU members with the news-gathering and broadcast relay services which had formerly been provided by ERT.^[40] The EBU put out a statement expressing its "profound dismay" at the shutdown, urging the Greek Prime Minister "to use all his powers to immediately reverse this decision" and offered the "advice, assistance and expertise necessary for ERT to be preserved".^[41] Starting on 4 May 2014, the new state broadcaster New Hellenic Radio, Internet and Television (NERIT) began nationwide transmissions, taking over ERT's vacant active membership slot in the EBU.^[42] On 11 June 2015, two years after ERT's closure, NERIT was renamed as Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT),^[43][44] which reopened with a comprehensive program in all radio stations (with nineteen regional, two world-range and five pan-Hellenic range radio stations) and three TV channels ERT1, ERT2 and ERT3.

The Belarusian Television and Radio Company (BTRC) has been accused of repressing its own employees, having fired more than 100 people since a wave of anti-Lukashenko protests in 2020 following alleged election fraud. Many of them have also been jailed. Many voices have been raised against the participation of BTRC in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 representing Belarus, the argument being that the EBU would make a political statement if it did endorse BTRC by essentially and silently saying that democracy is unimportant and so are basic human rights such as freedom of speech.^[45]

On 28 May 2021, the EBU suspended the BTRC's membership as they had been "particularly alarmed by the broadcast of interviews apparently obtained under duress". BTRC was given two weeks to respond before the suspension came into effect, but did not do so publicly.^[46] The suspension of the broadcaster was made effective on 1 July 2021.^[47][48] Although initial reports mentioned that it would expire after three years, in April 2024 the EBU confirmed that the suspension had been made indefinite.^[49]

The three Russian members of the EBU, Channel One Russia, VGTRK, and Radio Dom Ostankino are all controlled by the Russian government.^[50] On 21 February 2022, the Russian government recognized the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, disputed territories that are internationally recognized as part of Ukraine. Ukraine's public broadcaster Suspilne called on the EBU to terminate the membership of Channel One Russia and VGTRK, and to consider preventing them from participating in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 representing Russia, citing the Russian government's use of both outlets to spread disinformation surrounding the Russo-Ukrainian war.^[51] Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, several other public broadcasters joined UA:PBC in calling for Russia's exclusion from the 2022 Contest; Finland's Yle and Estonia's ERR stated that they would not send a representative if Russia was allowed to participate.^[52][53] After initially stating that both Russia and Ukraine would be allowed to compete,^[54] the EBU announced on 25 February 2022 that it would ban Russia from participating in the Contest.^[55]

The three Russian broadcasters announced, via a statement released by Russian state media, that they would withdraw from the EBU on 26 February, citing increased politicization of the organization.^[56] The EBU released a statement saying that it was aware of the reports, but that it had not received any formal confirmation.^[57] On 1 March, a further statement from the EBU announced that it had suspended its Russian members from its governance structures.^[58] On 26 May, the EBU made effective the suspension of its Russian members indefinitely.^[59][60]

In 2023, an extensive investigation by the EBU Investigative Journalism Network uncovered evidence of a Kremlin-sponsored initiative to take Ukrainian children from the war-torn country to Russia, a war crime under international law.^[61]

The Gaza war has led to calls for the EBU to exclude Israel and its broadcaster Kan from the Eurovision Song Contest, and demonstrations against its participation took place in 2024 and 2025.^{[62][63][64][65]}

The Charter of the European Broadcasting Union provides for two main forms of participation in the activities of the EBU:^[28]

• membership (called "active membership" until December 3, 2015)
• partnership (associate) (called "associate membership" until December 3, 2015)^[66]

The members of the EBU are broadcasting organizations or groups of broadcasting organizations that meet all the technical and legal criteria for membership^[67] and operate on the territory of the member States of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) located in the European Broadcasting Area (EBA), or in a member state of the Council of Europe located outside the EBA.^[28]

The general conditions for a broadcasting organization to obtain membership in the EBU are:

• the broadcasting organization has the function of carrying out public broadcasting. This function should be fixed in the law on the broadcasting organization, its charter or in any other legal way.
• provision of broadcasting services of a national nature and importance by a broadcasting organization with the permission of the competent authorities. The concept of "national character and importance" is revealed in the detailed membership criteria.
• the broadcasting organization provides diverse and balanced programs for all segments of the population, including programs that take into account the special interests of various segments of the population and minorities.
• the broadcasting organization produces and/or orders a significant part of the programs at its own expense and under its own editorial control.
• virtually all households in the country from which the broadcasting organization originates are able to receive all major radio or television programs in full with satisfactory technical quality.
• the broadcasting organization is not affiliated with an agency that competes with the European Broadcasting Union in the field of acquiring rights to broadcast sports events.
• a broadcasting organization can demonstrate its ability to fulfill its membership obligations (act to achieve the statutory goals of the EBU, actively contribute to the exchange of television and radio broadcasts, as well as to events held by the EBU; respect the spirit of solidarity and integrity towards the EBU, its activities and its members, including compliance with the EBU Charter and Rules and its contractual obligations imposed on behalf of its members; to refrain from actions that may harm public broadcasting organizations or are incompatible with the objectives of the EBU; to provide the necessary documentation or information necessary to establish the compliance of the broadcasting organization's activities with its obligations under membership in the EBU).^[28]

A broadcasting organization is accepted as a member of the EBU on the basis of a decision of the General Assembly, adopted by an absolute majority of votes on the issue that a candidate meets all the conditions of membership, based on proposals from the Executive Board.^[28]

EBU members receive the right to access Eurovision television content exchange networks and Euroradio radio content exchange networks.^[28]

Starting from December 4, 2024, the EBU provides for a special type of membership - an international member. This status is available to broadcasting organizations (or groups of such organizations) engaged in pan-European or transnational activities that are coordinated and/or funded by at least two EBU member organizations. At the same time, such an organization should actively contribute to achieving the goals of the EBU and respecting its values, as well as carry out broadcasting activities that complement the offerings of its founding broadcasters with a wide range of programs, namely materials about culture, fiction, documentaries, news and reviews of current events. (Article 3.6a of the new edition of the EBU Charter).^[28] Since January 1, 2025, the French-German broadcasting organization ARTE has become the first international member of the EBU, broadcasting documentaries, feature films and news programs.^[68][69]

As of June 2024, the list of EBU members comprises the following 75 broadcasting companies from 56 countries.^[2]

In accordance with paragraph 5.13 of the EBU Charter, in the event that, due to exceptional circumstances, an EBU Member or Associate is in the process of reorganization or in another state of structural change, is being replaced or has been completely/partially replaced by another organization or does not fully comply with the terms of participation in the EBU, the Executive Board may, at its discretion, make an interim decision which allows you to continue or suspend the membership status of such a member.^[28]

In case of suspension of membership status, an EBU Member or Associate is not entitled to vote at EBU meetings under certain conditions, and his obligation to pay membership fees and subscriptions is temporarily terminated. During the suspension, cooperation with the EBU regarding the provision of services (for example, sports or informational content) is carried out on a contractual basis. The suspension decision is valid until the next session of the EBU General Assembly, however, the Assembly is authorized to extend the suspension of a participant for any period of time deemed appropriate.^[28]

It is not possible to participate in EBU events (for example, the Eurovision Song Contest) during the suspension.^[70]

The decision to suspend BTRC's membership was made by the EBU Executive Board at a meeting on May 28, 2021. In a statement posted on the official website on the same day, it was reported that the Belarusian broadcaster has two weeks to provide explanations before the suspension takes effect.^[72] At the end of the 86th EBU General Assembly, which confirmed the earlier decision of the Executive Board, the suspension came into force on July 1, 2021.^[73] In an interview with the Belarus Today website published on July 1, 2021, BTRK CEO Ivan Eismont said that "for now, we are talking about putting our relations on pause for three years."^[74] At the same time, there is no information about the timing of the suspension in the official public statements of the European Broadcasting Union. On April 23, 2024, information appeared about the position of the European Broadcasting Union regarding BTRK, set out in a response to the ESC Discord service, according to which the suspension of the broadcaster is indefinite.^[75]

The decision to suspend the membership of Russian broadcasters was taken by the EBU Executive Board at a meeting on May 26, 2022, entered into force immediately, is indefinite and subject to periodic review.^[70]

Any group or organisation from an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) member country, which provides a radio or television service outside of the European Broadcasting Area, is permitted to submit applications to the EBU for Associate Membership.^[82]

It is also noted by the EBU that any broadcaster that is granted Associate Member status does not gain access into Eurovision events^[3] – notable exceptions being those from Australia, who have participated in the Eurovision Song Contest since 2015 and the Junior Eurovision Song Contest between 2015 and 2019; Canada, who participated in the Eurovision Young Dancers between 1987 and 1989; and Kazakhstan, who participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest between 2018 and 2022 – all of which were individually invited.

The decision on the usefulness of a broadcasting organization as an EBU Associate is made by the EBU General Assembly solely at its discretion, taking into account the recommendation of the EBU Executive Board. In turn, the Executive Board is required to verify the compliance of the EBU Associate with their status every five years.^[28]

EBU Associates can access Eurovision television content exchange networks and Euroradio radio content exchange networks on a contractual basis. The terms of the agreement are reviewed annually by the EBU Executive Board. Associates have the right to receive documentation and attend events related to the EBU Summer General Assembly, as well as thematic assemblies in the sectors of Radio, Television, Legal and Public Relations, Technical and International Broadcasting.^[28]

The list of Associate Members of EBU comprised the following 28 broadcasting companies from 18 countries as of March 2026.^[3]

The list of past associate members of EBU comprises the following 97 broadcasting companies from 55 countries and 1 autonomous territory.^{[83][84][85][86][87][88][89][90][91][92][93][94][95][96]}

Any groups or organisations from a country with International Telecommunication Union (ITU) membership, which does not qualify for either the EBU's Active or Associate memberships, but still provide a broadcasting activity for the EBU, are granted a unique Approved Participants membership, which lasts approximately five years. An application for this status may be submitted to the EBU at any given time, providing an annual fee is paid.^[97]

The following eight EBU broadcast members had status as Approved Participants in November 2024.^[98]

The following members previously had status as Approved Participants.^[84][83]

The EBU in co-operation with the respective host broadcaster organises competitions and events in which its members can participate if they wish to do so. These include:

The Eurovision Song Contest (French: Concours Eurovision de la chanson)^[99] is an annual international song competition between EBU members, that was first held in Lugano, Switzerland, on 24 May 1956. Seven countries participated – each submitting two songs, for a total of 14. This was the only contest in which more than one song per country was performed: since 1957, all contests have allowed one entry per country. The 1956 contest was won by the host nation, Switzerland.^[100] The winner of the most recent contest, which took place in Basel, Switzerland, is Austria.

Let the Peoples Sing is a biennial choir competition, the participants of which are chosen from radio recordings entered by EBU radio members. The final, encompassing three categories and around ten choirs, is offered as a live broadcast to all EBU members. The overall winner is awarded the Silver Rose Bowl. The first winner was Glasgow Phoenix Choir, conducted by their Chorus Master Peter Mooney, from Scotland in the 1961 competition that was held in London. The most recent winner is Copenhagen Girls Choir from Denmark, conducted by Anne-Terese Sales, in the 2024 competition that was held in London.

Jeux sans frontières (English: Games Without Borders, lit. 'Games Without Frontiers') was a Europe-wide television game show. In its original conception, it was broadcast from 1965 to 1999 under the auspices of the EBU. In 1980, at the peak of its popularity, the game show attracted an audience of 110 million viewers across Europe.^[101] The original series' run ended in 1982, but was revived in 1988 with a different composition of nations and was hosted by smaller broadcasters.

Eurovision Young Musicians is a competition for European musicians that are between the ages of 12 and 21 years old. It is organised by the EBU and is a member of EMCY. The first competition was held in Manchester, United Kingdom on 11 May 1982. The televised competition is held every other year, with some countries holding national finals. Since its inaugural edition in 1982, it has become one of the most important music competitions on an international level. The winner of the most recent contest, which took place in Bodø Municipality, Norway, is Austria.

Eurovision Young Dancers was a biennial dance showcase broadcast on television throughout Europe. The inaugural competition was held in Reggio Emilia, Italy on 16 June 1985. It uses a format similar to the Eurovision Song Contest. Every participating country has the opportunity to send a dance act to compete for the title of Eurovision Young Dancer. The competition is for solo dancers, and all contestants must be between the ages of 16 and 21, and not professionally engaged. The winner of the most recent contest, which took place in Prague, Czech Republic, is Poland.

Euroclassic Notturno is a six-hour sequence of classical music recordings, assembled by BBC Radio from material supplied by EBU members and streamed back to those broadcasters by satellite for use in their overnight classical-music schedules. The recordings used are taken not from commercial CDs, but from earlier (usually live) radio broadcasts.^[102][103]

The Junior Eurovision Song Contest (French: Concours Eurovision de la Chanson Junior)^[104] is an annual international song competition that was first held in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 15 November 2003. Sixteen countries participated in the inaugural edition, with each submitting one song. The inaugural contest was won by Croatia. The winner of the most recent contest, which took place in Tbilisi, Georgia is France.^[105](2026)

The Eurovision Dance Contest (not to be confused with Eurovision Young Dancers) was an international dancing competition that was held for the first time in London, United Kingdom, on 1 September 2007. The inaugural contest was won by Finland. The competition was repeated in 2008 when it was held in Glasgow, United Kingdom, but has not been held since. The winner of the most recent contest is Poland.

The Magic Circus Show was an entertainment show organised by the EBU, which took place in 2010, 2011 and 2012 in Geneva, Switzerland. Children aged between 7–14 representing eight countries within the EBU membership area performed a variety of circus acts at the Geneva Christmas Circus (French: Cirque de Noël Genève). The main show was also accompanied by the Magic Circus Show Orchestra.^[106]

The inaugural Eurovision Choir, featuring non-professional choirs selected by EBU members, took place on 22 July 2017 in Riga, Latvia, hosted by the Latvian broadcaster Latvijas Televīzija (LTV). Nine countries took part in the first edition. Carmen Manet from Slovenia was the first winner and the winner of the most recent contest, which took place in Gothenburg, Sweden, was Vocal Line from Denmark.

The European Sports Championships is a multi-sport event involving some of the leading sports in Europe. The European Governing Bodies for athletics, aquatics, cycling, rowing, golf, gymnastics and triathlon, coordinated their individual championships as part of the first edition^[107] in the summer of 2018, hosted by the cities of Berlin, Germany (already chosen as the host for the 2018 European Athletics Championships) and Glasgow, United Kingdom (already chosen as the host for the 2018 European Aquatics Championships, and which concurrently also hosted the events of the other sports).^[108][109]

The EBU first covered the Olympic Games in 1956, and has historically acquired broadcasting rights on behalf of its members.^[110] The amount paid by the EBU steadily increased over time, paying US$22 million for broadcasting rights for Los Angeles 1984, US$240 million for Atlanta 1996,^[111] US$394 million for Athens 2004^[112] and US$746million for Vancouver 2010 and London 2012.^[113]

In 2008, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to negotiate individually with broadcasters for rights to the 2014-2016 Olympic Games – as the EBU had not "offered enough money".^[114][115] The IOC subsequently signed individual deals with broadcasters in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Turkey and the UK, selling the remainder of the broadcasting rights to Sportfive for US$315 million.^[116] Despite an attempt by the EBU to purchase broadcasting rights for the 2018-2024 Olympic Games, the IOC awarded a contract to Discovery Communications in June 2015.^[117][118] The EBU criticised the decision, stating that it shows a "shift in the IOC’s positioning of the Olympic Games as a free-to-air event that reached all of the European television audience – to a pay event with minimum free-to-air obligations".^[119]

In January 2023, the IOC announced that a joint bid from the EBU and Warner Bros. Discovery had been awarded rights for all Olympic Games from the 2026 Winter Olympics to the 2032 Summer Olympics. The joint bid follows criticism of the 2015 deal to award European television rights to Discovery.^[120] Each EBU member will broadcast at least 200 hours of coverage of the Summer Olympics and at least 100 hours of the Winter Olympics, whereas Warner Bros. Discovery will have unlimited rights.^[121][122]

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• Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union
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• Commonwealth Press Union
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• International Telecommunication Union
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• Organización de Telecomunicaciones de Iberoamérica
• Public Broadcasting System

• Media related to European Broadcasting Union at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website