| MUMBAI:
Maintaining competitiveness and universality will be the key issue for public
service broadcasters as terrestrial broadcasting loses its audience share and
media influence to emerging media. This was the message that
Min Eun-Kyung, executive director of international relations for KBS-Korea, had
for delegates to the annual Public Broadcasting International which opened in
Maputo, Mozambique, on Thursday.
“Amidst the countless number of
channels, platforms and content, keeping the identity of public service broadcasting
will become increasingly challenging,” Min has been quoted as saying in a
report put out on the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) website.
“The digital revolution
will create room for critical voices about the function and role of public service
broadcasting,” Min added.
Min said that public service broadcasting
was an essential societal institution in the service of cultural diversity and
media pluralism. “We must make every possible effort to remind our viewers
of the value of public service broadcasting and every possible effort to keep
our function and identity in the future,” she explained.
Finance is another
key issue for public service broadcasters, according to Min. She said that having
a stable financial structure is necessary to make progress in the multimedia environment,
remain competitive, and to gain independence from political and commercial influences.
“More importantly, a stable financial system is the only way to fulfill
public service broadcasting missions in a highly competitive digital media environment,”
she added. “Expanding services to multiple platforms is a high-cost
business and without a desirable financing model, newly launched media services
would have to charge a fee.” | 
