How to measure communication and media in the digital converging era?

Workshop organised by the OECD, EBU and the European Audiovisual Observatory
in the framework of the Internet Governance Forum (Vilnius, 15 September 2010).
The workshop will take place in room 5 of the Lithuanian Exhibition Centre LITEXPO in Vilnius between 4.30 and 6.30 PM and will be webcast live on the website of the IGF: http://www.intgovforum.org

The objective of the workshop is to raise the awareness of the problems in measuring the impact of the Internet on the audiovisual industry. The development of broadband has made possible the rapid development of web TV, VoD, catch-up TV, video sharing and non authorized file sharing, but it is still difficult to provide coherent statistics on the level of equipment, new consumer practices, the importance of new services in media companies’ investments and revenues. The workshop will focus on two introductory reports (by experts from the OECD and the European Audiovisual Observatory) as well as a survey from the EBU. A discussion panel involving experts and representatives from of the civil society will also take place.

Chairman : Ismo Silvo, Director, YLE (Finland)
Introductory reports
Frédéric Bourassa, OECD Statistician on Communications indicators, telecommunications, Internet, ICT and trade in ICT goods and services statistics: Defining an international framework for measuring the development of networks and consumers’ audiovisual equipment and practices.
André Lange, Head of Department for Information on Markets and Financing, European Audiovisual Observatory: Measuring the economic impact of convergence on the audiovisual sector
Panel
Alexander Shulzycki, Head of EBU-SIS: The challenge of monitoring convergence for public media organisations.
Jeroen Verspeek, Head of Audience Research, NPO, (Netherlands): The future of audience measurement from the point of view of public media organizations
Prof. Antonio Granados, Universidad Nova de Lisboa (Portugal): Is it possible to measure the impact of convergence on the quality of information?
Preben Sørensen, President of EURALVA, The viewers’ point of view.
About the organisers
OECD brings together the governments of countries committed to democracy and the market economy from around the world to support sustainable economic growth, boost employment, raise living standards, maintain financial stability, assist other countries' economic development, contribute to growth in world trade. The Organisation provides a setting where governments compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practice and coordinate domestic and international policies. http://www.oecd.org
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is the largest association of national broadcasters in the world. It promotes cooperation between broadcasters and facilitates the exchange of audiovisual content. The EBU works to ensure that the crucial role of public service broadcasters is recognised and taken into consideration by decision-makers: http://www.ebu.ch. EBU participates in the activities of the IGF on behalf of the WBU - World Broadcasting Unions.
The European Audiovisual Observatory a European public service body comprised of 36 member states and the European Community, represented by the European Commission. Its mission is to gather and diffuse information on the audiovisual industry in Europe. The Observatory operates within the legal framework of the Council of Europe and works alongside a number of partner and professional organisations from within the industry and with a network of correspondents. In addition to contributions to conferences, other major activities are the publication of a Yearbook, newsletters and reports, the compilation and management of databases and the provision of information through the Observatory’s Internet site: http://www.obs.coe.int.

Contacts:
• For the EBU: in Geneva, Avril Mahon Roberts - mahon@ebu.ch; in Vilnius, Giacomo Mazzone - mazzone@ebu.ch
• For the OECD: Frédéric Bourassa - frederic.bourassa@oecd.org
• For the European Audiovisual Observatory: Alison Hindhaugh - alison.hindhaugh@coe.int