Common Broadcasting Union
| Abbreviation | CBU |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1960 |
| Type | Union of broadcasting organisations |
| Headquarters | Potenza, Cacerta |
Membership | 11 member organisations |
Official language | |
Parent organization | Common Sphere |
The Common Broadcasting Union (CBU) is an alliance of public broadcasters composed of Common Sphere members. It was established in 1960.
It promotes regional and international cooperation between broadcasters within the CS, and provides a forum for promoting the collective development of broadcasting within the CS.
History
The CBU was founded in 1960, at the initiative of Cacerta, whose Prime Minister at the time championed the cause of CS integration and advanced the project as a priority undertaking.
In the early years, the Cacertian Broadcasting Corporation had a leading role due to its financial, technical, and staff input, while the Gylian National Broadcasting Service established a role in advancing experimental and radical ideas.
The CBU played a significant role in developing public broadcasting among CS members, and fostering closer collaborations between broadcasters. It was established in an era of broad consensus that privileged public broadcasting over commercial broadcasting — member organisations had monopolies on domestic terrestrial broadcasting, were free-to-air, and generally funded from a mix of television licenses and government grants.
The CBU invested heavily in building up members' telecommunications infrastructure in the 1980s, notably in expanding access to cable television and using a CS-wide space program that launched broadcast satellites. It established several pan-CS cable and satellite channels in the 1980s, which became highly popular.
However, the 1980s were also an era of the old consensus fraying, leading at times to heated debates that slowed down operations. Both Delkora and Akashi abolished their public broadcast monopolies, but the Lars af Vellarand government argued for commercialising the pan-CS channels to reduce the cost of maintenance, which the Ran Tsukuda government opposed in favour of keeping the strict non-commercial public interest mandate.
Since the 1990s, the CBU adapted to the rapid growth of the Internet and personal computing, assisting member organisations with setting up digital distribution and digital preservation services, and planning and completing their digital switchover.
Overview
CBU member organisations are public broadcasters, established by law as non-partisan, independent, and in the public interest. Membership is for media organisations within the Common Sphere.
Its activities include:
- co-production and exchange of programmes
- negotiating rights for major sports events and organising coverage
- representing members in international forums
- international frequency planning and coordination
- technology sharing and strategic guidance
- technical coordination and formation of unified standards
- protection of technological sovereignty
The CBU's highest-profile productions are its CS-wide cable/satellite channels and international co-productions such as the game show Jeux sans frontières.
Members
| Country | Broadcasting organisation | Abbr |
|---|---|---|
 Akashi
|
Akashi Kōkyō Hōsō | AKH |
 Cacerta
|
Cacertian Broadcasting Corporation | CBC |
 Delkora
|
Delkoran Broadcasting Service | DBS |
 Gylias
|
Gylian National Broadcasting Service | GNBS |
 Kirisaki
|
Kirisaki Broadcasting Corporation | KHK |
 Lirinya
|
||
 Megelan
|
Circuito Televisivo Nazionale | CTN |
 Schottia
|
Schottian Broadcasting Corporation | SBC |
 Tennai
|
புலி ஒளிபரப்பு (Tiger Broadcasting) | PO |
Additionally, the public broadcasters of Allamunnika and Ruvelka are associate members.
Channels
The CBU operates several pan-CS cable and satellite television channels, based on the principle of each member contributing segments and programmes to a broadcasting pool.
The channels broadcast on a 24-hour schedule with no commercials, and subtitle tracks in English and French. As CS-wide channels, they are exempted from member states' cultural protection policies and quotas.
Commonvision
Commonvision is a satellite-based exchange of news feeds from CBU broadcasters.
Viva
Viva is a channel that emphasises cultural and artistic programming. Each broadcaster contributes programmes, segments, and idents.
Well-known programmes include Jeux sans frontières, Just Say Julie, and the animation showcase Liquid Television.
CBU Sport
CBU Sport is a sports channel.
MTV
MTV (short for Music Television) is a music channel. Launched on 1 September 1981, it plays music videos from CS acts. It has no programmes, but instead occasional themed blocks by genre. The only on-screen graphics, shown at the beginning and end of videos, are a lower third listing of the artist, song title, parent release, and record label accompanied by respective country flag, all written in the Kabel typeface.
In order to ensure equality between the amount of videos originating from each country, the channel notably adopted the Gylian practice of spin quotas, programming music videos on a 24-hour basis without repeating.
During its early years, Gylian acts featured heavily on the channel as they had already been accustomed to making music videos before, leading to jokes about a renewed Gylian Invasion.
MTV is the CBU's best-known channel and the one that had the greatest impact on Tyranian pop culture as a whole. It helped cement music videos as both a promotional element and an art form in themselves. It is famous for showcasing obscure and emerging artists alongside established ones, and playful programming choices that made it prestigious within the music industry.