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ACT and egta – joined in 2013 by
the European Broadcasting Union
(EBU) and supported by the United
Nations Regional Information Centre
for Europe (UNRIC) – have continued
to celebrate World Television Day
each year. The initiative expanded
its reach dramatically in 2013 with
the production and widespread
broadcast distribution of a video
spot. This allowed the television
industry to tell its story through
its own content, highlighting the
medium’s extraordinary capacity to
entertain, engage, inform and move
audiences at unrivalled scale.
The spots, which were produced in
2013, 2014 and 2015, each with
a different focus and messaging,
offer broadcasters a flexible and low
cost way to promote their medium.
Adapted for local language and other
considerations, they have allowed
the international television industry
to speak with one voice, amplifying
the positive messages about TV’s
past, present and exciting future.
Leading European broadcasters
aired the spots on World Television
Day, reaching an audience of millions
of viewers across the continent.
While the 2013 edition highlighted
television’s crucial role to inform,
educate and entertain, 2014’s clip
was all about the shared experience
of TV. The 2015 campaign was
centred on the enduring appeal
of television to younger viewers,
combining the video clip with a
wealth of research and data about
the evolving way this group accesses
TV content. The campaign offered an
opportunity tocounter the inaccurate
perception that television is of
declining interest for young people,
highlighting the more complex
viewing behaviours of this audience
and the imperative to develop more
advanced measurement techniques
to account for new devices and ways
of consuming content.
A s u c c e s s f u l a n d
e v o l v i n g a d v o c a c y
p r o j e c t
The World Television Day initiative
has received impressive support
from broadcasters, with the clips
reaching millions of people around
the world through their television
sets. The website acts as a
valuable resource for the industry,
providing a library of research and
other inspiration about television’s
strengths.
Many of egta and ACT’s member
organisation
have
embraced
World Television Day, using their
own communication platforms to
promote the medium. In addition to
airing the spots, broadcasters and
sales houses have made full use of
social media – #WeLoveTV – and
their own websites to spread the
message, with numerous articles
appearing in the trade and general
press. Some have held televised
debates and discussions, and the
most imaginative ideas include
World Television Day branded
chocolate bars in South Africa and a
special coffee truck installed outside
one Belgian broadcaster’s premises
to give the company’s employees
and visitors free beverages for the
day.
The campaign will continue in 2016,
with a new spot that will thank
viewers for watching television –
on whatever platform or device
they choose – and a compilation of
research materials that prove TV’s
enduring strength. The objectives
for the next edition also include
support for the UN’s Sustainable
Development Goals.