Are PSBs playing MySpace invaders?

Public service broadcasters around Europe are revamping their websites with blogs, podcasts and a greater emphasis on online communities. The BBC's Creative Futures strategy and NRK's My Podcast Producer are just two examples of how broadcasters are trying to reach out to the millions of younger people who hardly ever watch TV, or listen to public service radio.

It is a high risk strategy. Commercial rivals have accused the PSBs of distorting the market by launching services that overlap with what is already on offer. The other main concern is that as PSBs use more personalised content from their audience, it becomes harder to distinguish their websites from those of commercial media companies, such as Rupert Murdoch's MySpace.com.

Furthermore, there may be a funding issue as some analysts question the fairness of a system based on licence fees when more content becomes available without the need to possess a TV set.

Meanwhile, back in Geneva, there is a debate within the EBU about whether the growing importance of the Web needs to be reflected somehow in the organizational structure. The permanent services currently rest on the twin pillars of the Radio and TV Departments, with the Technical and Legal Departments providing specialist support.

"New media" issues that fall into neither, or both the Radio and TV camps, are coordinated by interdisciplinary committees. The arguments against creating a third pillar are based on cost and the feeling, expressed in the words of one director, that online media is simply too interesting to give up to a new department.