There are 12,664 audiovisual media services available in Europe. 9,349 of these, or almost three quarters of them, are television services, while there are 3,315 available on demand. Three out of ten television channels are available on terrestrial television.
These figures are from the European Audiovisual Observatory MAVISE database, as of the end of 2022. The wider definition of Europe extends to the 27 countries in the European Union and other countries including Norway, Switzerland, Türkiye, and the United Kingdom.
Among television channels, 45% are mixed genre, with the rest being thematic, led by sport with 9%, general entertainment at 8%, and film and television fiction at 7%.
Local and regional television makes up 43% of the overall number of channels in Europe. Italy has the most, with 681 channels, followed by Hungary with 323, and Spain with 320. Most of these local and regional channels are mixed.
Of the 796 public television channels, 407 or just over half, are local or regional services. The Netherlands has the most with 196, followed by Spain with 74.
However, nine out of ten channels are in private ownership. 1,118 channels are owned by, or in partnership with, companies based in the United States. They account for 58% of documentary channels, 48% of children’s channels, and 33% of general entertainment channels.
31% of all television channels in Europe are available on digital terrestrial television, rising to 68% of local and regional channels.
The company with the most channels in Europe is Warner Bros Discovery, with 363 channels across 46 markets. Paramount has 229, while Comcast has 179, and The Walt Disney Company has 125, operating in in 44 European markets. The BBC ranks ninth with 62.
Audiovisual media services in EuropeIs published by the European Audiovisual Observatory and is available from its web site.