PRESS RELEASE

In recent weeks, the purpose of public service media has been put into sharp focus, both in the UK and around the world.

It comes towards the end of a year that has been particularly hard hitting for trusted independent public media around the world, and at a time of flourishing disinformation, growing polarisation, and populism – a time when trusted public service media are needed more than ever.

Public service media have long been used as a target for attack, but we’re increasingly witnessing a growing politicisation and weaponisation of the debate by detractors globally. In some cases, this has been fuelled by a fixation on mistakes or shortcomings, with disproportionate and opportunistic calls for the defunding or dismantling of public service media.

While it is important to hold public services to account, some of the rhetoric often overlooks the bigger picture, such as the intrinsic value and positive democratic benefit that independent public media provide.

At times like this, it is important to ensure that all public media stakeholders are aware of what is at stake. At the Public Media Alliance (PMA), we often use our advocacy to point to the core values shared by public media companies around the world:

These values are a framework for public service media; they illustrate their role in society and demonstrate the socio-political responsibilities that make public media unique in the media landscape.

But if the values provide the theoretical underpinnings of public media, how can the true value and benefit of public media be made tangible? How can we best make the case for public media and demonstrate this value?

In response to the heightened debate, the Public Media Alliance (PMA) is announcing the launch of a new online hub of research and resources that concretise the value of public media.

The Public Media Value Index (PMVI) will rely on evidence-based research to identify and detail the economic, cultural, informational, educational, and democratic impact of public media.

It will inform the discussion around public media on from the theoretical, to the practical, and highlight the real-world positive benefits that well-funded, independent, and impartial public service media has on a society.

It will have a dual focus: [1] countering the arguments put forward by detractors; and [2] putting forward the positivenarrative for public media. It will offer public media stakeholders and advocates a library of evidence from around the world.

For example, to demonstrate the economic benefit of public media, it will highlight research such as the 2025 economic value study by Nordicity, commissioned by CBC/Radio-Canada, showing that the public broadcaster generates $3.2 billion annually in GDP, supports nearly 29,000 jobs, and saw an economic return on investment of 172 percent.

Or, to counter arguments claiming public service media have a negative impact on private media access and usage, it will showcase research such as the Research Center for the Public Sphere and Society’s (University of Zurich) 2024 study on how Swiss public media strengthens rather than weakens private media.

This live and free-to-use hub is intended for public media workers as well as strategists, stakeholders, policymakers, academics, and audiences, to aid their understanding of public media, expose them to new research, and bolster their own arguments. Its intention is to assist and equip all public media stakeholders with an enhanced understanding of what public service media is, what it does, and why it’s so valuable.

The PMVI will be launched in 2026.