Adapting Public Service Media in Belgium: Meeting technology and audience needs in the Age of Platforms

Public service media (PSM) worldwide have consistently been subject to societal and technological changes. Recent years have confronted PSM with radical transformations in media use, competition with transnational streaming services, and the dominance of big tech. New competitors for the attention of citizens have challenged both the PSM mission and values as well as the organization, requiring broadcasters to transform into fully digital, online-first organisations. In this context, we present results from research conducted during the second year of PSM-AP, a large-scale comparative research project analysing ‘Public Service Media in the Age of Platforms’. In this brief, we put forward a series of findings and recommendations on the organisational and cultural challenges facing PSM in the two main language communities of Belgium. This report is based on in-depth interviews with employees (top and middle management) in two PSM organisations: RTBF (French-speaking Community of Belgium) and VRT (Dutch-speaking Community). The collected data was analysed in line with country-specific organisational reports and industry documents.