Introduction 

1. Introduction

The aim of MUDIA

1

, a European Commission sponsored IST project launched in May

2001, is to monitor and analyse current and future trends in European multimedia

news markets. It looks at how new technologies could change patterns in the

production and consumption of news media and at how this might affect the

industry, the products and the business. Work Package 1 deals with the wider, socio 

economic context for media innovation. It aims at understanding change by way of

identifying existing and future trends in the media industries, in particular in media

production, consumption and delivery throughout Europe. 

It is the objective of the Work Package 1 case studies work (WP1.5) to check the

general trends and developments observed in the other MUDIA studies in a number

of concrete media organizations in different European countries. The selected

organizations will be described, compared, and analyzed against these other

findings. The case studies are spread over traditional mass media, new start up

media companies and non sector information initiatives. 

This MUDIA Deliverable (D1.5) describes the case study organisations according to

a common analytical framework:

1. History and description of the company and its business (including ownership

issues);

2. Revenue models (advertising, subscription, consulting for third parties,

profitability, turn over, etc.) and essential changes due to the digitisation era;

3. Content production processes (including technology issues);

4. Content consumption processes (interactivity, customisation and new types of

content demand, including technology issues;

5. Content delivery processes (flexible delivery according to different platforms,

mobility, etc.)

6. Conclusion and visions on the future of the company and the news media

industries in general. 

The five carefully selected case studies are the following, in alphabetical order: 

E VRT: Interactive Television In Flanders 

Vlaamse Radio & Televisie (VRT) is the Belgian public broadcaster for the Flemish

community. In February 2002, the VRT launched an interactive television project

called  Digitaal Thuis Platform (DTP) or  Digital Home Platform  based on the DVB T

technology (Digital Video Broadcast   Terrestrial). A test panel of 100 households

has been set up and provided with free set top boxes. 

Guardian Unlimited 

Guardian Unlimited is the network of websites from the Guardian newspaper, based

in London. As well as the main news site   at the core of Guardian Unlimited   there

1. The Consortium consists of the following partners: (1) Institute for Infonomics, Maastricht 

(co ordinator); (2) World Association of Newspapers (WAN), Paris; (3) News World

International Limited, London; (4) Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS),

Sevilla; (5) Comtec, Dublin City University.

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