Background
Luxembourg plays a special role in Europe's audiovisual landscape: situated at the crossroads of French- and German-speaking cultures, it is home to two audiovisual communication giants, namely, SES, operator of the ASTRA satellites, and RTL Group, Europe's television and radio broadcaster.
Since the 1930's, Luxembourg recognised the importance of the sector by granting radio broadcasting licences to pioneers of this new technology. This successful initiative was followed by television (RTL) in the 1950s and SES in the 1980s.
Around these two pillars of audiovisual communication, a large number of companies active in the media and communications sectors have set up in Luxembourg, and today constitute an important skills base for the country's economic development.
Households received access to numerous television programmes by the end of the 1960's. Today, Luxembourg is one of the most cabled countries in Europe.
In addition to programmes aimed at the residential public, a multitude of audio and audiovisual programmes aimed at other European countries continue to be broadcast from Luxembourg.
Luxembourg's media landscape
Besides the abundant audiovisual programmes, citizens also benefit from a large number o ftitles in the national press, as well as a large number of titles in the international press, confirming the country's extensive and pluralist medial landscape. There are currently almost 500 professional journalists in Luxembourg, who are federated in the l'Association luxembourgeoise des journalistes profressionnels (ALJP). The publishers, for their part, are grouped within Association luxembourgeoise des médias d'information (ALMI).
The Law of 8 June 2004 on freedom of expression in the media provides, amongst other, for the protection of sources and privacy, regulates relations between journalists and publishers and organises the right of reply.
The government supports the analysis analysis by co-financing the academic study of media performed by the University of Luxembourg and by co-financing the annual national Plurimedia study, which, since 2005, analyses the readership of the main press and radio media and television audiences.
The SMC's trategic objective in the context of media in Luxembourg
The SMC aims to promote opinion formation and critical debate through a varied, pluralistic and independent media landscape.