Yle's Administrative Council: audio content on the Internet is an essential part of the public service

Yle's Administrative Council announced on 13 December the decision of the public value test on the Yle audio content offered on the Internet.

The decision is that Yle's audio content (AOD) in Yle Areena or in another company’s online services is an essential part of fulfilling Yle's public service remit. The market impact of Yle's audio content is minor compared to its value to citizens.

The Administrative Council also recommends, e.g., that the market impact of Yle's audio content will be monitored regularly and suggests that Yle should publish the future focus areas of its AOD content.

This Public Value Test does not cover the live distribution of radio channels on Yle Areena or on Yle's other Internet services.

”The internet audio market is developing. Yle will continue to offer its audio content online, but at the same time we must ensure that Yle's operating models do not make it difficult for other operators to acquire audio content,” says Arto Satonen, chairman of Yle's Administrative Council.

RadioMedia ry, the umbrella organization for commercial radio in Finland, made the request for a Public Value Test in the winter of 2022. The Administrative Council of Yle decided to launch the Public Value Test on 20 September 2022.

According to the Act on Yleisradio Oy, a prior evaluation (Public Value Test) must be carried out of such new services and functions that have a more than minor impact on the market and that are considerable in terms of significance, duration and cost. At the discretion of the administrative council, an evaluation may be conducted whenever it is deemed necessary on reasonable grounds.