Public broadcasters should stick to their mandates and not compete with the private sector, says a new government-sponsored study on international public television.

The Richard Paradis report, commissioned by Canadian Heritage in June 1994 as ‘a fact-finding mission’ and released late last month, examines the status of public broadcasters from Australia, Belgium, France, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Sweden, Switzerland and the u.s.

The study focuses on public programming issues, regional accountability, advertising and alternative means of generating revenue.

It states outright that public broadcasters won’t find new sources of revenue among international broadcasters because they too are ‘scrambling to survive.’

The most successful public networks are those which maintain ‘close ties with their audiencesÉ (and) general sentiment is that the public sector should not look or sound like the private sector,’ the report says.

Data was gathered through interviews with public and private broadcasting executives, annual reports, green and white papers, and other public studies.

Other findings of the study include:

– Programmers for public tv in the countries surveyed have cut back on sports, special events and (sometimes) films because of stiff competition from the private sector in these areas and they are now emphasizing information, cultural, educational and children’s shows.

– Advertising is felt to have a ‘negative impact’ on public television mandates. Alternative means of generating revenue include soliciting private-sector contributions, and marketing, at market value, extra facilities or equipment.

– New interactive programs, satellite hook-ups and specialized programming are on the increase at public networks.

– Regional production and cultural diversity are priorities for public broadcasters in all nine countries surveyed.

– In most countries, a public broadcaster is expected to be transparent in its business dealings and fully accountable as a service owned by the general public.

– Infrastructures, particularly in management, are generally getting leaner.

– Private-sector production for public tv is on the increase, particularly in France, Britain and the u.s.

– Transmission equipment, which generally is not owned by the public broadcaster, is acquired through competitive bidding.