In this week’s special edition of our egtabite, we grab the opportunity to celebrate the upcoming World Television Day, an initiative of the United Nations. Ever since the first World TV forum was held on November 21st 1996, TV companies around the world have celebrated the date to spotlight the medium and remind audiences of TV’s positive impact on society.

In recent years, egta and the Global TV Group, the informal grouping of TV broadcasters’ and sales houses’ trade bodies in Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia and Latin America, have led the yearly initiative along with the United Nations Regional Information Centre for Europe (UNRIC), the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the Association of Commercial Television in Europe (ACT) by promoting participation and celebration across the media landscape.

TV makes a difference!

Perhaps most notably, TV companies around the world broadcast and share online a special 30-second video spot, adapted and translated into many different languages. For this year’s 24th edition of World TV Day, the video highlights how TV makes a difference – and will continue to make a difference – in society. In the unprecedented year of 2020, the TV medium has kept audiences engaged and informed with trusted information on the issues of racial and social injustice, hate speech, the pressing climate issue and the global pandemic, to name some of the most critical subjects.

TV has also provided its viewers with some much-needed entertainment and distraction, or as Lindsey Clay, President of the Global TV Group and CEO of ThinkBox frames it: “While circumstances kept us apart this year, TV has brought us together. TV is and always has been a social glue. As viewing rocketed, broadcasters the world over reacted to the unique circumstances nimbly and with great creativity to ensure that TV was there for us all as a source of trusted information, comforting distraction, and much-needed escapism.”

Laurent Bliaut, President of egta and Deputy General Director, Marketing and R&D at TF1 Publicité, sends his special thanks all those who make the TV magic happen, both on screen and from behind the scene. “The past year, TV has continued to uphold its long tradition of addressing the critical issues in our global community. It brings our attention to social injustice, sheds a neutral light on society’s mishaps, helps relieve the strain of an unprecedented era giving us a hopeful outlook on the future. World TV Day is an opportunity for us all to pay tribute to the many professionals who make the magic happen both on screen and from behind the scene. We invite everyone to once again celebrate our medium around the world,” he says.

#WeLoveTV

It is our strongest believe that the message of this year’s World Television day – that TV makes a difference – has never been more accurate. The exceptionality of 2020 has underpinned the important role of TV as a medium for the masses, to both connect with the world outside and distract from it. Ahead of November 21, we wish you a happy World TV Day 2020!

On The Global TV Group’s website you can learn more about the World Television Day initiative, discover interesting facts and figures on TV and watch earlier editions of the World TV Day 30-second spots. On YouTube you can also see the many different versions of the 2020 World TV Day clip, adapted for the markets in which they are aired.

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