International Broadcasting Union
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The International Broadcasting Union (IBU; official name in french: Union Internationale de Radiophonie, UIR, modern translations in french: Union Internationale de Radiodiffusion/Union internationale de radio-télévision, UIR) was an alliance of European radio broadcasters, established on 3–4 April 1925. The union had its headquarters in Geneva. The UIR aimed to resolve international problems of broadcasting.


History

Since its establishment in 1865, the
International Telegraph Union The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Union ...
(ITU) focused on wireless point-to-point communications. After the end of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the ITU did not take up the new development of radio broadcasting. The
League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
and ITU decided not to create international broadcasting regulations as the technology was too "young" and changing too quickly. The decision left room for international efforts that were not driven by governments. European broadcasters took the initiative, discussing how to deal with national and international problems of broadcasting, and whether the private companies should seek government regulation or establish their own international organization of broadcasters working outside governments. Lengthy negotiations between the various private broadcasters and the British
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culminated in establishing of the non-governmental International Broadcasting Union. The diverse and complex problems of a growing number of broadcasting stations in Europe required expert knowledge in law, finance, engineering, journalism, and musicology. The experts argued that their efforts would improve the quality of broadcasting to such a degree that the medium would attract a wider radio audience. Their reasoning proved correct. In 1920, only a few thousand homes in Europe had radio receivers, in 1926 this number grew to 5.8 million and in 1931 to 16 million receivers. In 1940, the UIR equipment was evacuated from Brussels to Switzerland, but in 1941 was returned after German request, and was later used by the
Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...
to monitor radio activity of Allied forces. Thirteen member countries stopped cooperating with the UIR after it went under German control. After the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
the UIR was discredited as "German-friendly" in the eyes of many former member states. In March 1946, the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
demanded dissolution of UIR and establishment of a new international broadcasting organization, where all the satellite states of the USSR would be represented with voting rights. 26 members of UIR founded the alternative International Broadcasting Organisation commonly known as ''OIR'' on 28 June 1946. The dispute escalated when the
ITU The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Unio ...
world radio conference was held in 1947 in Atlantic City. Both organizations, the OIR and the UIR, demanded to participate at this meeting as "technical experts". Both organizations were denied this status, instead being allowed only to participate as observers without voting rights. The European follow-up conference in Copenhagen in 1948 had similar outcome. This situation did not satisfy either party. The
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was not eager to join a new association which was likely to be dominated by the Soviet Union. Moreover, the USSR enrolled some of its member republics as independent states, giving the USSR eight votes in the new organization. France intended to do the same for its North African colonies, which would give it four votes. The United Kingdom would have had only one. In 1949, France, the Netherlands, Italy and Belgium declared their intention to resign from the OIR. Many Western European countries decided to form a completely new organization despite a mistrust of the United Kingdom – in the opinion of some, the BBC wanted to dominate the new organization. UIR was officially dissolved in 1950, and its remaining assets were transferred to a newly established European Broadcasting Union (EBU). On 1 January 1993, OIR, at that time renamed to OIRT, merged with the EBU.


References

{{Authority control Organizations established in 1925 Organizations disestablished in 1950 Foreign relations of the Soviet Union Eastern Bloc Radio organizations Organisations based in Geneva 1925 establishments in Europe 1950 disestablishments in Europe