International Broadcasting Union
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| Successor | European Broadcasting Union |
|---|---|
| Formation | 4 April 1925 |
| Extinction | 1 November 1950 |
| Type | Union of broadcasting organisations |
| Headquarters | Geneva, Switzerland |
The International Broadcasting Union (IBU; official name in French: Union Internationale de Radiophonie, UIR) was an alliance of European radio broadcasters, established on April 3–4, 1925. The union had its headquarters in Geneva. The UIR aimed to resolve international problems of broadcasting.
Since its establishment in 1865, the international Telegraph Union (ITU) focused on wireless point-to-point communications. After the end of World War I, ITU did not take up the new development of radio broadcasting. The League of Nations 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 BBC 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 has grown to 5.8 million and to 16 million receivers in 1931.
In 1940, the UIR equipment was evacuated from Brussels to Switzerland, but in 1941 was returned back after German request, and was later used by the Wehrmacht 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 the UIR was discredited as "German-friendly" in the eyes of many former member states. In March 1946, the Soviet Union 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.
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