Culture on Screen: What Are We Not Measuring? 

In an audiovisual landscape increasingly shaped by ratings, streaming numbers, algorithms, and visibility metrics, an important question remains: what do film and television series generate in society that cannot be easily measured? The panel will bring together leading representatives of European public broadcasters and audiovisual institutions to discuss the broader cultural and democratic impact of television storytelling. While audience reach and platform performance remain important reference points, they rarely capture the ways in which series shape public discourse, influence historical understanding, contribute to collective memory, or create shared cultural reference points across borders. Focusing particularly on contemporary European television series, the panel will explore how audiovisual storytelling resonates beyond measurable consumption. Through concrete examples, the discussion will address the role of series in opening conversations around social and political issues, reflecting changing European realities, and contributing to pluralism, freedom of expression, and cultural dialogue. At a moment when the audiovisual sector is increasingly confronted with questions of performance, saturation, and visibility, the panel asks whether current evaluative models are sufficient to understand the full significance of audiovisual work, particularly within the context of public service media and culturally driven storytelling.