Media diversity and communications policy: Impact of VCRs and satellite TV

Videocassettes and satellite-delivered television programmes are having a profound effect on existing communication policies in the world. Set up to protect local media industries and preserve native cultures, communication policies are being threatened by both legal and illegal uses of the VCR and communication satellite. Because the VCR has not been considered a mass medium and the piracy of broadcast signals is illegal, most nations have not accounted for the impact of foreign films and television programmes flooding their borders. A desire for more media diversity is cited as the prime reason for the popularity of the content carried by these new technologies.