Public service broadcasting has had a significant influence on how broadcasting developed both in Europe and throughout the world. The collection of articles in this special issue of Trends in Communicationaims to provide an overview of the contemporary condition of public service broadcasting on a comparative level. They include contributions from Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and the UK, as well as an overview of how public broadcasters are regulated in Western Europe and an assessment of whether the current framework needs overhauling in a multichannel environment. The articles all demonstrate a great deal of continuity with the past together with an impression that even though there are great opportunities and challenges for public broadcasters in the changing world of the audiovisual industry, the fundamental principles and activities of these broadcasters persist.