The federation was established in February 1975 at a conference in London, on the initiative of the Alan Sapper and the British Association of Cinematograph, Television and Allied Technicians.
As such, it brought together social democratic, communist and non-aligned trade unions from around the world.
This put it in competition with the ICFTU-aligned International Secretariat of Entertainment Trade Unions (ISETU).
[1] By 1979, the federation had affiliates from Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, East Germany, Finland, France, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, the Soviet Union, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Yugoslavia.
In 1991, the three agreed to work more closely with ISETU, forming the "International Committee of Entertainment and Media Unions".