Why is it that in movies and television any european accent counts as a "british" accent?

Because people are ignorant and don't give a damn as long as they think it sounds cute.

Because all euorpeans are british. It's all the same thing. That entire area should be renamed, "Britishlandia".

Because the people who select the actors/actresses don't care what it sounds like as long as they think it'll be popular, and they'll trample over anything at all to get ratings.

I disagree. They're also passed off as french and german accents. Then everything else is lumped together as just some foreign sounding accent.