In their joint reform proposal, the prime ministers of the federal states advocate a cut in public broadcasting. It said the ARD and ZDF should be “qualitatively strengthened” but “quantitatively limited”.
Advertisement
One from the state government of Rhineland-Palatinate published reform proposal There is a provision to reduce the number of radio programmes. Broadcasters’ special programs will also have to be scrapped to pool existing resources into the remaining programs.
Federal states want to eliminate special-interest programs in order to more closely bundle resources and materials. Operating transmitters must be merged.
(Image: State Government of Rhineland-Palatinate)
economy and thrift
At the same time, they want to integrate broadcasters’ offerings more closely with each other. ARD and ZDF have been working towards a joint media library for years. The reform proposal also talks about an “innovation obligation” to which public broadcasters should be subject.
Further necessary measures are aimed at increasing confidence in broadcasters – including greater controls. The state writes that there should be clear responsibilities for community offerings. Public broadcasters are also committed to economic efficiency and economy. The cost of sports rights should not exceed a “reasonable level”.
No support for premium increase
The proposal now published will be discussed at a conference of state prime ministers at the end of October. Only then will the question become clear as to how high the broadcasting fee should be – the states’ reform proposals do not address this.
The Commission for the Determination of the Financial Needs of Broadcasters (KEF) had already recommended in February that broadcasting fees be increased from 18.36 euros per month to 18.94 euros. However, leaders of many countries do not want to support an increase in broadcasting fees – also because of the lack of support among the population. A total of 9.02 billion euros were paid in broadcasting fees in 2023. 8.85 billion euros went to ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio, while state media authorities received 170 million euros.
The reform of public broadcasting could come into effect from summer 2025.
(There)
