Public broadcaster: Söder for freezing the license fee and reforms

Created: 09/04/2022, 06:05

By: Astrid Theil

Markus Söder © IMAGO / Sven Simon

Markus Söder (CSU) has spoken out in favor of reforming public broadcasting.

In addition, the amount of the license fee is to be frozen.

Berlin – The Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder proposes not to increase broadcasting fees due to the rise in inflation.

"At this turning point, when inflation is rising and all costs are exploding, we have to think about keeping broadcasting fees stable and freezing them at the current level," said Söder in an interview with the

.

It is important to avoid additional burdens for the citizens.

So far it is unclear whether the broadcasting fee could increase at all in the future.

The phase in which the altitude is calculated in a complex process has not yet begun.

In the interview, however, Markus Söder did not give any details on how this proposal can or should be implemented.

Determining the license fee: a complex process

The determination of the license fee is subject to a complex process.

At the beginning there is the order that the federal states give to the public broadcasters in state treaties.

Politics determines the rough structure of ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio.

For example, the countries determine how many TV programs there are, or that the channels should offer information, culture and entertainment, for example.

With a view to freedom of the press, however, this is not about specific program content.

The various media houses then make a cost statement.

An independent financial committee - KEF - checks the list, crosses out many places and proposes the amount of the broadcasting fee that finances the stations.

The federal states are closely based on the KEF proposal and set the amount.

The contribution increased last year from 17.50 euros to 18.36 euros per month.

Scandal at rbb: increase in the broadcasting fee cannot be communicated

On Friday in the state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt, the finance committee KEF emphasized the role of politics in broadcasting reforms.

KEF member and State Audit Office President Kay Barthel emphasized that it was economically impossible to rule out increases in contributions and at the same time leave everything as it is.

Saxony-Anhalt's Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff had told the

weeks ago that an increase in the contribution against the background of the scandal at Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (rbb) was hardly communicable.

Both Söder and Haseloff sit on the ZDF board of directors.

This is a control body of the public broadcaster that oversees finances and investments. 

Söder on public service broadcasting: New set of rules with publication requirements

When asked about the rbb crisis, which has an impact on all public broadcasting, Söder spoke out in favor of a new set of rules with the obligation to publish all ancillary income of those responsible: “It is important to take the rules for members of parliament as a model .

This also includes an upper limit on salaries and a general restriction on sideline activities.