(de-news.net) – The premiers of the Länder have decided on a reform package for public broadcasting, omitting the question of broadcasting contributions. The ARD must reduce its radio programs by around a third, from 70 to 53. The previously discussed merger of 3sat and Arte is off the table – however, it is suggested that Arte be transformed into a European cultural platform in which 3sat content may play a role. The children’s channel KiKA and the online service Funk will remain, while ARD One and ZDFneo will have to consider cooperation. Only two television channels among Phoenix, Tagesschau24 and ZDF info, are to continue broadcasting. Finally, the financial resources for sports rights are to be capped at five percent of the total expenditure of ARD and ZDF instead of the previous ten percent.
All state parliaments must agree to the reform so that it can come into force – probably in summer 2025. The broadcasting fee is currently fixed at 18.36 Euros. The Federal States want to continue to discuss a new method of determining the fees and a slight increase for the budgets in the coming months. The Commission for the Determination of the Financial Requirements of Broadcasting Institutions will probably continue its role in making recommendations. Most recently, an increase in the fee by 58 cents to 18.94 Euros was proposed by the commission.
The Prime Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate and Chairman of the Broadcasting Conference, Schweitzer (SPD), said that the Federal States are close to a solution for the broadcasting fee. A system change to an alternative financing mechanism was needed. Schweitzer did not provide any further details. Bavaria’s Prime Minister Söder (CSU) said, on his part: “First come the reforms, then comes the issue of fees.” Saxony’s Prime Minister Kretschmer (CDU) added that the participation rights of the State Governments and parliaments should be preserved.
If ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio sue, the question of the broadcasting fees would go to the Federal Constitutional Court, which would examine whether the decisions were compatible with the Basic Law – in part because the new period for the broadcasting fee begins on January 1, 2025, not in the summer. In addition to that, a decision by the Federal Constitutional Court judges may be necessary because the expert recommendations of the broadcasting commission are constitutionally enshrined.
The Federal Chair of the German Journalists’ Association, Beuster, criticized that the “state leaders are causing enormous damage.” The directors owe a review by the Federal Constitutional Court to both the employees and the credibility and reputation of the broadcasters, Beuster argued. The Verdi union complained that the increase in the broadcasting fee had been postponed, while the German Social Association fears that the decisions of the states will result in disadvantages in the provision of services for certain parts of society relying on linear content: older people, the chronically ill, and people with disabilities. The director of Deutschlandradio, Raue, reacted to the decisions by saying that they would continue to focus on audience dialogue with the Deutschlandradio think tank.
