"No Billag means No SRG"

Switzerland votes on March 4 on the abolition of Billag fees (Werbewoche.ch reported). In an interview with SonntagsBlick, the new SRG Director General Gilles Marchand is anything but convinced that the bill will be rejected by the people. It is too early to make a forecast, but "it could be close," he fears. The task now is to reverse the trend - according to initial polls, the supporters are ahead - in the remaining five months.

There will be no campaign on the part of SRG. "Our editorial teams are independent. They will report on the proposal just as they would on any other," says Marchand. Instead, he wants to convince the voters with education: "People have to understand what the initiative really means. It's not about the question of fees yes or no, but about the question SRG yes or no. No Billag means No SRG".

According to Decision of the Federal Council SRG will have CHF 50 million less available per year from 2019. Marchand wants to save this in administrative costs. "I definitely want to prevent any cutbacks in programming quality," he says.

Entertainment is part of the full program

The reproach that SRG is fishing in the private pond because it spends 360 million francs a year on entertainment, the Frenchman counters diplomatically: "Entertainment formats can also provide information and move our country and our society forward." He is clearly of the opinion that SRG must offer a full range of programs - including entertainment.

In the view of the new director general, the limits of public service are only crossed with "purely voyeuristic" formats. "Broadcasts in which people are ridiculed and exposed - that's where it stops for me. (hae)