Facts and figures about radio and television fees
The No Billag initiative wants to abolish radio and television license fees. The goal is purely commercial financing. Today, three quarters of SRG's offerings are financed by reception fees.
Last year, the fees brought in a total of around CHF 1.37 billion. 1.24 billion francs went to SRG. Around half of the fee income - about 600 million francs - goes to information, only 22 percent of which is financed by commercial revenues.
SRG spends around CHF 300 million a year on culture and education. It supports film festivals and the film industry to make films about Swiss topics possible. Swiss music is also promoted. Around 210 million Swiss francs are spent annually on sports. This includes the broadcasting of major events, such as the Lauberhorn ski race.
Local and regional stations
In addition to SRG, 21 local radio stations and 13 regional television stations that fulfill a public service mission receive money from the license fee. Last year, 61 million went to private broadcasters. At the regional TV stations, the fees account for 53 percent of the budget on average.
All in all, the radio and television industry in Switzerland operates with around 2.4 billion Swiss francs a year. If the offering were reduced, more advertising money would probably flow abroad. Already today, more than 40 percent of advertising revenues go abroad via private advertising windows.
365 francs a year
The reception fee is currently CHF 451. With the switch to a device-independent fee, it will fall to 365 francs per year for households from 2019. Companies will pay a graduated fee based on sales, which will be due from sales of 500,000 francs. Around three quarters of companies therefore pay no levy.
Fee financing is intended to ensure independence from private donors and politics. The authorities may not impose any content requirements on radio and television broadcasters.
For all parts of the country
However, SRG is obliged to provide an equally diverse radio and TV offering in all official languages. It must present events in an appropriate manner and adequately express the diversity of views.
In neighboring countries, the public service stations each provide offerings in one language. Last year, the German broadcasters ARD and ZDF had 10.1 billion Swiss francs at their disposal, France Télévisions 3.5 billion, Italy's RAI 3.2 billion and Austria's ORF 1.1 billion. (SDA)
