The teleshopping channel QVC has no right to be included in the so-called “Public Value” list of the state media authority in North Rhine-Westphalia.
This list obliges providers of smart TVs or cable television to make the channels easy and quick to find. According to the conviction of the 13th Senate of the OVG, QVC only partially fulfills the inclusion criteria of the State Media Treaty formulated in the law, and the court dismissed the lawsuit on appeal.
The OVG justified its decision because the plaintiff offered sales programs that did not contribute to the journalistic diversity of opinions and offers to a particular extent as required. This is the first time that a higher administrative court in Germany has published a ruling on this question. In the lower instance, the Düsseldorf Administrative Court had already dismissed the lawsuits from two providers. Because of the fundamental importance of the question, the OVG based in Münster allowed an appeal to the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig.
Every three years – the next time in 2028 – the state media authorities adopt the “Public Value” list. QVC lawyer Raimund Schütz criticized the view of the 13th Senate during the oral hearing and spoke of a closed system. This means that teleshopping providers have no chance of getting on the list. He demanded that the legislature formulate this directly.
