The plans of the public service broadcasters in Germany are quite extensive. According to internal documents, a significant increase in the broadcasting fee is also planned in this context.
There has been a heated debate in Germany for many years about the broadcasting fee (formerly GEZ fees). Public broadcasters in Germany are financed by a monthly fee that every German household has to pay. This includes more than 20 TV and 60 radio stations, whose offers can then be used by everyone. A concept that no longer suits everyone, especially with the increasing spread of streaming services. Accordingly, increases in the broadcasting fee always cause certain reaction waves. This also applies to the increases in broadcasting fees that appear to be pending in the coming years.
Increase in the broadcasting fee to over 20 euros
Something is happening in the public sector – especially if you look at the plans of Kai Gniffke, who has been chairman of ARD since the beginning of 2023. It was only recently announced, among other things, that ARD would like to set up its own streaming platform, which should even compete with Netflix. For this you probably also work together with the ZDF. Speaking of ZDF: The Second German Television is researching a Twitter alternative with media institutions in other countries.
Of course, all these plans also have certain costs. In his announcement, Gniffke spoke of “several hundred million euros”. In fact, the plans seem to have been around for a long time. At least that’s what internal documents suggest Business Insider present. Because as early as March 2022, almost exactly a year ago, the station bosses decided on a common strategy.
The files speak of a time window between 2025 and 2028; this also coincides with Gniffke’s current statements. Last year, the directors assumed that the broadcasting fee would need to be increased to EUR 25.19 per month. Currently, the contributions, often still referred to as “GEZ fees”, are 18.36 euros per month. The increase would therefore be quite significant, namely by a good 37 percent.
Last broadcast fee increase in 2021
The current financial situation of the public broadcasters is indeed not bad. The Institute for Media and Communication Policy (IfM for short) recently calculated that the total budget of ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio will exceed the 10 billion mark for the first time. The number is based on the published budgets of the institutions. At around 85 percent, a large part of the income comes from the broadcasting fee.
Incidentally, the last increase was in 2021. At that time, the fee rose from the previous EUR 17.50 to the current EUR 18.36. The current contribution period is still defined until the end of 2024. After that, the license fee could increase again accordingly. In fact, however, corresponding considerations have already been expressed due to the high inflation. The German Association of Journalists, for example, has already called for this publicly higher contributions. Otherwise there is a risk of program cuts and even job cuts.