The contribution for the public broadcasting continues to provide for fierce discussions: After ZDF director General Thomas Bellut had declared an increase necessary to maintain the quality level, threatens the ARD chairman Ulrich Wilhelm now with a constitutional complaint - if the federal states are not could agree on the height.
In an interview with the German Press Agency (dpa) Wilhelm described the clarification at the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe as "Ultima Ratio". "Of course, this would mean years of hanging, and it would not work properly during that time."
The broadcasting fee, which was still called broadcasting fee until the end of 2012, is set at 17.50 euros per household per month until 2020. In the spring of 2019, the public service broadcasters of the Commission to determine the financial needs of broadcasters (KEF) must state how much money they need for 2021 to 2024. The KEF then makes a proposal for the contribution amount. The subsequent decision of the Prime Ministers must be ratified by all 16 Landtag.
Index model as an alternative
As an alternative to this method, an index model is under discussion, according to which the broadcasting contribution always rises in line with the inflation rate. This could be "a viable option in the end," Wilhelm said.
However, the index does not cover the actual cost increases, but would be for ARD and ZDF "a steady contraction." Because: "Radio-specific inflation, which takes into account, for example, the development of costs for music, film or sports rights, was around 17 percent between 2009 and 2017, while consumer prices rose by 10.6 percent during this period."
From some countries in recent months, the demand has been made to keep the broadcasting fee stable, so do not increase. Then had to be cut significantly in the program, Wilhelm said. What is not possible: to take entire areas such as entertainment and sport from the program.
Get broad spectrum
"In our view, that would not be compatible with freedom of broadcasting, especially as there are no clear-cut demarcations of the genres." TV series such as "Charité" and "Babylon Berlin" are entertainment, but also education and information. The field of sport is not just top football, but also paralympics, young sports and the breadth of winter sports.
According to the ARD chairman and director of the Bayerischer Rundfunk Wilhelm, the current amount of the broadcasting fee of 17.50 euros no longer corresponds to the actual expenditure. "Today, we also use the funds of the premium reserve, which were saved between 2013 and 2016. If one extrapolates this accumulated funds to the amount of the monthly contribution, then we are already in real terms today at 18.35 euros." This reserve will be used up by 2020.
Already in the middle of the year the broadcasting contribution occupied the Federal Constitutional Court. At that time it was about the lawfulness. The court confirmed that the contribution was broadly constitutional. In mid-December, the European Court of Justice ruled that the contribution complied with EU law and did not constitute unauthorized State aid.