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NDR director Joachim Knuth wants to make possible further cuts in the program dependent on whether the broadcast fee is increased.
"Depending on the length of the proceedings in Karlsruhe and the verdict, we will decide whether and where further cuts need to be made," he told the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung".
Without the increase, the NDR would have around three million euros less available month after month; over four years that would be 144 million euros.
"We also need the 18.36 euros to fulfill our order," emphasized Knuth.
Last year, the North German Broadcasting Corporation decided on an austerity package worth 300 million euros until 2024.
The radio license fee should rise on January 1st by 86 cents to 18.36 euros per month.
15 state parliaments approved, only Saxony-Anhalt did not vote in December due to pressure from the CDU.
The case is now with the Federal Constitutional Court.
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With a view to the discussion about a possible public service platform, the NDR director said that stronger networking in the individual channels and in the ARD as a whole was a prerequisite in the digital age to effectively bundle resources and content.
The ability of the ARD to “map all social areas and topics broadly” must also come into play in a distribution network and thus be even better usable for the citizens.
A common media library for all public broadcasters could be one way, explained Knuth.
The NDR is also in talks with publishers in order to network with them and offer them moving image content "with clear sender identification".
That could be “a first step towards a communication network”.