Broadcasting fee: No increase until 2024 – that’s how much ARD, ZDF & Deutschlandradio will receive

The broadcasting contribution does not have to increase further until 2024. This is the conclusion reached by the “Commission for determining the financial needs of broadcasters” (KEF). According to this, the broadcasting fee can remain unchanged at 18.36 euros per month until 2024 (the Ver.di trade union had called for an even larger increase some time ago).

The justification of the KEF reads as follows: “The Commission for Determining the Financial Needs of Broadcasters (KEF) states in its 23rd report after weighing up all the risks and opportunities that the public broadcasters with the fee adjustment to 18.36 euros per month for the contribution period 2021 to 2024 are financed according to need.”

This additional need arises

On February 18, 2022, the KEF handed over its 23rd report to the chairwoman of the broadcasting commission of the federal states, the Prime Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate, Malu Dreyer. Compared to the previous 22nd report, there would be an additional requirement of a total of 139.2 million euros. In addition, the delayed premium adjustment would result in another loss of around 224.3 million euros. Because the last increase to 18.36 euros had been postponed by a few months, which is why several millions are missing from the coffers of public broadcasters. You can read more about the postponement in Broadcasting fee rises to 18.36 euros – BVerfG has decided. From August 2021, the contribution service will collect the new contributions.

Corona consequences

The short and medium-term effects of the corona pandemic on public broadcasting are currently difficult to assess. In their registrations, the TV and radio stations put the additional requirement for 2020 to 2024 at 597 million euros. Although the Commission largely recognizes this additional need, the additional effort would be largely offset by reduced needs elsewhere and additional income, particularly in the areas of advertising, sponsorship and cost reimbursements, as the KEF emphasizes. Even taking into account the corona risks for the income from broadcasting contributions, the current finding shows only very small deviations from the finding of the 22nd report, as the KEF concludes.

The KEF describes the costs of the corona pandemic in detail as follows: “According to the institutions, there was a significant increase in program expenses for additional occupational safety and hygiene measures, pandemic rules led to postponements, interruptions and terminations and productions abroad were canceled due to country-specific pandemic regulations The material expenses included additional expenses for hygiene measures and IT security, but there were also changes due to the temporarily reduced VAT rate, reductions in travel expenses and vehicle costs.The same applies to investments, e.g. by postponing construction measures -workplaces required unplanned purchases of workplace equipment and IT infrastructure as well as additional costs for ensuring IT security as a result of the decentralization of workplaces.”

Broadcasters wanted more money

Compared to the requirements reported by ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio, the Commission is reducing the financial requirements for 2021 to 2024 by just over 1.5 billion euros. Of this amount, 924.8 million euros are attributable to cost reductions, 623.1 million euros to income estimates and 30 million euros to corrections to eligible own funds.

ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio are allowed to spend that much

As a result, the Commission recognizes a total expenditure of 38.76 billion euros for 2021 to 2024. Of this, ARD accounts for 27.65 billion euros, ZDF for just over 10 billion euros and Deutschlandradio for just over 1 billion euros. This is an increase of around 2.44 billion euros or 6.7 percent or 1.6 percent per year compared to the total expenditure affecting financial requirements reported between 2017 and 2020 of around 36.31 billion euros.

The old-age pension has a significant impact on the expenses: from 2021 to 2024, the broadcasters will have to pay over 3 billion euros for it. However, the public broadcasters also spend a lot of money on construction projects.