SRG: SGV calls for different budget variants
Following the defeat of the RTVG referendum, the Swiss Trade Association (SGV) is calling for the discussion on public service broadcasting promised by the Federal Council. Various budget scenarios proposed by the SRG, which highlight potential savings, are to serve as the basis for this discussion.
What services can SRG provide, and what would have to be cut if the annual budget of around 1.6 billion were limited to one billion, halved or reduced to 500 million francs? This is the question the SGV wants clarified, as it announced on Monday. The association supports a corresponding postulate by National Councilor Natalie Rickli (SVP/ZH). It also supports other political initiatives that want to make the public service more concrete. Only in this way is it possible to have a purposeful discussion about the public service "that does not drift into subjective likes or dislikes of individual broadcasts". The SRG as an institution would not be called into question by this, said SGV Director Hans-Ulrich Bigler according to the text of his speech to the media in Bern on Monday.
Reduce scope of services
However, there needs to be a broad public discussion about the content and scope of the public service. To achieve this, the SRG must become more transparent. For the definition of its public service mandate, the SRG must compare the costs with concrete services. SRG should also reduce its scope of services, especially on the Internet. There, competition between SRG and private publishers is increasingly unequal. In addition, it should be examined which SRG services could not also be provided by private media. Bigler described the draft ordinance on the new RTVA recently presented by the Federal Council as "insufficient and not well thought out. Important questions, such as the amount of the new levy, would only be answered in a later partial revision shortly before the system change.
New structure
The concession - currently the responsibility of the Federal Council - should in future be granted to the SRG by parliament, is another demand of the SGV. The SRG's current concession expires at the end of 2017. The collection agency, today Billag, should also be put out to tender again, according to the SGV. The umbrella organization of Swiss SMEs is also upset about the SRG's corporate structure, which it considers to be outdated. The SGV is demanding that SRG, which is currently organized as an association under private law, be converted into a joint stock company.
The Swiss Syndicate of Media Professionals (SSM) stated that the SGV overlooked the fact that the discourse on public service had long since begun. The report of the Federal Media Commission will serve the Federal Council as a basis for an analysis of this issue.
On June 14, voters narrowly approved the new Radio and Television Act (RTVA). The yes vote paved the way for a new fee system with a general levy instead of a device-dependent fee. The SGV had fought the law. (SDA)
