Weko criticizes service public report
The Competition Commission (Weko) has criticized the Federal Council’s report on public service broadcasting. Weko Deputy Director Carole Söhner-Bührer says the report does not sufficiently examine the scope of public service broadcasting or whether there is a market failure.
The Weko Secretariat had communicated this view to the Federal Office of Communications (Bakom), as Söhner-Bührer stated on Monday in response to an inquiry. She thus confirmed a report in the NZZ am Sonntag. «It was a review request, not a criticism,» she emphasized. The intention was not to interfere with SRG’s programming. However, in the Competition Commission’s view, the report relies too heavily on the status quo. From a competition perspective, public service broadcasting is only necessary where the market fails, Söhner said. In her view, it would also be conceivable to temporarily restrict SRG’s services. «Then such questions could be evaluated.»
The media union Schweizer Syndikat Medienschaffender (SSM) called it a «scandal» on Monday. It argued that, with its demands, the Competition Commission (Weko) is uncritically aligning itself with those circles that seek to weaken the SRG for both political and market-based reasons. Furthermore, the Weko has approved all previous mergers in the private media sector. It therefore seems strange «when the Weko begins to interfere in media policy,» criticized the union, which, according to its own figures, represents over 3,000 SRG employees.
However, the Weko does not plan to take any further steps. Söhner-Bührer clarified that the Weko had merely submitted comments on the public service report as part of an interagency consultation. The Federal Council had published the long-awaited report in mid-June. In it, the Federal Council proposes that SRG continue to offer comprehensive public service broadcasting. However, the Federal Council expects adjustments to the programming, which should be more clearly distinguished from commercial content than before. News and information should take on an even more central role. (SDA)
