SRG plans to increase fees

SRG Director General Armin Walpen wants to increase radio and television fees by five percent. According to Weltwoche, Walpen is said to have sent this information to the members of the Board of Directors on Tuesday. SRG also wants to be able to use its websites for commercial purposes in future. The Federal Office of Communications (Bakom) will hold a corresponding hearing this July. According to a confidential study by the consultancy firm Konvermedia, this should generate a profit of up to CHF 9.5 million per year for SRG by 2012.
Media freedom campaign rejects fee increase
In a communiqué issued on Thursday, the Campaign for Media Freedom rejects an increase in fees. Instead of increasing fees, the SRG should concentrate on its core task, the public service, it says. It rejects the tactical move behind the threatened increase: SRG would ultimately "generously" forego the fee increase, but would instead tap into additional revenue by easing restrictions in the advertising sector.