Flop of the week: SRG with higher deficit than expected

SRG closed its 2008 financial year with a deficit of CHF 79 million. It considers cuts to the range of programs and in-house productions to be unavoidable. What will be cut will be decided "as part of the medium-term planning", according to SRG. Where, when and how much will have to be cut over the next three to five years will keep SRG very busy. In view of the economic crisis, an increase in fees is not under discussion. In 2009, the SRG intends to cap the number of jobs at the 2008 level and increase the savings volume to CHF 100 million by 2010. The wage bill will increase by 2.8 percent in 2009. SRG had budgeted a deficit of CHF 57 million for 2008, partly due to the costs of Euro 2008 and the Olympic Games. Commercial revenues fell in 2008. Due to the financial crisis, the pension fund was also underfunded. SRG closed the 2007 financial year with a deficit of CHF 18.5 million. Until 2007, it had still been possible to largely cushion the real decline in revenue since 2000 with savings and efficiency measures.