National Council Commission does not want to cut SRG funding
TV and radio license fees are not to be reduced to 200 francs. The National Council's Telecommunications Commission (KVF) recommends, by a vote of 19 to 7, that the National Council reject a petition making this demand.
The Commission justified its rejection of the request signed by over 140,000 people by arguing that the level of fees is essentially due to Switzerland's multilingualism. In this context, the SRG fulfills an important task for the cohesion of the country.
However, this clear decision should not be seen as a "carte blanche" for the state radio and television company. However, the decision reflects the great trust that the Commission places in the current management of SRG SSR.
A minority, on the other hand, is of the opinion that there should be a discussion about what should be offered under the term public service. The minority therefore wants to approve the petition. In addition to the reduction in fees, it demands the reimbursement of saved and unpaid fees to fee payers. In addition, the petitioners want to put a stop to the Federal Council's planned device-independent fee obligation: they demand an individual opt-out option from the fee obligation.
The petition was initiated by a group led by SVP National Councillor Natalie Rickli. The Zurich resident, who works as a member of the management board for the marketer of the Swiss advertising windows of German private broadcasters, was supported by people from the Facebook group "Bye Bye Billag".
This group had called on Facebook for the collection agency for TV and radio fees to be stripped of its fee administration. According to its own information, Bye Bye Billag is currently preparing a popular initiative with a similar thrust. (SDA)
