RTVG could become a waiting bench

Media policy Anyone hoping to receive licence fee money thanks to the RTVA will have to be patient. In its message on the revision of the Radio and Television Act (RTVA), the Federal Council wrote in December that the new law would hardly come into force before 2005. As a result, local TV stations were counting on not being able to benefit from license fees until 2006. But even this date could prove to be an illusion. It could even be 2007 or even later. This is because the current RTVA, which came into force in 1991, has been stuck in parliament for four years, and Telesuisse President Filippo Lombardi expects the debate in the federal parliament "to be concluded in mid-2004". But only then will ComCom begin work on the necessary RTVA implementing provisions. And only then will the sticking point come to the fore: the designation of the ten to twelve licensing areas for future fee recipients. Delays are inevitable here, as the tug-of-war between the 18 currently licensed broadcasters will begin at this point.
Lombardi remains confident that the RTVA will be discussed in line with the wishes of regional TVs. "In recent years, there have been a relatively large number of initiatives in favor of local TVs, with the Federal Council always referring to the overall revision of the RTVA. We hope that the numerous parliamentarians who co-signed these initiatives will actually support us in the parliamentary debate."
(dse)