SRG increases transparency and reports further costs

SRG is consistently pursuing its path of transparency with its 2016 annual report. According to the press release, it offers the highest level of transparency among media companies in Europe.

Costs for TV broadcasts and radio programs

As a supplement to the SRG Annual Report, the Enterprise Units (SRF, RTS, RSI and RTR) again published the costs of news, magazine and talk shows, feature films and series, entertainment and music programs, documentaries and reports, and sports broadcasts this year. In addition, all business units publish the costs of their radio stations.

- Swiss Radio and Television (SRF): Srf.ch/sendingcosts

- Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS): Rtsentreprise.ch/emissions-couts

- Radiotelevisione svizzera (RSI): Rsi.ch/costi

- Radiotelevisiun Svizra Rumantscha (RTR): Rtr.ch/custs

New: Costs for national co-productions and sports rights

The above-mentioned links also take you to the costs of major national co-productions such as "Gotthard," "Dada Data" or "August 1 Broadcast. SRG now also shows the total costs for sports rights: on average 51.2 million Swiss francs per year over the past four years. SRG offers the public a sports program with more than 100 sports. This is unique in Europe - also in terms of the cost-benefit ratio: per household, the sports offering costs 1 franc and 12 centimes per week. In addition to the Olympic Games and popular sports such as soccer, ice hockey and alpine skiing, sports that are less in the spotlight also find a stage. These include rowing, fencing, swimming, handball, floorball, volleyball and golf.

Employees and wages

SRG shows how the salaries of its top executives, managers and employees develop and compares itself with the Swiss economy as a whole and other companies. In the new annual report, it goes a step further and shows three new graphs: the compensation of the management of the business units and the average salaries by professional group and by selected journalistic functions.

SRG delegates approve annual report

Under the chairmanship of Viktor Baumeler, the delegates from all regions of Switzerland approved the 2016 Annual Report and Accounts at the Delegates' Meeting on April 28, 2017. The 2016 financial statements closed with a plus of 25 million Swiss francs (see media release of April 7, 2017). This result was achieved thanks to the cost-cutting measures introduced in 2015. SRG is counting on a balanced result in the coming years as well, despite an expected decline in revenues.

Farewell to Chairman of the Board Viktor Baumeler and Board member Lucy Küng

The Assembly of Delegates bids farewell to Viktor Baumeler, President of SRG, who is stepping down from his post on April 30. Jean-François Roth, Vice-President of SRG, thanked the delegates for Viktor Baumeler's services: "With his calm and balanced manner, he was able to master even conflict situations elegantly. Reasonable compromises and fair solutions are the credo of his work. As President of SRG Deutschschweiz, he was the driving force behind the structural reform and the convergence of radio and television into SRF in 2008. As a member of the Board of Directors and Chairman, he was able to successfully implement important personnel decisions, such as the elections of Roger de Weck, Gilles Marchand and Jean-Michel Cina."

Viktor Baumeler championed the concerns of SRG for 25 years: from 1992 to May 2008 on the board of SRG Central Switzerland, including 13 years as president; from 2001 to 2015 on the board of SRG German-speaking Switzerland, including eight years as president; from 2008 to April 2017 as a member of the SRG Board of Directors (2012-2015 vice president), including December 2015 to April 2017 as president SRG. From 1988 to 2008, Baumeler was State Secretary of the Canton of Lucerne (Chief of Staff of the Government and Parliament). Before that, he held other important posts as Chief of Staff of the Social Affairs Department of the City of Zurich and Chief of Staff of the Education Department of the Canton of Lucerne.

Jean-Michel Cina has been Chairman of the SRG Board of Directors since May 1, 2017. The Valais lawyer and notary was Director of Economic Affairs for the Canton of Valais from 2005 to April 2017 and previously a member of the National Council.

The delegates also bid farewell to Board member Lucy Küng. After more than nine years, the professor of media innovation at the University of Oslo, visiting lecturer at Oxford University and lecturer at the University of St. Gallen is leaving the SRG Board of Directors at her own request. She joins the Board of Directors of NZZ. The SRG Board of Directors will initiate the selection process for her successor before the end of May.