Federal Council in favor of fair SRG commissioning - law to strengthen independent producers
The Federal Council supports the planned legal framework for fair cooperation between the SRG and the independent audiovisual production industry. This is intended to establish clearer rules for the awarding of contracts in the future and to increase legal certainty for producers.
The parliamentary initiative by National Councillor Kurt Fluri (FDP, SO) aims to strengthen the participation of independent production companies in the audiovisual market. Specifically, the Radio and Television Act (RTVA) is to be amended so that the SRG is obliged to take certain minimum percentages of independent providers into account when awarding production contracts, as the Federal Council officially announced online today.
SRG's license already requires it to cooperate with the independent sector and to award an "appropriate share" of contracts. The current agreement between SRG and the audiovisual industry dates from 2022 and is valid until the end of 2026. These principles are now to be enshrined in law - with the possibility of stipulating specific award quotas directly in the license.
The Federal Council sees this as an important step towards greater planning security and transparency: "The bill strengthens an industry that is central to high-quality audiovisual productions in Switzerland," the statement reads. At the same time, the amendment fits in with the strategy already adopted of setting limits for the SRG in the entertainment and sports sector and giving private providers more leeway.
However, the Federal Council rejects an extension of the regulation - for example to competition law provisions or programming obligations. It supports the version of the Commission for Transport and Telecommunications (KVF-N) and requests Parliament to approve the bill.
