CSU parliamentary group opposes increase in broadcasting fee
The CSU parliamentary group clearly rejects the proposed increase in the broadcasting fee for 2025. With the current contributions, "the legal mandate can be fulfilled without any problems", said parliamentary group leader Klaus Holetschek to the "Münchner Merkur" (Saturday edition). The broadcasters should finally implement fundamental reforms in terms of content and structure. "Not every broadcaster has to offer everything themselves and be present everywhere," emphasized Holetschek.
It was announced on Friday that, according to a draft by the KEF committee of experts, the monthly broadcasting fee is to rise by 58 cents from 18.36 euros to 18.94 euros from 2025. The commission intends to make a final recommendation to the federal states, which have the final say on the amount of the contribution, at the beginning of 2024. However, they must closely follow the KEF recommendation.
The public broadcasters ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio are mainly financed by income from the broadcasting fee paid by households and companies. The amount of the contribution is set out in a state treaty, which must be unanimously approved by all federal states. However, several state premiers have already made it clear that they will not support an increase this time because they do not see any acceptance for it among the population.
The CSU's opposition to the broadcasting fee increase could influence discussions among the federal states. Despite the proposed increase by the KEF committee for 2025, some federal states, including Germany's public broadcasters ARD and ZDF's financing sources, might consider implementing fundamental reforms in content and structure, as suggested by Holetschek.
Source: www.dpa.com
