In a referendum on Sunday, Swiss voters rejected a proposal to slash public funding for the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG), a vote of confidence in the public sector broadcaster which has been under attack from opponents on the political right.
A campaign led by the conservative Swiss People’s Party had sought to cut the annual licence fee paid by Swiss households from 335 Swiss francs to 200 francs. Under the slogan “200 francs is enough!”, critics of the SRG claimed that the price of the licence — the highest in the world, according to Reuters — was too high, and that the broadcaster’s offering had become too sprawling. Other criticisms included assertions that young audiences in Switzerland don’t spend much time with SRG’s output, and accusations that the PSB is politically biased against right-wing political parties.
The SRG and its defenders meanwhile argued that cutting the licence fee would weaken the Swiss media market, and weaken protections against the spread of disinformation. And in Sunday’s referendum, the motion was rejected, with 62 percent of those who voted opposing the proposal.
“Today is a decisive moment for the future of SRG. We are very pleased that the electorate has once again placed its trust in us,” said Jean-Michel Cina, chairman of the SRG Board of Directors. “We are relieved that we were able to demonstrate the added value that SRG provides for the whole of Switzerland.”
A vote of confidence
SRG executives will be breathing a sigh of relief following the vote. The company has already had to implement significant cuts, under pressure to restructure and bring down its spending. Last November, the broadcaster announced plans to cut 900 of its 5,700 full-time positions by 2029.
The broadcaster isn’t entirely funded by the licence fee, since it also brings in a portion of its income through advertising and sponsorship. But public funding makes up the large majority of its income. And costs are particularly high in a market like Switzerland, where multiple linguistic regions need to be catered to. A significant cut to the licence fee would have opened up a significant funding gap for the organisation.
The result may be eyed with cautious optimism elsewhere in Europe too. The accusations levelled at the SRG — of left-wing bias, bloat, and poor value for money — have been aimed at publicly funded broadcasters across the continent.
“We are delighted that the Swiss voting public has given such a clear and decisive endorsement of public media in Switzerland,” said Noel Curran, director general of the European Broadcasting Union. “Adequately funded public service media contributes to higher levels of public trust in news and information and is closely linked to more resilient democratic systems, better able to withstand polarisation and disinformation. This vote sends a clear message: trusted and independent sources of information must be protected — especially now, when they are needed most.”
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