Saxony’s Minister of State for Media and Head of the State Chancellery Oliver Schenk (CDU) has rejected the increase in the broadcasting fee proposed by the independent commission KEF from January 1, 2025. At the “Medientage Mitteldeutschland” on Wednesday in Leipzig, Schenk said: “You have to be honest – that’s not going to happen.”
The moderator of the round, Michaela Kolster, program manager of the event channel Phoenix on ARD and ZDF, then explained that Schenk was “calling for a breach of the constitution as minister of state”.
Schenk also advised public broadcasters not to sue the Federal Constitutional Court for the contribution increase. “Of course they are free to do that, they would probably win, but it would be a Pyrrhic victory that would further reduce the acceptance of public broadcasting,” said Schenk. Until now, this option was considered a secret plan by the federal states.
The KEF’s recommendations were previously considered binding
Rather, the states would have to take the next reform steps quickly and present a reform treaty by the end of the year, on the basis of which the amount of contributions could then be recalculated. “We now have to get the reform done and then we can talk about financing again,” said Schenk. There must be “reasonable savings potential” for this to happen. The financing of the institutions has been secured by reserves from additional income from the broadcasting fee since 2020.
The chairwoman of the ZDF television council, Marlehn Thieme, explained that Schenk needed “circles oriented towards the rule of law to go to the Federal Constitutional Court”. The chairwoman of the committee called on politicians to “check whether they are doing the ÖRR’s democratic mission a favor” if the constitutional procedure for determining contributions were abandoned.
According to the procedure confirmed by the Federal Constitutional Court in several judgments, the commission for determining the financial needs of broadcasters (KEF), made up of independent experts, calculates the amount of the contribution. This recommendation is binding for the federal states and can only be changed in exceptional cases.
The director of Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR), Ralf Ludwig, explained at the meeting that he continues to expect the contribution to be increased to the amount of 18.94 euros per month recommended by the KEF. Ludwig had already declared that he would sue in Karlsruhe if necessary. The contribution is currently 18.36 euros.