Signatures handed in for reduction of Swiss licence fee

Supporters of the initiative argue that Switzerland has the highest fees in the world. The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation says that the consequence of a more centralised structure would be at the expense of regional reporting and its linguistic and cultural diversity programming. © Keystone / Peter Schneider

Over 128,000 signatures were handed in to the Federal Chancellery demanding a reduction of the mandatory licence fee. This is levied annually to fund the public broadcaster’s offerings.

The initiative “CHF200 is enough!” wants to reduce the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) licence fee from CHF335 ($384) per household per year to CHF200.

On Thursday the initiative committee submitted more than 128,000 signatures to the Federal Chancellery in Bern; 100,000 are needed for a valid people’s initiative.

This means that following parliamentary debates on the proposal, it will in all likelihood be put to Swiss voters in the coming years. After the “No Billag” initiative, rejected by citizens in 2018, it is the second such campaign against SBC fees to emerge in recent years.

++Attack on public broadcasting licence fee clearly fails

The supporters of the initiative argue that Switzerland levies some of the highest fees in the world. Additionally, the supporters of the initiative state that media offerings and personal usage have changed considerably over time.

In a written responseExternal link, the SBC – the parent company of SWI swissinfo.ch – said the initiative is radical and that with a reduced budget, it would no longer be financially viable in its current decentralised structure. The consequence of a more centralised structure would come at the expense of regional reporting and linguistic and cultural diversity of programming, the SBC writes. The SBC states that it will continue to prove its value to society.