Swiss Broadcasting Corporation outlines restructuring plans

The SBC needs to restructure to save CHF270 million by 2029. Keystone-SDA

The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), Swissinfo's parent company, must restructure due to financial pressures and to stay competitive in the fast-moving media environment. The public broadcaster plans to regroup various departments - sports and drama, production and distribution, as well as human resources, finance and IT services - from the four regional language units.

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“The SBC needs to restructure radically,” said Jean-Michel Cina, chair of the board, at a press conference in Bern on Monday. This is the only way to implement the savings measures of CHF270 million ($339 million) by 2029, or 17% of its budget, under the SBC’s Enavant transformation programme launched last autumn, say officials.

The cost-cutting measures are based on the prospect of a gradual reduction in the licence fee for private individuals from CHF335 to CHF300 per year, as well as lower advertising revenues and higher costs.

From the beginning of 2027, SBC will have to save CHF215 million, say officials. Unlike in the past, this amount will not be divided between the units of the four language regions, SRF, RTS, RSI and RTR.

Hundreds of job cuts

The new director general of SBC, Susanne Wille, has confirmed that it will not be possible to save this amount without repercussions for the services offered. “It’s inevitable,” she said. “But before we can talk about content, we need to adapt the structure. Only then will we be able to discuss programming and offerings.”

+ Read more: SBC expects major job cuts if licence fee slashed

The number of jobs that will have to be cut as part of the measures taken is not yet clear. “We are currently expecting a high three-figure figure,” said Wille. Last autumn, when the Enavant transformation project was launched, SBC spoke of cutting around 1,000 jobs by 2029. It currently employs 7,130 people (2024 figure).

Languages to move closer together

For the first time, the management of SBC and its affiliated language and specialist departments have confirmed that concrete measures are needed, after having expressed themselves in general terms until now. “This is our response to the Federal Council’s savings programme,” said Cina.

SRF, RTS, RSI and RTR will now work more closely together, while continuing to fulfil their journalistic remit, he added. The regions will continue to be responsible for the regional language perspective in the areas of news, entertainment and music, society and culture, and knowledge and education. The language regions will also continue to be responsible for regional distribution via television, radio and the Internet.

SBC’s management has been slightly more specific in the areas of sport and fiction, which oversees series produced in-house and other programmes. In sport, SBC is already responsible for rights and major projects such as the Olympic Games. Merging the editorial teams into a single unit with specialised teams in the regions is therefore a logical step.

SWISS TXT and Swissinfo

With the merger of technology/IT, the subsidiary SWISS TXT, which is responsible for various other technological services in addition to classic teletext, will also disappear. Teletext, however, will be maintained. Production and at least part of distribution will also be combined and managed centrally in future.

Swissinfo, the international online service of the SBC, will continue to exist and will also work more closely with the other business units. As part of its 2027 savings package, the Federal Council is examining the funding situation for Swissinfo. In light of this, SBC will reposition the unit.

Other measures on Tuesday

The Federal Council has decided to gradually reduce the radio and television licence fee in response to the popular initiative “CHF200 is enough” launched by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party. The initiative calls for a reduction in the licence fee to CHF200 per year, which opponents claim will have a dramatic impact on the public media organisation.

On Tuesday, the SBC will announce further cost-cutting measures. In addition to Enavant, further measures will be necessary from 2026 onwards as a result of the decline in commercial revenues. These will be announced separately by the four language units.

Translated from French by DeepL/sb

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