The board of the ORF is calling on politicians: the new financing model of the ORF must be in place at the end of March. At the moment, the government does not seem to know what this should look like.
It was a constructive and exciting meeting of the ORF Foundation Council. The ORF is still in the black – with a result of 0.3 million euros for 2022.
In 2023, the situation looks bleak. The increase in ORF rates, which only came into effect this year, has already been extinguished in 2023. The eight percent increase was based on an average inflation rate of 1.55 percent and was decided shortly before the energy crisis.
To get the steamer ORF out of trouble, the Supervisory Board is demanding quick decisions from politicians: a new legal financing arrangement is needed by March 23, 2023. It is hoped that 740 million euros per year is about 80 million euros more than this year.
“You have to ask yourself: what is public service broadcasting worth?”, says ORF boss Roland Weißmann. Lothar Lockl, chairman of the Foundation Board, also speaks of a “very serious” situation.
The government still seems lost
Currently, 6.4 million Austrians watch ORF every day. But especially the young public should be offered independent information on digital platforms such as TikTok, YouTube & Co. The ORF is not prepared for this at the moment. “Politicians underestimate the explosiveness,” says an ORF board member.
Media Minister Susanne Raab (ÖVP) is responsible. She still seems undecided about ORF’s future. You hear from government circles that they have six months to find a new financing model. Because the Constitutional Court has instructed the government to rethink ORF financing as of 1 January 2024. A decision at the end of the first half of the year is too late for many experts.
How can the ORF get out of the precarious situation? State aid seems out of the question. A further rate increase of ten percent is not reasonable.
Two variants remain: financing the ORF from the budget. An old FPÖ demand that the Greens are now taking up. Or enter a household levy. This would have to be decided quickly in order to collect it in time for 2024. Just think how complex it was to set up the climate bonus logistics.
If there is no agreement, only a program reduction remains. Since large parts are based on a legal basis, only those programs that the law calls optional – such as ORF III and ORF Sport plus – remain.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
