The ORF Act lists 19 points as tasks of public broadcasting. Meanwhile, other media have put the former information toppers in their place. But the ORF is not alone in this. Krone+ investigated what importance state broadcasters still have in their country – and why they are still needed.
In 1995, Salzburg TV, the first private television channel, flickered into Austrian living rooms. Banned, because until 2001 there was no law in Austria allowing private television channels. No other European country managed to maintain its monopoly position for so long. For example, in Germany you could already receive SAT 1 and RTL in 1984.
There were understandable reasons why politicians, especially the then powerful SPÖ, did not want to say goodbye to ORF’s autocracy: the ruling parties had tight control over the channel. Although Austria was condemned by the European Court of Human Rights in 1993 for ORF’s broadcasting monopoly, it took another eight years before private broadcasters were legalized.
Source: Krone
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