In a decision by the federal party conference in Berlin, the FDP demands fundamental changes in public broadcasting. The program should focus on education and information, the structures should be streamlined, increases in broadcasting fees should be suspended in the current situation. “In the medium and long term, the broadcasting fee should be reduced through comprehensive order and structural reforms,” the FDP demands.
The FDP advocates a “dismantling of double and multiple structures” at the broadcasters. This should be achieved through “a clear division of tasks between nationwide and regional content”. From the point of view of the FDP, the content of the ZDF and the national offer of the ARD should be brought together, including the special interest channels, so that in particular a comprehensive news channel is created. “State broadcasting corporations remain responsible for the regional offerings in their respective broadcasting areas,” the FDP decided after almost an hour’s debate in the plenary session of the party congress. The party considers 64 radio waves alone in the ARD to be too much. A stronger cooperation of the institutions is required. “Germany-wide framework programs for different program types can be formed, which can be switched apart for regional content,” explained the FDP.
The party congress also spoke out in favor of reducing entertainment formats in the programs. However, the party congress rejected a demand by the Young Liberals to limit sports and entertainment to a maximum of 20 percent of the budget and broadcasting time.
From the party’s point of view, public service broadcasting, for which the federal states are responsible for the design and laws, should also “become largely free of advertising and sponsorship in the future”, with permanent contribution stability having priority. The broadcasting fee that every household pays for ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandfunk per month is currently 18.36 euros. The procedure for determining the new broadcasting fee from 2025 will begin at the end of April. Several federal states have already demanded that the fee should not increase.