German public broadcasters must invest more in producing better programmes, otherwise they risk losing their democratic legitimacy. This is the message that the German film and television industry is sending to German public channels, which are facing growing attacks from the country's far right.
The guilds and associations representing the German film and television creative communities, including the German Screenwriters' Guild, the Alliance of Film and Television Producers, the Federal Actors' Association, the German Producers' Association and the German Directors' Guild , asked for a commitment from public broadcasters to invest at least 50% of their budget in producing shows and spend less on management and administration.
In an open letter to state and government officials, the groups said their “50+ Programming” plan would increase public acceptance and democratic legitimacy of public service broadcasting.
“Every euro invested in programming simultaneously strengthens the stability of German media democracy,” the letter reads.
The German public television system, which operates the national television networks ARD and ZDF as well as numerous regional television and radio stations across the country, is among the best financed in the world. Most of the funding comes through a mandatory television fee of around $20 (18.36 euros) per month per household. But Germany's far-right party AfD has called for an end to the TV tax, accusing ARD and ZDF of being state-backed propaganda machines for the left.
As the AfD gains strength – the party is coming off electoral success in three recent state elections in eastern Germany – many fear there will be pressure to cut funding or dismantle the country's public broadcasting system.
In their letter, the German creatives point out that only 44% of TV tax revenue for public broadcasting currently goes to programming, a level that they say undermines quality and legitimacy. They are calling for a 50+ program programming requirement to be inserted into the State of the Media Treaty governing public broadcasting funding to ensure future reforms do not lead to further cuts.
“We care about the diversity and quality of programming – and nothing less than the survival of public broadcasting itself,” the letter reads. “Public broadcasting legitimizes itself solely through its programming and gains acceptance through good, high-quality content. The more consistently a high level of programming is guaranteed, the more difficult it becomes for political forces seeking to challenge the legitimacy of public broadcasting. 50+ is therefore also a political declaration in favor of a strong public service, a clear signal from the political sphere that the revenues deriving from license fees are directed towards good programming and for the benefit of the citizens who pay them!”
Cuts to public broadcasting also pose an existential threat to many German industry players. Most of the programming on ARD and ZDF comes from independent media companies and freelancers, many of whom would be out of work without their public commissions.