ORF household tax: “You also have to take other measures”

OÖN-TV: The ORF plans that in the future every household should make its contribution to public broadcasting. How is this decision classified?

If there is agreement that a public service broadcaster is needed, its funding must also be guaranteed. It is therefore also to be welcomed if the Austrians take part in it. But you can’t just close financial gaps in public service broadcasting with a broadcasting tax, because the ORF has to be politically independent.

How big will the financial burden be the to the households?

That will be decided by the politically occupied committees in the ORF. But the household fee must be significantly lower than the previous GIS fee.

What would it mean if the ORF had to stop its specialist channel ORF Sport +?

Fringe sports that are not in the focus of broad awareness throughout the year will have a problem because they need a platform to represent their sponsors. This will not affect economically spoiled sports such as alpine skiing, Formula 1 or football, which the ORF will continue to look after in some way.

Video: The talk in full

The end of the funding for the radio symphony orchestra is also being discussed. Can the ORF do without it?

The ORF is currently trying to turn all the screws that are not anchored in the ORF law. A two-thirds majority in the National Council would be needed for changes that would require changing the law beforehand.

How burdensome is the political influence for the ORF?

It is enormously stressful because the ORF is always suspected of being influenced. The board of trustees should actually be the supervisory board of the ORF, but it cannot fulfill this role because it is exclusively political.