Liechtenstein must stop public broadcasting

The citizens of the small Principality of Liechtenstein have decided: 55.4 percent of them voted for the repeal of the law on “Liechtenstein Radio”. This means that the Liechtenstein public radio must cease operations in its current form. That was 59.3 percent.

From 2026, the country’s only broadcaster will lose its legal basis and thus its financing. Liechtenstein will then be the only country in Europe without a public broadcaster as it does not have its own television station, it was said.

The Progressive Citizens’ Party in Liechtenstein (FBP) regretted the result. Party President Alexander Batliner said: “Personally, it makes me sad because it weakens Liechtenstein’s media landscape and reduces media diversity of opinion for the second time in just a few years.”

Carmen Dahl from the Liechtenstein Press Club criticized on Liechtenstein Radio: “Liechtenstein is in a very special situation in terms of media policy because there is only one leading medium in the country.”

The right-wing populist party Democrats for Liechtenstein (DpL) is behind the initiative. She calls for the privatization of radio and justifies this by saying that the station is a bottomless pit of finance. Radio Liechtenstein is financed primarily from public funds and is free for listeners. The DpL criticized the fact that the station received a large part of the media funding and had to be rescued with emergency loans, reported Schweizer Rundfunk.

Those responsible at Radio Liechtenstein see privatization as the end of the station, reports the Liechtenstein online portal. Experts doubt whether a radio can be operated profitably in the small state with around 40,000 inhabitants. It is also doubtful that private investors will be found.

Media Minister Sabine Monauni explained that we now have to wait for the results of the election survey to find out the reasons for the yes vote. She sees the initiators of the referendum as having a duty. DpL state parliament member Thomas Rehak, however, is calling for the law to be revised quickly. His party is ready to work with the government and the other parties on this, reports Radio Liechtenstein.

According to a study by the Liechtenstein Institute on media usage, only just under a fifth of the population are regular daily listeners to the station. Just over a fifth said they tune in to the station several times a week, reports . When asked how important it is for Liechtenstein to have its own radio station, 43 percent answered “important” or “very important”. Slightly more, namely 46 percent, considered it “less important” or “unimportant”.