Funding questions at the start of the year

Belgium: RTBF faces austerity

Belgium’s independent media regulator, the Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel (CSA), published its annual review into how the public broadcaster, the RTBF, is fulfilling its mission. It applauded the RTBF’s status as a key player in local audiovisual production, and that it was fulfilling its mission to be close to Belgian people, reaching 89 percent of those aged 16 and older.

It also showed that the RTBF’s multi-platform approach was pushing it to innovate its offerings and formats. The review also highlighted that the broadcaster was using its different platforms to reach younger audiences, not only to inform them but also to teach them about the responsible and critical use of the media. 

However, the Belgian public broadcaster is facing austerity measures in 2025, as the newly elected government wants to review RTBF’s budget and refocus the broadcaster’s mission.

Israel: High Court rules on KAN board

The High Court has intervened in the Israeli government’s efforts to privatise the public broadcaster, KAN. In a decision on Monday, the High Court extended the tenure of two members of the broadcaster’s governing council, whose terms had initially ended in November, but no replacements had been appointed by the government. It meant the Council was paralysed, falling short of a quorum. However, the country’s Communications Minister, Shlomo Karhi, rejected the Court’s decision, saying the court was acting “without authority”, and only the Communications Minister had the power to extend council members’ terms. In turn, his response was condemned by opposition MPs. 

For months, KAN has found itself under threat from the Israeli government. A bill put forward in November proposed the selling of KAN, or if no buyer could be found, its ultimate demise. 

Switzerland: FM falls silent

At 11:59pm on New Year’s Eve, FM radios in Switzerland that were tuned to any of the public broadcaster’s stations fell silent. The broadcaster, SRG SSR, had finally made a long-awaited move to becoming a digital-only broadcaster, shutting down its analogue transmitters. 

Few people would have noticed. Federal Office of Communications data showed less than 10 percent of radio listenership in Switzerland is via FM radio, with most of that happening in cars. Meanwhile, the use of DAB+ digital radio is now about 41 percent of all listening, a rate that’s doubled since 2015. Internet streaming has grown to 39 percent. 

Planning for the switch began about a decade ago, when the Federal Office moved to making DAB+ the new standard for radio. As part of cost-cutting measures, SRG SSR’s board of directors voted to phase out FM radio by the end of 2024. 

Norway was the first country in the world to end national broadcasts on FM in 2017, while several other European countries have similar plans.