landscape, argues the Federal Council. However, the Federal Council has resolved in its own right to lower the tax from 2027: households will pay 300 francs, and 80 per cent of companies will no longer pay. Media Minister Albert Rösti (SVP), once a co-author of the initiative, sees this as a compromise. He feels the initiative goes too far and the cut would be “drastic”. Rösti has, however, “pushed through a counter-project that will require considerable savings from SRG SSR”. SRG SSR must change without driving away private investors. Restructuring under new management Susanne Wille has been at the head of SRG SSR since November 2024. Shortly after taking office, she announced the largest restructuring in the history of the company. More deA family from Berne watch television together in 1957. Nowadays, we consume a varied range of media content on many different platforms around the clock. Photo: Keystone tails have subsequently emerged. A total of 270 million francs in savings is to be achieved by 2029. Some 900 of the 5,500 jobs are being cut, and administrative structures are to be centralised. Alongside lower taxes, falling advertising revenue is also plaguing SRG SSR. Just like private media groups, it is feeling the bite of advertising money moving to US tech giants like Google. The impact the savings package will have on programming remains unclear. For Wille it is a balancing act: she must make savings without alienating the supporters of public broadcasting, who want content over and beyond the pressure of ratings. She wants to digitise SRG SSR but cannot compete too fiercely with private media houses online. In any event, SRG SSR and publisher associations agreed on one thing last year: SRG SSR is to limit its online text contributions and focus on audiocent of its budget through this tax. If the initiative is approved, it is forecasting a drop in revenue of 800 million francs, not least because a reduced range of programmes would also bring in less advertising revenue. Revenue would halve. Opponents of the initiative describe it as a “halving initiative”, whereas the people behind it say that SRG SSR’s calculations are too pessimistic. Private local radio and TV stations, which also receive money from the tax, would be spared under the initiative. Federal Council itself imposes cutbacks The Swiss government and parliament are against the initiative. It would noticeably reduce the offering and have negative consequences for the economy, culture, society and Switzerland’s already beleaguered media Swiss Review / February 2026 / No.1 5
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjYwNzMx