DON’T MISS
IamExpat Job BoardIamExpat HousingIamExpat Webinars
Newsletters
EXPAT INFO
CAREER
HOUSING
EDUCATION
LIFESTYLE
EXPAT SERVICES
NEWS & ARTICLES
Home
Expat Info
Swiss news & articles
Referendum to slash the Swiss TV licence fee submitted for approval
Never miss a thing!Sign up for our weekly newsletters with important news stories, expat events and special offers.
Keep me updated with exclusive offers from partner companies
By signing up, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with our privacy policy

Referendum to slash the Swiss TV licence fee submitted for approval

Never miss a thing!Sign up for our weekly newsletters with important news stories, expat events and special offers.
Keep me updated with exclusive offers from partner companies
By signing up, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with our privacy policy
or
follow us for regular updates:



Related Stories

April 2025 in Switzerland: 10 major changes expats need to know aboutApril 2025 in Switzerland: 10 major changes expats need to know about
March 2025 in Switzerland: 10 important things expats need to knowMarch 2025 in Switzerland: 10 important things expats need to know
December 2024: 12 important changes expats in Switzerland need to knowDecember 2024: 12 important changes expats in Switzerland need to know
Measures to curb Airbnb in Switzerland having little effect, data revealsMeasures to curb Airbnb in Switzerland having little effect, data reveals
November 2024: 11 changes expats in Switzerland need to know aboutNovember 2024: 11 changes expats in Switzerland need to know about
Why is Switzerland going to move its border with Italy?Why is Switzerland going to move its border with Italy?
Switzerland scraps plans for night trains to Rome and BarcelonaSwitzerland scraps plans for night trains to Rome and Barcelona
50.000 francs offered for ideas to get unexploded ammo out of Swiss lakes50.000 francs offered for ideas to get unexploded ammo out of Swiss lakes
For expats of all colours, shapes and sizes

Explore
Expat infoCareerHousingEducationLifestyleExpat servicesNews & articles
About us
IamExpat MediaAdvertisePost a jobContact usSitemap
More IamExpat
IamExpat Job BoardIamExpat HousingWebinarsNewsletters
Privacy
Terms of usePrivacy policyCookiesAvoiding scams

Never miss a thing!Sign up for expat events, news & offers, delivered once a week.
Keep me updated with exclusive offers from partner companies
By signing up, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with our privacy policy


© 2025 IamExpat Media B.V.
© 2025 IamExpat Media B.V.
Mar 4, 2022
Jan de Boer

Editor at IamExpat Media

Jan studied History at the University of York and Broadcast Journalism at the University of Sheffield. Though born in York, Jan has lived most of his life in Zurich and has worked as a journalist, writer and editor since 2016. While he has plunged head-first back into life in Switzerland since returning to the country in 2020, he still enjoys a taste of home at pub quizzes and karaoke nights.Read more

A new referendum has been submitted that would reduce the cost of a Swiss TV licence to 200 Swiss francs a year. The organisers believe that the recent referendum that rejected direct funding of the media is an indication that people in Switzerland don’t want to pay as much for public broadcasting.

TV licence in Switzerland no longer reflects how people view media

The committee, which is dominated by the Swiss People’s Party, has launched a popular initiative to reduce the fee for a TV and radio licence. The plan would see the annual fee reduced from 335 Swiss francs to 200 francs a year per household. Under the new plan, companies would no longer have to pay the fee. Activists have been buoyed by the result of the latest referendums, which saw the rejection of a plan to directly fund private media.

“200 francs is enough!” - the official name of the referendum - was launched in Bern on Tuesday, with National Councillor Thomas Matter saying that the current system where all families and households are charged a flat fee, regardless of whether they watch or listen to Swiss public programming, no longer reflects “the reality of media consumption in our country.” In order to make the system fairer for those who do not use Swiss services, they propose a cut to the licence fee.

Swiss public broadcaster takes this "new attack" into account

In response, the public broadcaster, SRG SSR, said that it had taken this “new attack” into account and would campaign against it. Jean-Michel Cina, Chairman of the SRG SSR Board of Directors, asserted that the network makes an important contribution to Swiss culture by playing an integral role in the social cohesion between the different language groups of Switzerland.

“The SRG SSR could no longer be financed with such a greatly reduced budget in its current, decentralized structure,” said Cina, who warned that regional reporting would suffer under the new plan. National Councillor Jon Pult called it a “full-frontal attack on our public media service” and argued that in a world of advertiser-driven journalism, a public broadcaster was essential.

The committee has now submitted the referendum for scrutiny and will begin gathering signatures once the initiative is approved. SRG SSR will take heart in the fact that a similar referendum has been tried before, with a vote to abolish the licence fee being defeated by 70 percent of voters in 2018. 

By Jan de Boer