Balance sheet of the contribution service: the broadcasting contribution and the payment practices

media Balance sheet of the contribution service

The broadcasting fee and payment practices

As of 4:13 p.m | Reading time: 3 minutes

The History of Public Service Broadcasting

When public service broadcasting was founded, the role model was the BBC. ARD and ZDF have the commandment of state distance and independence. They are financed by the broadcasting fee, which repeatedly causes resentment.

You can listen to our WELT podcasts here

In order to display embedded content, your revocable consent to the transmission and processing of personal data is required, since the providers of the embedded content as third-party providers require this consent [In diesem Zusammenhang können auch Nutzungsprofile (u.a. auf Basis von Cookie-IDs) gebildet und angereichert werden, auch außerhalb des EWR]. By setting the switch to “on”, you agree to this (which can be revoked at any time). This also includes your consent to the transfer of certain personal data to third countries, including the USA, in accordance with Art. 49 (1) (a) GDPR. You can find more information about this. You can withdraw your consent at any time via the switch and via privacy at the bottom of the page.

Revenue from the broadcasting fee has reached a record high. That has to do with the contribution rate, which has increased by 86 cents per month. The balance sheet of the contribution service of ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio shows a remarkable development.

Dhe contribution to broadcasting, which has increased since August last year, has brought the total for ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio to a new record high. A total of 8.422 billion euros were distributed by the contribution service to the public institutions last year. According to the annual accounts of the posting service, ARD received a total of 5.9 billion euros, ZDF 2.1 billion euros and Deutschlandradio 243 million euros. 159 million euros went to the state media authorities, which are financed from the contribution.

The increase corresponds to an increase of 3.8 percent compared to the previous year. This year, the income will be even higher because the increased contribution will be collected over the entire twelve months. The contribution was actually supposed to increase from 17.50 to 18.36 euros on January 1, 2021, but due to the lack of approval from Saxony-Anhalt, a subsequent lawsuit by the institutions and a necessary decision by the Federal Constitutional Court, the deadline was delayed by seven months .

The number of contribution accounts was almost stable last year at 45.7 million – Corona hasn’t changed that either. The number of exemptions and reductions was almost 3 million, a large part of which was attributable to recipients of unemployment benefit II. It is noteworthy, as pointed out by Contribution Service boss Michael Krüßel, that the number of accounts that are in a dunning level or in enforcement was down about 10 percent.

also read

“Fit for the future”

Specifically, this means that around one million accounts were in the final stage of enforcement, around two million accounts in a dunning stage before that. According to Krüßel, the payment behavior of the contributors has increased compared to previous years. The reason for this, despite the tense financial situation of households, can only be guessed at – Krüßel cited the number of over-indebted households in Germany, which has also fallen by around ten percent according to the debt atlas, as possible evidence.

An increase in the number of non-contributors, who refuse to pay in principle, cannot therefore be proven. Krüßel said he could not predict what consequences an impending recession could have on payments.

More than 60,000 letters arrive in Cologne-Bocklemünd every day

Quelle: Oliver Berg/dpa/picture alliance

The contribution service itself, which is based in Cologne-Bocklemünd at WDR, was able to make some savings, with expenses falling by 3 million euros to 173 million euros last year compared to 2020. Incidentally, most of the communication with the contributors still takes place by post, around 60,000 letters arrive every day, around 70 million letters were sent by the contribution service last year.

On November 6, a comparison of registration data with the residents’ registration offices will be carried out – this is how the institutions try to find households that are subject to registration that have not yet paid a contribution but would have to pay it. The argument for this comparison is the so-called “fair contribution” – all households, companies and institutions should contribute to the financing of the broadcasting system if they are not exempt from paying.

You can listen to our WELT podcasts here

In order to display embedded content, your revocable consent to the transmission and processing of personal data is required, since the providers of the embedded content as third-party providers require this consent [In diesem Zusammenhang können auch Nutzungsprofile (u.a. auf Basis von Cookie-IDs) gebildet und angereichert werden, auch außerhalb des EWR]. By setting the switch to “on”, you agree to this (which can be revoked at any time). This also includes your consent to the transfer of certain personal data to third countries, including the USA, in accordance with Art. 49 (1) (a) GDPR. You can find more information about this. You can withdraw your consent at any time via the switch and via privacy at the bottom of the page.

However, in extreme situations, such as the flood disaster last year, the institutions waive payment – here apartments that were affected by the flood could be canceled at short notice.

The possibility of paying the contribution in cash is still being examined. The Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig had explicitly allowed this option after a lawsuit in a judgment in April – if a contributor does not have a current account. How exactly the payment will then expire is still open – the reasoning for the judgment is still pending.