Fees and Financing in Tallinn / Estonia

Michael Hedges September 29, 2005

Estonian public broadcasters have their own financing dilemma. At the first of this year advertising was removed from both Estonian Radio and Estonian TV. Funding is now from the state budget. The two commercial television stations pay a fee, intended to support public broadcasting but it stops at the Estonian state general budget first, where it might find other uses. And the fee amount is about one-fifth as large as the ad revenue had been. The deficit now made up, more or less, by the State.

Commercial broadcasters, particularly TV, are making more money now that Estonian TV no longer carries advertising. This trickles down to radio broadcasters as TV spot rates have also risen, increasing radio’s attractiveness. But, the radio broadcasters fight an unusual competitive battle, not only among themselves but with the Finns. You see, Estonian commercial radio stations are authorized for fairly low power, the country being rather small geographically. Commercial broadcasters in Finland have no such restrictions and FM signals carry very well over water. Helsinki is but 80 km from Tallinn and several Finnish radio channels boom in.

Editors note: Michael Hedges traveled through the new EU Member States, September 2005 through February 2006, surveying the audiovisual sector for European Commission Social Dialogue committee. The reports for ftm are his own observations and do not reflect the positions of the European Commission or any of the members of the Social Dialogue committee.

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