The German roadmap for public broadcasting

Michael Hedges October 28, 2008

There’s no superhighway getting from old media land to new media land. Public and commercial broadcasters bump into each other. Publishers accelerate only to find competitors enjoying tea at the rest-stops. Along the way, regulators set up toll-booths and politicians set up detours. Meanwhile, the public – chased by a swarm of buzzing advertising people – flies on to new media land.

Germany is amending its State Broadcasting Treaty for the 12th time. Nobody is particularly happy about the draft presented last week. Private sector broadcasters and publishers say it doesn’t go far enough to reign public broadcasters. Germany’s powerful public broadcasters, with a slight shrug, say it misses the point. Whatever is finally accepted by the German State parliaments will set rules defining and governing public broadcasting.

Revising the State Broadcasting Treaty wasn’t a task relished by anybody. It was forced by European Commission Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes when a compromise was reached after an anti-trust investigation. Commissioner Kroes wouldn’t see the German government at the European Court of Justice if promised rules were implemented within two years. The new rules would, in effect, force German public broadcasters to accept a specifically defined remit with respect to new media and commercial offerings. Both Commissioner Kroes and Info Society and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding are hopeful the new German rules will stand as a model for the rest of Europe’s public service broadcasters (PSB).

Under the new Treaty draft new public broadcasting on-line and digital projects must meet a three step criteria. Each must be affordable and make a qualitative contribution to journalism. The public broadcasters would determine if new media offerings meet the criteria.

Both private sector broadcasters and publishers see a PSB fox in the henhouse and prefer an independent body looking after the new media chickens. Private broadcasters association (Verband Privater Rundfunk und Telemedier - VPRT) president Jürgen Doetz called the idea “one little fantasy.” VPRT wants this test applied as well to existing PSB offerings. After the draft Treaty was revealed (October 23) Doetz appealed to the federal government for “one last chance.”

Language in the draft treaty is somewhat vague regarding content definition. News and public affairs is mentioned, as is ‘journalism’. It does not specifically prohibit PSBs from ‘entertainment’ offerings on-line or over the airwaves. Commissioner Kroes specifically questioned the appropriateness of PSBs offering dating websites.

“We will watch with Argus eyes to make sure whether this system works,” said German Magazine Publishers Association media policy analyst Christoph Fiedler in a statement.

“The three step test will lead to a permanent problem with the law,” said Bavarian Center for New Media (BLM Bayerischen Landeszentrale für neue Medien) president Wolf-Dieter Ring. He doubts the public broadcasters would apply the proposed test “in neutrality.”

On the net public broadcasters may not make a program available for more than seven days. Prohibited would be websites and news portals similar to those already available from private sector providers. 

Commissioner Neelie Kroes has demanded language in German law defining specifically the remit of public service broadcasters.

The scope of Commissioner Kroes’ complaint broadly faults German public television channels ARD and ZDF with abusing the privileged position of public (license fee) funding. The increasingly common practice of public broadcasters acquiring multi-platform sports rights then re-selling all or part – often at a profit – smacks at EC State aid rules when public money is used.  PSBs are allowed commercial activities – like BBC Worldwide – but Commissioner Kroes demands these are spun-off into subsidiaries with separate accounts and no co-mingling with public funding.

Private sector broadcasters and publishers want to slam the door on new media expansion by the public broadcasters. That’s tricky because new media land is the destination of choice for all media people. Public broadcasters make the case that satisfying their public service remit virtually requires ventures into new media.

German publishers see new media as a natural and, perhaps, imperative business extension. “If print in Germany is no longer growing,” said Burda’s Crossmedia Director Christiane zu Salam to Cicero.de (October 23), “we will only exist if we successfully transfer our brands to the internet. And then we have to fight very hard for market share.”

And too, not insignificantly, distribution of license fee money among the different State PSBs is high on the agenda. The commission charged with charging Germans the license fee has proposed increases.

The European Commission’s decision to set aside anti-cartel penalties against the German PSBs is contingent on the State Broadcasting Treaty being enacted by May 1st 2009. All sixteen German State parliaments must now approve before submitting to German federal authorities…and then to Commissioner Kroes.