The Reforms of German Public Service Broadcasting Since 2016

In 2016, the 16 federal state governments in Germany started discussions on the reform of public service broadcasting, prompted by the prospect of having to raise license fees—the main source of income for German public service broadcasters. The discussions proceeded in two directions. One aimed at cost reduction by further streamlining the organizations and services of public service broadcasters. The other involved a more comprehensive approach of reviewing the remit of public service broadcasters, taking into consideration of the recent changes in the media landscape such as the spread of video streaming services and social media. It took time, however, for these discussions to come to a consensus. In November 2022, the amendments to the Interstate Media Treaty were finally passed as the achievement of the latter discussion. The main revisions included the redefinition of public service broadcasters’ remit in the digital information space, changes in the form of service commissioning aiming at enabling faster transformation from broadcasting to online distribution, and increased authority of internal supervisory boards. Also triggered by a scandal involving the head of a public broadcaster in the summer of 2022, the chairman of ARD (Association of Public Broadcasting Corporations in Germany) stated that it would be necessary to make a drastic reform to take a step further to restructure the organizations and services of public service broadcasting. In response, the federal state governments and public service broadcasters respectively re-initiated reform efforts in November 2022, which is still ongoing. This paper tracks these complicated developments of the public service broadcasting reform in Germany that began in 2016 and has continued to this day. Along the way, the author also elucidates what challenges the progress of digital transformation poses to the remit, organizations, and services of German public broadcasters and how solutions are being sought.