Voting choice CHF 200 media fee is not enough for cultural associations
Four cultural associations have spoken out unanimously against the SRG halving initiative, which will be put to the vote on March 8. The initiative would jeopardize Switzerland's cultural diversity and cohesion.
25.01.2026, 13:11
SDA
As part of this year's Solothurn Film Festival, the associations Cinésuisse, Suisseculture, the Swiss Music Council and IG Volkskultur held a media conference to draw attention to the SRG's indispensable contribution to Swiss film and Swiss series.
Halving the SRG's financial resources would have far-reaching consequences for culture, media diversity, jobs and social cohesion, the associations wrote in a joint press release on Sunday.
"A third of the more than 5,000 jobs in the industry would be affected," Cyril Tissot, Secretary General of the Association romande de la production audiovisuelle (Aropa), told the Keystone-SDA news agency. All series produced in Switzerland are dependent on funding from the public service. Aropa represents over eighty companies from the cinema, series, documentary and animated film sectors.
The initiative threatens our ability to tell stories through cinema and series, Biel-based actress Anna Pieri Zürcher was quoted as saying in the press release on Sunday. "What we spend money on together says a lot about what kind of country we want to be," said Pieri Zuercher.
According to the cultural associations, the SRG halving initiative would cut important funds used to tell Swiss stories. As a result, Swiss productions are in danger of being displaced by cheaply purchased series and international formats.
In the eyes of the initiative committee, however, the reduction in fees would leave all citizens with "more to live on", as the committee explained at its media conference on the vote in mid-January. The proposal aims to reduce the fees for radio and television from CHF 335 per household per year to CHF 200. Companies should be completely exempt from the fee.
