U-turn: Parliament postpones Swiss FM switch-off

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No end to FM in Switzerland after all – for the time being. The Swiss government had actually decided on the end of FM radio in 2017. However, after the National Council, the smaller chamber, the Council of States, also narrowly voted on Tuesday with 21 to 18 votes and five abstentions to refrain from the complete discontinuation of FM broadcasting in the country planned for the end of 2026.

Now the Swiss government, the Federal Council, has to re-tender and award the FM concessions for the period from 2027 onwards. It is not even certain whether the fee-financed public service broadcaster of Switzerland, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR), will even be among those who will soon be broadcasting again on FM frequencies.

Because the SRG SSR already switched off its total of 17 radio programs in the four Swiss language regions on FM frequencies on December 31, 2024. All FM programs finally migrated to the digital world – or so it seemed until now. However, the SRG now wants to "examine all options".

Half a million listeners lost

In October, the SRG SSR announced that it had lost over half a million listeners in the first half of 2025 compared to the previous year since the switch-off of its FM transmitters. The beneficiaries of the SRG's exit from ultra-short wave are the Swiss private radio stations, which were still allowed to broadcast on FM. According to SRG, they gained around 300.000 listeners. Foreign radio stations also benefited.

The Association of Swiss Private Radio Stations (VSP) is "delighted about the continuation" of FM. The VSP is "relieved that regional radio stations will be spared unnecessarily high listener and advertising losses and that the population will have more time to convert radio devices from analog to digital." According to VSP, about a third of all cars still do not have DAB+ reception.

Years of disputes

The Swiss government, the Federal Council, had originally decided on the FM switch-off back in 2017. In a major industry agreement in the Digital Migration (DigiMig) working group, it was agreed at the time to switch off the SRF's FM transmitters in August 2022. Private radio stations were to follow in January 2023.

After years of back and forth, the Federal Council finally decided in October 2023 to extend the FM concessions until the end of 2026 one last time. This would give the radio industry the desired flexibility to successfully complete the migration process, the Federal Office of Communications (Bakom) explained at the time. The final FM switch-off date was also set for the end of 2026 for private radio stations.

Return "not at the push of a button"

However, whether the SRG SSR will actually return to FM after the Council of States' decision remains to be seen. It is not possible immediately, as if "at the push of a button," says the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. In principle, radio programs could be heard on FM again at the earliest from 2027, writes SRF.

The Federal Office of Communications (Bakom) emphasizes that "the resumption of FM by SRG is currently not possible." The concessions, the broadcasting licenses, stipulate that a returned concession cannot be resumed. It is planned that Bakom will award new FM radio concessions from 2027 onwards. A mere extension of the existing broadcasting licenses is no longer justifiable.

(olb)