Broadcasting fee: significant increase in revenue
As reporting data was compared nationwide in 2022, the broadcasters' contribution service collected around 5 percent more in 2023 than in 2022.
The Beitragsservice building in Cologne.
(Image: Beitragsservice)
9.02 billion euros in broadcasting contributions were collected in Germany in 2023. According to the "Beitragsservice", the collection company of the broadcasters, this is 5.3% more than in 2022. 8.85 billion euros in total went to ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio. The state media authorities received 170 million euros.
Income increased because registration data was synchronized nationwide in 2022. The contribution service receives the relocation data of all persons of legal age from the residents' registration offices. In addition, it sometimes compares its data with the registration offices. As a result, 909,435 apartments were returned last year, in some cases also for previous periods. This resulted in a new figure of 40,698,001. The number of contribution accounts increased accordingly to a total of 47,016,711 compared to 45,957,188 in 2022.
Contribution exemptions on the decline
Not all newly registered homes will remain in his company's portfolio permanently, said Bernd Roßkopf from the Beitragsservice; it will probably be around 500,000. "From the experience of past nationwide registration data comparisons, we know that many apartments have to be deregistered again after all procedures to clarify the obligation to pay the contribution have been completed because someone is already paying the broadcasting contribution there or the apartment owner can be exempted from the obligation to pay the contribution."
Videos by heise
Exemptions from contributions for social reasons fell again in 2023, by 0.4 percent. In 2022, the decline was 2.4 percent. In total, around 2.42 million people were exempt from the obligation to pay the broadcasting contribution at the end of 2023 compared to 2.43 million in the previous year. Since 2018, the number of exemptions due to the receipt of citizens' income has been falling continuously. 62.84% of exemptions from the obligation to pay the broadcasting contribution result from the receipt of citizens' income, followed by 27.54% of those with basic income support in old age.
Collecting the contributions cost the Beitragsservice 182.2 million euros last year. This is 2.7 percent more than in 2022. The average cost per contribution account was 3.89 euros - an increase of one cent per contribution account compared to the previous year.
Next contribution increase
The Beitragsservice has existed since the beginning of 2013; previously, the GEZ was responsible for the broadcasting fees. Until then, anyone who was able to receive public television or radio broadcasts with a radio set was obliged to pay a fee. Since 2007, internet PCs and other "new types of broadcasting reception devices" have also been affected. Since 2013, the "fee" has been called a "contribution" and is therefore no longer linked to whether a service is actually used.
Empfohlener redaktioneller Inhalt
Mit Ihrer Zustimmung wird hier eine externe Umfrage (Opinary GmbH) geladen.
Ich bin damit einverstanden, dass mir externe Inhalte angezeigt werden. Damit können personenbezogene Daten an Drittplattformen (Opinary GmbH) übermittelt werden. Mehr dazu in unserer Datenschutzerklärung.
The FAZ reports that the broadcasters do not immediately receive the additional revenue from the reporting data reconciliation; it is placed in a reserve. The Commission for the Determination of the Financial Requirements of Broadcasters (KEF) will take them into account when setting the amount of the next broadcasting contribution. In February of this year, the KEF recommended increasing the broadcasting fee from 18.36 euros per month to 18.94 euros.
(anw)
