November 2005
License to Bill
Counting the costs of watching TV
A few years ago, I worked as a TV presenter and sometimes filmmaker for Bavarian Public Television. Although I loved the job, I’m not a great TV watcher and decided to buy a television only when colleagues commented on my program, which I had never seen. In a fit of guilt I bought a TV and put it in a corner. Three years on and my doorbell rang. After enquiring whether I owned a TV or radio, the gentleman from the broadcasting corporation
(Rundfunkanstalt) announced that he had come to collect my (overdue) fees
(Gebühren). Though I pleaded first ignorance and then mercy, from what was to all intents and purposes a colleague, nothing helped and I had to cough up a not insubstantial sum.
For anyone who is not aware of the system of radio and TV license fees in Germany, this is how it works: Germany has two main public-broadcasting channels for television—the ARD (Allgemeine Rundfunkanstalten Deutschlands), often also called Das Erste (the first) because it was the first TV channel in Germany, and ZDF (Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen). There are also a number of public regional channels, known collectively as Das Dritte Programm (the third channel)—here in Bavaria it is Bayerisches Fernsehen—a number of additional channels, such as the kids’ television channel
Kinderkanal, Phoenix, Arte and 3SAT and several public radio stations.
These television and radio stations are financed by fees that must be paid by anyone who owns a television or radio. The public broadcasting corporation
(öffentlich-rechtlicher Rundfunk), which oversees the content and program structure, is at pains to point out that these fees are not a form of taxation, something that would interfere with its status as an apolitical and independent
(staatsfern und unabhängig) body. The corporation, headed by a council
(Rundfunkrat), takes its members from every area of public life. Political parties, unions, the church and various welfare organizations are all represented. Programming must not only be impartial, the corporation is also legally bound to offer a comprehensive and balanced mix of education, culture and entertainment.
The collection of the fees is carried out by an organization known as the Gebühren-Einzugs-Zentrale, or GEZ for short. If you have not yet registered, you’ll find forms for the GEZ in many Sparkassen and banks. Alternatively, you can register online at
www.gez.de.
The fees are made up of two parts: the basic fee
(Grundgebühr) and an additional fee for TV
(Fernsehgebühr). Currently, the basic fee is € 5.52 per month and the TV costs an additional € 11.51—both fees must be paid even if you are only in possession of a television and have no radio. Note: fees are due on devices that are “available for use”
(zum Empfang bereit gehalten) in your home, i.e. it’s no use claiming you never use the TV because it’s in the kids’ room, for example. Any functioning TV or radio, unless it is stored in the attic or cellar, must be paid for. So too, must computers with an inbuilt TV or radio reception.
Fee collectors
(GEZ-Kontrolleure), of whom there are about 1,000 to 1,500 Germany-wide, are freelance employees of your local public broadcasting corporation. They work on commission and route out non-payers by simply checking addresses of non-paying households, one after the other. They have no legal right to enter and search your home and should always carry an ID card
(Ausweis). The payee is the head of the household and there is no fee for additional televisions and radios, so-called
Zweitgeräte. This means that the standard fee for most households in Germany is €17.03 per month.
For more information (in German) go to the GEZ Website,
www.gez.de.
