Majority of Germans Reject Increase in Broadcasting Fees: Only 13% Support Additional Charges

The majority of Germans reject an increase in broadcasting fees. According to a quick poll by the opinion research institute Insa for the
„Bild“
-Zeitung, 78 percent of respondents do not want to pay more money for public broadcasters. Most recently, the SWR director and ARD chairman Kai Gniffke announced: “We will fight for an increase in contributions.” But only 13 percent of Germans support this.

Only five percent would pay the current license fee or more

Insa also asked how much the Germans would pay for the broadcasting fee. Only five percent of those surveyed would pay the current broadcasting fee or more. 38 percent stated that they did not want to pay anything for public broadcasters.

The public service broadcasters took in 8.57 billion euros from the contributions last year. The additional income results primarily from the last increase in the broadcasting fee. Since 2022, all German households have had to pay 18.36 euros instead of the previous 17.50 euros.