this post was submitted on 31 Jan 2026
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As an example of the system being reworked into a better one: Germany's equivalent not only finances public broadcast channels, but also youtubers through the program FUNK. Granted, a lion's share still goes into the old TV channels, but at least that includes the French/German channel Arte, which has some top notch content (though usually documentaries) that it regularly uploads onto YouTube.
The TV licence funds the BBC’s 10 TV channels, 10 national radio stations, 6 regional radio stations, 50 local radio stations, 14 regional news operations, the biggest news gathering organisation in the world, 4 orchestras and music groups, world-leading R&D labs, S4C, local democracy reporters, and the World Service. It broadcasts in 39 languages and outputs 140 hours of news per day. It is also about to fund youtube creators. It’s cheaper than the German tax.
That seems more tolerable than in Japan where some people there consider NHK being annoying with agents actually knocking on their door and expecting payment for having a TV.
That is interesting. I like that they used YouTube channels. I feel like TV is sadly a dying platform though I do hate the day that TV and Cinema die. Unfortunately it only happens cause TV License people dug their own grave. Also, there is not enough new stuff to watch on TV with every streaming service putting out so many platforms to watch on. Though maybe I am being too cynnical and I apolagize.
I wouldn't say you're too cynical with that view. I mean, the 2 German public broadcast channels (ARD, ZDF) are under constant fire for basically catering to an audience that is slowly dying out - both metaphorically and physically. Sure, some of these shows still have some popularity with younger generations, but that is few and far between. It's pretty much the same idea that plagues big corporations - change is scary as it poses a risk, so they avoid it - even if they literally have nothing to lose.
And I agree that the fractured streaming environment made it ever harder to license content. However, I don't think they should focus on licensing content to begin with. Instead, offer more grants for independent studios to create publicly available movies and shows. I mean, as we speak, Glitch is funding multiple shows to be viewed for free on YouTube. Why can't public broadcast channels do that more too?