While KBS is planning to submit a proposal to increase the license fee in 2021 to the board of directors, it re-emphasized the need to increase the license fee through a newsletter on the 28th. In particular, KBS has frozen the license fee since 1981, but compared it with increasing the license fee several times abroad.
In the previous newsletter (No. 711), KBS announced that it is necessary to increase the subscription fee for △disaster broadcasting △fair broadcasting △public interest broadcasting △regional and minority broadcasting, etc. by opening a’Q&A for realizing subscription fees’ section.
KBS reported on the 28th in its newsletter (No. 712), “Q&A 2: Why should the main source of public broadcasts be license fees?” In a corner titled “In order for public broadcasters to fulfill their public functions, independent public resources are required. I emphasized.
He explained, “If you have a high dependence on commercial capital, you cannot escape the influence of viewership ratings or advertisers, and if you depend on the government budget, it is difficult to rule out interference between the government and political power.”
KBS said, “The concept of a license fee system is that viewers can become the subject of public broadcasting by sharing the financial resources of public broadcasting, and public broadcasting can realize the value of license fees by providing sound and public broadcasting services through public resources.” “There is no doubt that the most ideal resource for operating public broadcasting is the license fee,” he said.
KBS pointed out that “according to the Broadcasting Act, KBS is guaranteed to cover the necessary expenses with subscription fees (Article 56 of the Broadcasting Act), and public broadcasting has to play a role and public obligations accordingly.”
KBS’s public obligations specified in the Broadcasting Act are △operating advertisement-free channels (KBS1TV, 1 radio, 1FM) △Public interest, national broadcasting channels △National key broadcasting responsibilities △Broadcasting culture, technology, academic promotion △Protection of viewer rights and interests and participation guarantee △Social alienation It is hierarchical consideration and support.
KBS also said that overseas public broadcasters cover most of their financial resources with license fees. In the case of KBS, the license fee is 46% of the total financial resources, the BBC said 75.4%, Japan NHK 98.1%, France FT 81.9% Germany ARD, ADF 86.9%.
KBS said, “For overseas public broadcasting, the system for license fees is also strong and practical.”
In Korea, a license fee is charged only for TV receivers, but in the UK, France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, and Japan,’TV receivers’ are charged as TV receivers and virtually all terminal devices that can receive TV content. That it is subject to imposition.
KBS also emphasized that overseas public broadcasters have steadily increased license fees. The subscription fee for KBS has been frozen at 30,000 won per year since 1981. KBS said it has increased the license fee for the UK 27 times since 1981, France 23 times and Germany 8 times.
The UK and France are adopting price indexing as a method of determining the amount of license fees. The UK adopted the price-linked system from 1988 and France from 2011.
Copyright © Media Today, unauthorized reproduction and redistribution are prohibited.