Television licence

A television licence or broadcast receiving licence is a payment required in many countries for the reception of television broadcasts or the possession of a television set. In some countries, a licence is also required to own a radio or receive radio broadcasts. In such countries, some broadcasts are funded in full or in part by the licence fees. Licence fees are effectively a hypothecated tax to fund public broadcasting.

History

Radio broadcasters in the early 20th century needed to raise funds for their services. In some countries, this was achieved via advertising, while others adopted a compulsory subscription model with households that owned a radio set being required to purchase a licence. The United Kingdom was the first country to adopt compulsory public subscription with a licence, originally known as a wireless licence, used to fund the BBC. In most countries that introduced radio licensing, possession of a licence was simply an indication of having paid the fee.
With the arrival of television, some countries created separate television licences. Other countries increased radio licence fees to cover the additional cost of television broadcasting, changing the name from "radio licence" to "TV licence" or "receiver licence". Today, most countries fund public radio broadcasting from the same licence fee that is used for television, although a few still have separate radio licences. Some countries, such as the United Kingdom and Japan, have lower fees for households that only own monochrome television sets. In many countries, elderly and disabled consumers have a reduced or zero licence fee.
Faced with licence fee evasion, some countries chose to fund public broadcasters directly from taxation or via methods such as a co-payment with electricity billing. In some countries, national public broadcasters carry advertising.
In 1989, the Council of Europe created the European Convention on Transfrontier Television. Among other things, this regulates advertising. The treaty came into force in 1993 when it had been ratified by seven countries, including five EU member states., 34 countries have acceded to the treaty.

Television licensing by country

Usage and costs of television licences vary greatly between countries. The Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago reports that two-thirds of countries in Europe and half of countries in Asia and Africa use television licences to fund public television. Television licensing is rare in the Americas, largely confined to British Overseas Territories. In some countries, radio channels and broadcasters' websites are also funded by a licence, giving access to radio and online services free of advertising.

Television licences in Europe

Albania

The Albanian licence fee is 100 lekë per month, paid as part of the electricity bill. This makes up part of RTSH's funding: 58 per cent comes directly from the government through taxes with the remainder from commercials and the licence fee.

Austria

Under Austria's TV and Radio Licence Law, all operational broadcast reception equipment must be registered. Since 1998, the has been responsible for licence administration. GIS was renamed ORF-Beitragsservice in 2024. It is a fully owned subsidiary of the Austrian public broadcaster, and an agency of the Federal Ministry of Finance. GIS aims to inform people about licensing, using a four-channel communication strategy consisting of:

advertising campaigns in printed media, radio and television,
direct mail,
outlets such as post offices, banks, tobacconists and the five GIS Service Centres where people can register,
field service customer consultants visiting households not yet registered.

In 2007 the total licensing income was €682 million, 66 per cent of which was allocated to the ORF. The remaining 34 per cent was allocated to the federal government and local governments to fund cultural activities. GIS employs 191 people and has approximately 125 freelancers in the field service. 3.4 million Austrian households are registered with the GIS with 2.5 per cent evading the licence.
The television & radio licence fee varies between states. As of 2022, Styria has the highest annual television licence cost, at €343.80, and Salzburg and Burgenland have the highest annual radio licence cost, at €94.92. Annual fees from July 2022 are:

State	Television	Radio
Burgenland	€341.40	€94.92
Carinthia	€330.60	€92.52
Lower Austria	€339.00	€93.72
Upper Austria	€269.40	€75.72
Salzburg	€325.80	€94.92
Styria	€343.80	€94.92
Tyrol	€317.40	€88.92
Vorarlberg	€269.40	€75.72
Vienna	€339.00	€94.20

Since 2024, the broadcasting fee has been replaced by a household tax that every household pays. It is €15.30 per month. In the federal states of Burgenland, Carinthia, Styria and Tyrol, an additional state tax must be paid - this amounts to between €3.10 and €4.70 per month.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

The licence fee in Bosnia and Herzegovina is approximately €46 per year. The Bosnian War and associated collapse of infrastructure caused very high evasion rates. This has partly been resolved by collecting the licence fee as part of each household's monthly telephone bill. The licence fee is divided between three broadcasters:

50 per cent to BHRT, the main radio and television broadcaster in Bosnia and Herzegovina at national level, and Bosnia's only member of the European Broadcasting Union.
25 per cent to RTVFBiH, a radio and television broadcaster that primarily serves the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
25 per cent to RTRS, a radio and television broadcaster which primarily serves the Republika Srpska.
Croatia

The licence fee in Croatia is regulated by the Croatian Radiotelevision Act, 2003. This law was written to ensure compliance with the European Convention on Transfrontier Television, which Croatia joined between 1999 and 2002. In addition to the licensing, the law regulates television advertising. Up to 9 per cent of air time on HRT may be given to advertising, with a limit of only one commercial during short breaks and no breaks during films. This is less than the limit permitted for commercial broadcasters.
The licence fee is charged to all owners of equipment capable of receiving television or radio broadcasts. It is set at 1.5 per cent of the previous year's average net salary, which is €137 per year per household with at least one radio or television receiver. It is the main source of revenue for the national broadcaster Hrvatska Radiotelevizija, and a secondary source of income for other national and local broadcasters, which receive a minority share. Within HRT, 66 per cent of the licence fee income goes to television and 34 per cent to radio.

Czech Republic

The licence fee in the Czech Republic is 150 Kč per month for television and 55 Kč per month for radio, amounting to 2460 Kč per year. Paid advertisements are not permitted on television except in narrowly defined circumstances during a transitional period. Each household that owns at least one television pays for one licence, regardless of how many televisions they own. Corporations and the self-employed must pay for a licence for each television and radio.

Germany

The licence fee in Germany is €18.36 per month for all apartments, secondary residences, holiday homes and summer houses. Since 2003 it has been payable regardless of possession or use of television and radio. Businesses and institutions must pay, based on factors including numbers of employees, vehicles and, for hotels, beds. The fee is billed monthly but typically paid quarterly or yearly. It is collected by Beitragsservice von ARD, ZDF und Deutschlandradio which is sometimes criticised for its enforcement measures. Since 2013, only recipients of certain social benefits such as Arbeitslosengeld II or student loans and grants are exempt from the licence fee. People with certain disabilities can apply to pay a reduced fee of €5.83. Low income, in general, is no longer a reason for exemption. Since the fee is billed to a person and not to a dwelling, empty dwellings are exempt.
The licence fee is used to fund the public broadcasters ZDF and Deutschlandradio, as well as the nine regional broadcasters of the ARD network. Together, they run 22 television channels and 61 radio stations. Two national television stations and 32 regional radio stations carry limited advertising. The 14 regional regulatory authorities for private broadcasters are also funded by the licence fee, and in some states, non-profit community radio stations get small amounts of the licence fee. Germany's international broadcaster, Deutsche Welle, is fully funded by the German federal government, though much of its new content is provided by the ARD.
Germany's per capita budget for public broadcasting is close to the European average but the total is one of the largest in the world. In 2006, annual income from licence fees was more than €7.9 billion.
The board of public broadcasters sued the German states for interference with their budgeting process, and on 11 September 2007, the Supreme Court decided in their favour. This effectively rendered the public broadcasters independent and self-governing.
Public broadcasters have announced that they are determined to use all available ways to reach their "customers" and as such have started a very broad Internet presence with media portals, news and TV programs. National broadcasters abandoned an earlier pledge to restrict their online activities. This resulted in newspapers taking court action against the ARD, claiming that its Tagessschau smartphone app was unfairly subsidised by the licence fee, to the detriment of free-market providers of news content apps. The case was dismissed with the court advising the two sides to find a compromise.