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Questions involving the financing of the public-sector channels ARD and ZDF are once again the centre of media law debate. In order to ensure equality of competition between public-sector channels and private television broadcasters, the Federal Audit Office (Bundesrechnungshof) is encouraging the Federal Ministry of Finance to make the ARD and ZDF television channels fully liable to tax. Up till now the liability has to a large extent been waived for the two channels. If a new regulation were introduced, the public-sector channels would, in particular, be liable for turnover tax on licence fees....

In the appeal proceedings brought by the television channel RTL against the judgment given by the Hannover District Court (Amtsgericht Hannover) on 22 August 1996 (see IRIS 1996-10: 11), the Court of Appeal in Celle upheld the lower court's judgment on 16 June. This judgment is now final, which means that RTL will be ordered to pay a fine of close on 20 million DM, representing its earnings from the - in the court's view - unlawful broadcasting of advertising. In the dispute as to whether the programmes broadcast by RTL constituted a "series" within the meaning of the relevant broadcasting laws,...

The Minister for Health wants the advertising of alcohol during TV sportscasts stopped. He argues that the connection made between top-class sport and alcohol when beer and other beverages are advertised in these programmes is irresponsible at a time when Germany has some 2,5 million alcoholics. This goal is to be reached through constructive dialogue with the management of the television stations concerned. The minister is aiming at voluntary agreement, rather than a comprehensive ban. Ideally, a situation similar to that applying to the advertising of cigarettes and tobacco products should be...

On Thursday 15 May 1997, the Investigating Committee on Media Concentrations (Konzentrationsermittlungskommission - KEK), provided for in Article 35 of the Broadcasting Agreement between the Federal States, was formally established in Potsdam, where it will be based. It has the task of ensuring, before and after licensing, that private broadcasters respect the regulations introduced which are designed to guarantee plurality of opinion (see IRIS 1996-4: 9). Reimut Jochimsen, president of the Central Bank of Nordrhein-Westfalen, was elected president. The six members appointed by the Presidents...

On 20 May 1997, Telekom boss Ron Sommer invited fifty leading politicians and media representatives to discuss the future of cable TV at a round table. The meeting had been preceded by protracted wrangling over cable allocation (see IRIS 1997-3: 14). Telekom, which has an almost total monopoly of the German cable network (in the USA referred to as "cable system"), has announced that it wishes in future, not merely to carry programmes, but to handle them commercially as well. Thus it wants to look after digital TV subscribers itself, get involved in arranging programme packages and selling them,...