93-Million-Euro Cost-Cutting Package

Higher Fees? Politicians Put the Brakes on ORF Director General

Clemens Pig stands alone in his opinion regarding a possible increase in the household fee.(Bild: Imre Antal)

The ORF director-general-designate is already under pressure before even taking office: Starting in January 2027, the ORF will have to make do with 93 million euros less per year. However, none of the political parties is currently willing to grant him additional funding from the state budget.

Starting in 2027, the ORF will face a budget shortfall of up to 93 million euros. The federal government is eliminating the previous compensation for the loss of input tax credits. New Director General Clemens Pig therefore does not want to rule out any options—not even a higher broadcasting license fee (as reported by krone.at).

“Increasing the household fee is definitely a possibility,” Pig said in a “ZiB 2” interview on Tuesday. If this option were ruled out from the start, it would imply that the ORF had had too much money at its disposal up to now. “And that is not the case.” “We can always tighten our belts further,” Pig said. However, the ORF also has a statutory mandate. If the net costs of that mandate are not covered, all options must be examined.

How will the budget shortfall at Küniglberg be plugged?(Bild: APA/HERBERT NEUBAUER)

The still-incumbent Director General, Ingrid Thurnher, had a different view just a few hours earlier: “No one here is talking about a license fee increase; no one has even begun to mention any specific amounts,” she said after the turbulent Foundation Board meeting.

Politicians Reject Fee Hike Outright
For once, there is more consensus in the political arena than at Küniglberg. Unsurprisingly, these plans are meeting with sharp opposition from the FPÖ. “No—not a single cent,” says media spokesperson Christian Hafenecker. The license fee should not be raised, but abolished. His assessment: “The ORF doesn’t have a revenue problem—it has a spending problem.”

But the People’s Party is also drawing a clear red line. “We need an economically efficient ORF that is also fit for the future. An increase in the household fee is out of the question for the ÖVP,” the party states in a release.

ORF License Fee

Amount: 15.30 euros per month, or 183.60 euros per year.

Since when? The household fee replaced the former GIS fee on January 1, 2024.

Who pays? In principle, it is collected for every address where at least one person is registered as having their primary residence.

Even without a TV: It does not matter whether the household has a radio or a TV.

Exceptions: Exemptions are possible under certain conditions—for example, for people with special social or health needs.

Frozen: The ORF fee is legally capped at 15.30 euros until the end of 2029.

SPÖ Federal Executive Director Klaus Seltenheim recalls the coalition’s agreement. The government program stipulated that the ORF fee would not be increased in 2026, 2027, and 2028. This is part of the fight against inflation—alongside rent controls, lower VAT on basic foodstuffs, and subsidized electricity rates. “We stand by this,” says Seltenheim. Heinz Lederer, chairman of the foundation’s board, is even more explicit. For him, an increase is not only off the table politically, but is even impermissible under current law. “We will not implement any crypto-communist fantasies at the expense of students, small and medium-sized business owners, and license fee payers.”

The Pink Party echoes this sentiment and opposes an increase: “The ORF should be able to get by on a total of 1.1 billion euros per year. But in the course of the Future Forum, which will take place in September, the following should be clarified: What are the ORF’s responsibilities, and what are not,” said the Pink Party’s media spokesperson, Henrike Brandstötter. Only then, she added, can we discuss how much of a budget is needed for that.

The Greens, on the other hand, place the blame on the government, which “has itself ensured that there is no more money available by cutting funding and freezing the ORF license fee,” as they criticize. Instead of forcing the ORF to burden the general public with higher fees, the federal government should simply “ensure adequate funding.”