Archive notice: This article was originally published on December 19, 2007. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
This was necessary because there were increasing risks regarding the level of licence fee revenue. This would narrow the financial room for manoeuvre, Grätz said. “It is therefore all the more pleasing that by the end of the 2008 fee period we will have achieved more than a ‘black zero’. This is a success of the consistent moderation of recent years”, Grätz praised. Director General Monika Piel emphasised before the committee: “For 40 cents per day, our audience will continue to be offered sophisticated and diverse programmes.”
The chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee, Friedhelm Wixforth, spoke of a critical development in licence fee revenue. "What will be decisive for future development is strengthening social acceptance of the broadcasting fee and stabilising willingness to pay", said Wixforth, who was delegated to the Broadcasting Council by the Protestant Churches. If the attitude of those liable for fees toward the broadcasting fee became more critical and this was reflected in increasing cancellations, these were alarm signals. He welcomed considerations within WDR to counteract this development. An important topic of the budget deliberations had been the question of whether WDR could afford to forgo revenue from advertising and sponsorship. The share of advertising and sponsorship revenue in the overall budget amounted to around five percent. A picture of opinion in the Broadcasting Council should be established on this as soon as possible.
The 2008 operating budget provides for revenue of around 1.34 billion euros. This is offset by expenditure of around 1.35 billion euros, resulting in a deficit of 12 million euros, which will be covered by equity. Based on the current broadcasting fee of 17.03 euros per month, the Medium-Term Financial and Task Plan currently still shows an uncovered deficit of 118 million euros through the end of 2011. This will probably be lower as a result of the expected broadcasting fee adjustment on January 1, 2009.
Programme expenditure for radio and television, including joint ARD broadcasts, will rise significantly in 2008 by 36.6 million euros to 498.7 million euros. This corresponds to a share of 36.8 percent of the overall budget. Radio accounts for 87.7 million euros and television for 411 million euros. The increases are largely due to special expenditure for broadcasts of the European Football Championship in Austria and Switzerland and the Olympic Games in Beijing. Expenditure on online offerings remains limited to around 10 million euros.
Including pension provision, WDR will spend a total of 386.8 million euros on personnel in 2008. As in the previous year, this corresponds to a share of 28.5 percent of the overall budget. Despite a collective wage increase of 1.5 percent at the turn of the year, expenditure on wages and salaries will rise by only 0.3 percent. This is due, among other things, to the elimination of 33 established posts, which will reduce expenditure in the coming year. The staffing plan shows a total of 4,338 established posts.
Continuing the austerity policy also includes WDR adhering to the limit of a 1 percent rate of increase for material expenditure. Investments will be capped at 71 million euros in 2008. Major investments are the replacement of a studio at the WDR production site in Bocklemünd, new production technology in the regional studios and a new television broadcasting centre.
During the discussion of the budget, the chairman of the Broadcasting Council praised the transparency achieved by the WDR investment report both for the holdings and for the joint facilities. Grätz: "With this, the broadcaster has developed an exemplary instrument." This was also made clear by the recognition from the state audit offices.
