Founded in 1926, Yle is the public service media company in Finland. It operates five television channels (Yle TV1, Yle TV2, Yle Fem, Yle Teema and Yle Elava Arkisto), and six nationwide radio channels.
Media assets
Television: Yle TV1, Yle TV2, Yle Teema, Yle Fem, Yle Elava Arkisto
Radio: Radio 1, YleX, Yle Radio Suomi, Yle Puhe, Yle X3M, Yle Vega, Yle Sámi Radio
State Media Matrix Typology: Independent State-Managed
Ownership and governance
Yle is a limited liability company majority owned by the state, as defined in the act that governs the Finnish public corporation.
Yle’s highest governing body is its administrative council, with 21 members, which is elected by Parliament.
Source of funding and budget
Since 2013, Yle has been financed by revenues generated through a public broadcasting tax paid by individuals and corporations (0.68% and 0.35% of the income of individuals and corporations, respectively). The tax, ranging between €51 and €143 a year, is collected from adults who have an annual income of at least €10,294. To avoid state control, the Yle tax is collected in a fund, which is kept separate from the annual state budget.
Before 2013, Yle had been funded for most of its existence through a broadcast license fee that was imposed on all owners of radio and television sets in the country. Yle is not allowed to air commercials.
In 2021, Yle had total operating income of €502.6m, of which over 98% was generated through the broadcasting tax, according to the company’s annual report. In 2022, the broadcaster had operating income of €514.1m, the appropriation based on the Yle tax accounting for 98.5% of the revenue.
Editorial independence
There are no government-imposed rules forcing Yle to favor the authorities in its coverage. On the contrary, the broadcaster is known for its total editorial freedom, quality programming and news coverage, as verified also through an ad hoc content analysis carried out for this project.
Freedom of expression is guaranteed by the Finnish Constitution. Finland has a sophisticated system of protection of media freedom. In all, some 25 acts on communications and mass media are in effect in Finland, many of which put forward a variety of citizen rights. However, there is no explicit domestic statute that establishes the editorial independence of Yle.
Finland has a number of mechanisms that are meant to oversee how public authorities and officials observe the law (such as the Parliamentary Ombudsman or the Chancellor of Justice of the government) as well as media industry self-regulatory authorities (like the Council for Mass Media). However, there is no specific independent mechanism to assess or oversee the editorial independence at Yle.
August 2023