Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR)

The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, SRG SSR, is Switzerland’s public-service broadcaster, founded in 1931 and based in Bern. It is a non-profit association with four regional broadcasting units, SRF in German, RTS in French, RSI in Italian and RTR in Romansh, alongside the international service SWI swissinfo.ch. Susanne Wille has been Director-General since November 2024.

Media assets

SRF television: SRF 1, SRF zwei and SRF info. SRF radio: Radio SRF 1, Radio SRF 2 Kultur, Radio SRF 3, Radio SRF 4 News, Radio SRF Musikwelle and Radio SRF Virus

RTS television: RTS 1 and RTS 2. RTS radio: RTS Première, RTS Espace 2, RTS Couleur 3 and RTS Option Musique

RSI television: RSI LA 1 and RSI LA 2. RSI radio: Rete Uno, Rete Due and Rete Tre

RTR: Radio RTR, also known as Radio Rumantsch, and Romansh television and digital programming, its television programmes carried on SRG channels including SRF 1

Music radio: Radio Swiss Classic, Radio Swiss Jazz and Radio Swiss Pop

International and digital: SWI swissinfo.ch, Play Suisse, the regional Play services, websites, applications and podcasts. SWI is a separate service, outside RTR.

The three music stations are scheduled to leave SRG. On 17 September 2026 SRG announced their sale: CH Media will take over Radio Swiss Pop in January 2027, and Digris AG will take over Radio Swiss Classic and Radio Swiss Jazz in July 2027. The buyers committed to preserving the stations’ musical and editorial character for at least two years.

Ownership and governance

SRG SSR is a private, non-profit association, with four regional member organisations and approximately 24,000 members. Membership is open to people interested in the media, and the regional organisations provide public representation and maintain audience councils.

The Delegates’ Assembly has 41 members. The regional organisations provide 36 delegates, 18 from German-speaking Switzerland, nine from French-speaking, six from Italian-speaking and three from Romansh-speaking Switzerland, including their respective presidents. Three Board members elected by the Assembly and two appointed by the Federal Council complete its membership.

The Board of Directors has nine seats: the four regional presidents, three members elected by the Delegates’ Assembly and two appointed by the Federal Council. The Assembly elects SRG’s president, who also chairs the Board and the Assembly. The Board appoints the Director-General, subject to the Assembly’s approval.

Jean-Michel Cina remains president pending a succession planned for 2027. On 20 August 2026 he announced his intention to step down; SRG aims to submit a successor for election in spring 2027, and Cina continues exercising his responsibilities until the handover.

The Executive Board comprises eight members, including the Director-General, the restructuring having reduced the other executive positions from eight to seven. Roger Elsener became SRF director on 1 May 2026, succeeding Nathalie Wappler, who left at the end of April.

The referendum and future mandate

Voters rejected the initiative to reduce the household levy to CHF 200 on 8 March 2026. The initiative, “200 Franken sind genug!”, also proposed exempting all businesses from the levy. It was rejected by 61.9 per cent of voters, following opposition from the Federal Council and Parliament.

Previously adopted reductions remain in place. The household levy falls from CHF 335 to CHF 312 in 2027, then to CHF 300 in 2029. From 2027 the annual turnover threshold for liable businesses rises from CHF 500,000 to CHF 1.2 million, leaving approximately 80 per cent of VAT-registered businesses exempt.

A new concession is being prepared for 2029. The current concession runs to 31 December 2028. The government expects to open public consultation on its replacement in spring 2027, adopt it around mid-2028 and bring it into force in 2029. Its stated priorities include information, education and culture, alongside changes in media use and the economic environment. These remain preparations for a future mandate.

Source of funding and budget

SRG is financed predominantly through the earmarked radio and television levy paid by households and liable businesses, supplemented by commercial and other income. The Federal Council determines the allocation of levy proceeds, administered by the Federal Office of Communications, BAKOM, which identifies SRG’s annual levy allocation for 2025 to 2026 at approximately CHF 1.25 billion.

In 2025 levy revenue supplied approximately 80.4 per cent of operating income. Commercial revenue was CHF 210.9 million, with other income of CHF 93.8 million. SRG recorded a net loss of CHF 2.9 million, against a net profit of CHF 15.3 million in 2024. Smaller public grants, principally associated with its international mandate, are included in other income.

The savings programme continues despite the referendum result. SRG plans approximately CHF 270 million in savings by 2029, about 17 per cent of its 2024 budget, combining roughly CHF 120 million in reduced levy income, CHF 90 million in lower commercial income and more than CHF 60 million in inflation-related operating pressures.

The planned workforce reduction remains 900 full-time-equivalent positions by 2029, confirmed on 23 March 2026 after employee consultation. Approximately 300 fall within an existing savings programme, with a further 600 to be removed. Some reductions will occur through retirement and turnover, but SRG says redundancies are unavoidable. These are planned reductions, not 900 completed dismissals. Its 2025 reporting already records a reduction of 248 full-time-equivalent positions.

On 14 September 2026 SRG announced that it had specified CHF 80 million in savings measures for 2027, expecting approximately 95 per cent to come from organisational structures, processes and production methods while acknowledging effects on programmes.

Sports production is also being reduced. SRG announced that it would not seek renewal of its audiovisual production contracts for National League ice hockey and UEFA club competitions when they expire in summer 2027. That announcement concerns production contracts; it should not be described as a blanket withdrawal from purchasing broadcasting rights.

Editorial independence

Article 93(3) of the Federal Constitution guarantees broadcasting independence and autonomy in programme-making. Federal authorities may not direct editorial coverage. SRG’s own statutes additionally prohibit its Board from issuing individual instructions on ongoing programme matters.

Accountability operates through several distinct mechanisms. Regional audience councils monitor output and represent public concerns. Ombudsman services receive complaints and mediate; complainants may subsequently seek a decision from the Independent Complaints Authority for Radio and Television, whose decisions can be challenged before the Federal Supreme Court. BAKOM supervises compliance with the legal and concession framework and can commission external quality assessments.

The Federal Council’s powers over the levy and concession make financing and the future remit important areas of political decision-making. Those powers operate alongside constitutional protection of editorial autonomy.

AI and digital policy

SRG publishes binding AI regulations applying across the organisation. Adopted on 21 April 2026 and effective from 1 June 2026, they replaced its earlier national AI principles and regional AI guidelines.

The regulations retain human responsibility and require appropriate editorial review. For chatbots and other automated systems, accountability can operate through system design, supervision and continuing monitoring, rather than advance approval of every individual response.

They prohibit deceptive photorealistic depictions of real news events and synthetic material that could be mistaken for authentic recordings. AI-generated images and video generally require labelling, with a qualified exception for clearly identifiable satire in its original programme context. Synthetic voices must be disclosed. Text passing through normal human editorial validation does not require a separate AI label.

The regulations also cover confidentiality, data protection, copyright, bias, tool approval and staff training. Unapproved tools may be used only with public data.

Switzerland is outside the EU, and the EU AI Act is not Swiss domestic legislation, although its territorial scope can encompass certain activities of providers or users outside the EU. Switzerland is separately preparing legislation implementing the Council of Europe’s AI Convention, with a consultation draft scheduled by the end of 2026.

Classification rationale

SRG SSR remains classified Independent Public (IP).

It is a membership-based, non-profit association, with governance rooted in four regional organisations. The Federal Council appoints two of its nine Board members, while the remaining seats are filled through the association’s structures.

It is predominantly financed by an earmarked public levy, supplemented by commercial income and smaller public contributions. The government determines the levy and SRG’s allocation, but SRG is not a state-owned company financed principally through ordinary state-budget appropriations.

Its editorial autonomy is constitutionally protected, supported by internal rules and independent complaints procedures.

September 2026