RTL Radio Luxembourg: Public service without a mission

Surprise: The Luxembourg state pays RTL for a radio channel without really specifying what the radio channel should actually do.

The counterpart to the state favors has always been a TV program in Luxembourgish. The agreement between the government and RTL stipulated that the state did not charge a fee for the use of frequencies and that RTL therefore produced and broadcast the „Hei Elei“ information program. During the negotiations surrounding the 2017 state treaty, however, direct financing of RTL was brought into play for the first time. It is assumed that Bertelsmann (the group behind RTL and CLT-UFA) made the state’s financial contribution a condition for keeping the TV channel.

The desire for state subsidies for a private company has brought with it a number of legal problems, which the latest agreement more or less elegantly attempts to circumvent. RTL Luxembourg is not an independent company, but a kind of division within CLT-UFA, the billion-dollar corporation. Within this structure, RTL TV, radio and NewMedia (the digital activities of RTL Luxembourg) coexist. Personnel, content and even the use of premises, etc. overlap. If the state wants to spend money on a TV program, how can it be ensured that RTL’s radio or website does not also benefit? After all, they do not need a state contract or state money. Both radio and the site rtl.lu are profitable and are also in competition with other broadcasters and platforms that do not, or at least not as much, benefit from state aid. How can money still flow?

A new public service radio station - without a real contract

The person in charge seems to have been aware that a separation between the finances of TV, radio and the Internet is not possible. This separation was already foreseen in the State Treaty for the period 2021-2023, but has probably not been reviewed so far. To make the structure less vulnerable, RTL Radio is therefore not just a symbolic, but also a financial part of the „public service“ in the current agreement between the state and RTL. The competition law concerns are simply ignored. Instead of giving RTL Radio, just like TV, at least a set of terms of reference, the deal between the state and RTL in terms of radio is limited to a DinA4 page with phrases.

Nothing is concrete. RTL Radio Luxembourg is given the task of producing a daily radio program that should be „mainly“ in Luxembourgish, but should be aimed at the „largest possible“ audience in the country. There are practically no requirements in terms of content. „General information broadcasts“ are mentioned, which should be broadcast „during peak hours“ - which RTL pretty much leaves open. For TV, a volume was mentioned, for information, educational, cultural and sports broadcasts, for radio there is no single really strict requirement or guideline. However, it is expressly specified that RTL may broadcast as much advertising as the law allows.

Another gift to Bertelsmann

To sum up, it must be stated: RTL Radio Luxembourg is now fully part of the public service, but without having a specific task. RTL Radio Luxembourg can continue exactly as before - except that even more state money will be available to RTL overall. The state failed to demand specific journalistic content and programs from RTL in return and blindly subsidized the programs of a few commercial stations. No one wanted RTL Radio Luxembourg to receive such a contract, but it was the most pragmatic solution to allow RTL TV to receive money.

The next part of the series on the current concession agreement will deal with the provisions for the „digital platforms“ component in the context of public service. So far in the series: