Media Study - Medija centar Beograd

2.4.5 DENMARK, GERMANY, AUSTRIA
2.4.5.1 BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS REGULATORY AUTHORITIES
Germany
In Germany, each of the regions (Länder) has its own broadcasting regulatory agency. All agencies are structured in
similar ways:
The regulatory agency is represented by a director who carries out the decisions of the Council. The Council is
composed of representatives from the most relevant societal groups. It takes the decisions in plenary session, but
several sub-committees are responsible for the presentation of topics and decisions. In addition, administrative
departments for legal, technical, monitoring, finance, committees’ secretariat and other issues support the Council
by providing their expertise.
In addition to the competences which are also held by Serbia’s RBA, most agencies have the following
complementary competencies:
To promote media literacy;
To review retransmission on cable networks and to determine the programming on a certain
number of channels on cable networks;
To commission media research projects;
To promote necessary technical infrastructures to ensure comprehensive coverage of the
country;
To award quality labels to specific broadcasts and specific formats.
One measure to ensure the independence of the regulatory agency from state influence is that it is financed by
license fees collected from media consumers rather than through fees on the frequencies.
Austria
The Austrian Communications Authority (KommAustria) was established to regulate broadcasting activities.
KommAustria assumed the responsibilities of the former private broadcasting authority and the Regional Radio Act
Commission (which also served as the Cable and Satellite Act Commission). In addition, KommAustria is responsible
for the administration of broadcasting frequencies and for applying the general competition law (Austrian
Competition Act) to the media sector. KommAustria has also been responsible for administering the Austrian
federal government's subsidies to media and to journalism. Finally, KommAustria acts as the supervisory authority
for collecting societies.
The Austrian Regulatory Authority for Broadcasting and Telecommunications (RTR) constitutes KommAustria's
operational arm and provides administrative support. RTR provides information, conducts reviews and makes
decisions in a competent, independent, transparent, and expedient manner.
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