Public Service Radio & Audio Sovereignty: Funding the Future

📝 The pitch

Public service funding is wavering: BBC World Service lost 21% of its budget, France abolished the licence fee, several countries are rethinking their model. Against this backdrop, audio sovereignty in the face of global platforms and defending radio as a 'critical infrastructure' of democracy. What models can fund independent public radio?

📊 Key figures

• BBC World Service: budget -21% between 2021/22 and 2025/26
• France: abolition of the audiovisual licence fee (replaced by a fraction of VAT)
• Young Europeans now watch 2× more Netflix than public service media

🎯 Target audience

General Managers of public radio stations · Financial and public media strategy managers · Political and administrative decision-makers (Culture/Media ministries) · Directors of public advertising sales and commercial partnerships