10 December 2025

Stop for FM Shutdown: Parliament Overrules the Government

FM radio in Switzerland to continue operating after 2026.
Parliament has once again postponed the shutdown of FM radio transmitters in Switzerland. Private radio stations can thus continue to broadcast their programs via this technology after 2026. This is another setback for the European lobby that wants DAB+ to replace FM radio in terrestrial networks. Still, Norway is the only country in the world that has shut down FM in its national terrestrial network.
Yesterday, after the National Council, the Council of State also voted to extend FM broadcasts. With 21 votes to 18, with five abstentions. The Federal Council (government) must now, against its will, submit an implementation proposal. Public service radio SRG is now faced with a dilemma.

The shutdown of FM broadcasting had previously been planned for 31 December 2026. The motion called on the Federal Council to abandon this plan and instead extend the current FM broadcasting licenses. Alternatively, the government should carry out a new tender process for the allocation of FM broadcasting licences starting at the beginning of 2027. Minister for Media Albert Rösti announced during the debate that he intends to do just that. Simply extending the existing licences is no longer justified.

The decision of the Upper House was preceded by a controversial debate. The Government's preparatory committee. This committee expressed concern about the decline in radio listeners after the public service radio SRG) closed FM radio at the beginning of the year.
If private broadcasters are not given more time to switch to DAB+, listeners may switch to foreign radio stations, the proponents of the proposal argued. The shutdown of FM broadcasting would endanger private radio stations due to the immediate threat of loss of advertising revenue.

In French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino, the loss of listeners for SRG stations is particularly significant, said majority spokesperson Marianne Maret (Centre/VS). For private broadcasters, such losses would have an immediate impact on revenue. Staff cuts and a reduction in media diversity were threatened. Maret also stressed that many cars were not equipped with DAB+ receivers.

Since FM broadcasting was discontinued at the end of 2024, SRG had lost around half a million listeners in all language regions, pointed out Jakob Stark (SVP/TG). This decline was therefore greater than expected.

Isabelle Chassot (Centre/FR) also supported the motion. She explained that FM broadcasting continues in many European countries. "Think first and foremost about the people, not the industry," urged Hannes Germann (SVP/SH), referring to the situation in the border regions.
Today, 90 percent of radio listening in Switzerland is digital (DAB and the Internet), said Josef Dittli (FDP/UR). He warned of a waste of license fee revenue, unnecessary bureaucracy and a "destruction of planning security".

Dittli criticized the federal government for subsidizing the switch to DAB+ with 84 million francs. Ironically, the broadcasters that had benefited from this subsidy now wanted an extension. FM frequencies are scarce, he said. Maintaining the technology therefore distorts competition in favor of established licensees, Dittli continued. The Federal Council also opposed the proposal. SRG acted in reliance on the industry agreement, said Media Minister Rösti. Continued operation of the FM transmitters is not possible.

The public service broadcaster SRG has not yet stated whether it will return to FM. According to the media authority OFCOM, a return would not be easy. If these conditions change, we will  have to reanalyze the situation, said SRG. However, an immediate return of SRG's radio broadcasts on FM is currently not possible. This has been confirmed by OFCOM. "Once an FM license has been surrendered, it cannot be reinstated," is a clause in the licenses.
New licenses will likely be awarded from 2027. Therefore, it would take over a year before SRG could return to FM. However, the media authority is leaving a loophole open. If SRG submits a corresponding request, the authority will investigate whether an exemption is possible.

It could save 15 million Swiss francs by abandoning FM radio, SRG told Radio SRF. They are currently analyzing the situation. Reinstating FM would mean spending a lot of money on a dying technology instead of on our programs in a time of austerity, SRG stated. The public service broadcaster decided to withdraw from FM radio at the beginning of the year, despite the Federal Council having extended the licenses until the end of 2026.