The Federal Council decided in 2023 to phase out FM channels by December 31, 2026. This decision is not supported by a narrow majority in the National Council's Transport and Telecommunications Committee. With the chairman's casting vote, the committee decided to submit a motion instructing the Federal Council to abandon the planned deactivation. Instead, the government must extend the current FM concessions or issue a new call for tenders for the award of FM concessions starting January 1, 2027.
A new call for tenders could also generate revenue. The deadline for deactivation should be extended to at least the end of 2031 and set in consultation with private radio stations, according to the motion.
The forced switch from FM to DAB+ through a shutdown decided by the Federal Association is unacceptable, according to the majority. Removing FM would endanger private radio stations and encourage Swiss listeners to turn to foreign stations. The deactivation of FM by the SSR/SRF at the end of 2024 has resulted in a loss of 18% of its listenership three months later, which would be dramatic for private radio stations that depend on advertising revenue. The deactivation has caused a migration to French and Italian radio stations, the majority believes.
Criticism of replacing FM with DAB has been fierce in Switzerland. People talk about the "Norwegian trauma". Listening problems similar to what happened when Norway was the first (and so far only) country to shut down its national FM networks in favor of DAB+.
Why does listening to radio in the Alps sound like a Windows update? writes Marco Maurer in a column in the Tages-Anzeiger, He feels like a speck of dust looking for a station. Now we have DAB+ – and it's hiccuping, first in the station, then in the brain. A few months ago it was said that SRF had lost about half a million listeners. It reminds me of Goethe again: "Man makes mistakes as long as he strives," it says in "Faust". My digitized update of this sentence: "Man makes mistakes as long as he listens to DAB+."
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Une commission du National veut prolonger les ondes FM jusqu'à fin 2031 (Radio Télévision Suisse)
«Kein Signal»: Eine Schweizer Funktragödie: DAB+, oder auch: Digitales Audio Bingo! (Tages Anseiger)