The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), the parent company of Swissinfo, has weathered another challenge to its television and radio licence fee. On Sunday, Swiss voters clearly rejected a proposal to reduce funding for the licence fee. But the broader struggle over public broadcasting has yielded few winners — except one. Our analysis of Sunday’s vote. The Swiss Abroad were not targeted by the campaign Most Swiss Abroad will be satisfied with Sunday’s result: 62% of voters rejected licence fee cuts. In a recent poll ahead of the vote, 58% of citizens living abroad said they opposed the SBC initiative, with only 37% in favour of reducing the annual fee. The Swiss Abroad managed to avoid becoming a target in the SBC initiative campaign — a contrast to the 2024 battle over the 13th monthly state pension payment. Once again, there was a fear that Swiss citizens abroad would be portrayed as beneficiaries. They don’t pay for the licence fee but receive a service from Swissinfo ...
