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The 14 State Media Authorities in Germany are responsible for the licensing and supervision as well as the development of commercial radio and television broadcasting in Germany. Commercial broadcasting stations have existed since the middle of the eighties. The Interstate Treaty on Broadcasting (Rundfunkstaatsvertrag – RStV) from 1987 set the course for the “dual broadcasting system”, the side-by-side existence of public and commercial broadcasting. Since then the provisions of the Rundfunkstaatsvertrag have been modified several times.
According to the German constitution, broadcasting – public as well as commercial – comes under the jurisdiction of the German Länder, or states. For this reason the organisation and monitoring of commercial broadcasting is regulated by individual state media laws. Commercial radio and commercial television broadcasting is thereby subject to legal programming requirements, the implementation of which is monitored by the independent state media authorities. In the meantime there are in the area of telemedia – especially the internet – also legal requirements, for example, in the area of the protection of minors from harmful media content, where compliance is the responsibility of the State Media Authorities.
Many matters of broadcasting policy require national regulation. With this in mind the Regulatory Affairs Commission (ZAK), the Commission on Concentration in the Media (KEK), the Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media (KJM) and the Committee Chairpersons’ Conference (GVK) were formed and given tasks stipulated by interstate treaty. For the coordination and agreement on basic questions of national importance the 14 State Media Authorities work together within the framework of the Association of State Media Authorities in the Federal Republic of Germany (ALM).
The cooperation among the State Media Authorities within the ALM is carried out by:
The Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media (KJM) functions as the central regulatory body for the protection of minors in broadcasting and telemedia (internet). In addition to representatives from state and national institutions as well as from science and law named by the federal government and the states, six representatives (Directors) of the State Media Authorities also belong to this commission.
In order to guarantee plurality of opinion, the Commission on Concentration in the Media (KEK) verifies the shareholdings of various media groups in the broadcasters.
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