Ein rundfunkrechtliches ‘Solange’?” [An “As Long As” in Broadcasting Law?]” width=”300″ height=”193″ />In an article for the Verfassungsblog, Dr. Tobias Mast and Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schulz discuss the Federal Constitutional Court’s decision on the constitutionality of the broadcasting license fee. Their analysis is based on the press release published by the Federal Administrative Court on October 15, 2025.
In their article, the authors write: “The Federal Administrative Court (BVerwG) has linked the obligation to pay fees for public broadcasting to the long-term diversity and balance of its programming — i.e., the quality of public broadcasting’s contribution to forming opinions. In the press release on the as-yet-unpublished ruling (BVerwG 6 C 5.24), the court’s concept is presented in such detail that we deem it worthwhile to examine it from a legal perspective.” Institutionalized diversity monitoring could constructively address chronic criticism of the broadcasting system. However, the chosen approach is likely to overwhelm the administrative courts and fail as a pressure valve.”
Click here to access the article, which has been published only in German.
Mast, Tobias; Schulz, Wolfgang: Ein rundfunkrechtliches „Solange“?: Erste Gedanken zur Entscheidung des BVerwG betreffend die Verfassungsmäßigkeit des Rundfunkbeitrags [An ”As Long As” in Broadcasting Law?: Initial Thoughts on the Federal Administrative Court’s Decision on the Constitutionality of the Broadcasting License Fee], VerfBlog, 2025/10/20, https://verfassungsblog.de/bverwg-beitragspflicht-rundfunk/, DOI: 10.59704/b0652a12d5333e3e.