Radio and TV

This tariff is intended for organisations which broadcast radio and/or TV programmes or feed them directly into cable networks.

In copyright law, these organisations are called “broadcasters”. Broadcasters may broadcast one or more TV channels and radio stations.

No.  Payments on account are not automatically adjusted. They are set by SUISA as required based on the final settlement statements.
In the case of new broadcasters, they are set via the application form.

Payments on account are only adjusted if:

• SUISA deems it necessary, or
• the customer applies to SUISA for an adjustment.

Own resources include:

• Equity
• Debts (loans)

Relevant costs (non-exhaustive list)

Programme, materials and services costs:

• Broadcast production technology
• Transmission technology (feeding-in, dissemination)
• Presentation studio technology
• Cost of materials, affiliated companies’ costs of materials
• Acquisition of rights and licences from third parties and affiliated companies
• Third-party services for the production of commercials
• Other third-party and affiliated company production and programme costs
• Social media costs
• Other services costs
• Cost reductions

Labour costs:

• Salaries
• Social security
• Pension fund
• Advanced education and training
• Actual expenses paid
• Other labour costs
• Temporary employees
• Social security benefits

Other operating costs:

• Premises
• Maintenance, repairs, replacement
• DAB platform operator’s user fees 
  (Broadcasters granted funding for the promotion of DAB+ technologies pursuant to Articles 58 and 109a RTVA, may, on the DAB+ costs side, deduct the amount received from OFCOM up to the amount of the funding received; the remaining DAB+ costs must be declared as usual. For example, a broadcaster with total DAB+ costs of CHF 30,000 and receiving CHF 10,000 in DAB+ technology funding from OFCOM, can simply deduct CHF 10,000 from costs and declare the remaining CHF 20,000 as costs.)
• Vehicles
• Property insurance, taxes and charges
• Energy and waste disposal
• Administration
• Advertising
• Advertising costs of group media partnerships        
• Costs for barter transactions, advertising excluded
• Other operating costs
• Non-reclaimable VAT
• Depreciation (except: see “extra-ordinary results”)
• Management fees

Costs which are not relevant (non-exhaustive list):

Extra-ordinary result:

• Other extra-ordinary costs
• Copyright fees / other sister society fees
• Costs for events (e.g. CT K costs)
• Costs for third-party financial investments / Affiliated companies / Shareholders
• Extra-ordinary depreciation
• New technologies depreciation (RTVA Art. 58)
• Depreciation of goodwill
• Depreciation on programme conservation (Art. 21(3) RTVA)
• Fines, penalties, legal infringements
• Other extra-ordinary non-operating costs
• Taxes

Under point 10 of the Tariff, licensing terms and conditions are always “per channel or station”.

This means that:

• if a channel or station has its own name, and
• the viewers or listeners have to actively select it,

it counts as a free-standing channel or station – even if the content is only slightly different (e.g. different news bulletin).

If, in the case of such stations or channels, neither the revenues nor the costs exceed the minimum fee, the minimum fee is charged.

Supplementary channels and stations offered via webcasting must also be settled separately from the main channel or station.

This concerns what are known as “artist channels”, for example, with identical programming which can be assigned to several main stations or channels.

Yes. Point 8.1 (tariff, last indent) provides that the broadcaster must report the allocations and income which it needs to cover the shortfall arising from its broadcasting activities.

The only exceptions are revenues which have already been accounted under other SUISA tariffs, deriving for example from:

• concert events
• other events with music
• sound and audiovisual recording productions

SUISA disregards any losses from the prior year. To the extent the prior year’s profit was realised from broadcasting activities, it was already taken into account in the reported income. So if it were counted again in the reported income of the following year, that would be a double charge.

When larger amounts are involved, SUISA verifies on a case-by-case basis whether this income should be reported as revenues.

The lump-sum deduction under point 8.3 does not apply to cost-based invoicing since the lump-sum deduction only concerns advertising income.

Reductions under points 18 to 21:

Point 18 concerns the invoiced remuneration. The reduction is therefore granted even where remuneration is calculated based on costs.

Point 19 concerns the invoiced remuneration. The reduction is therefore granted even where remuneration is calculated based on costs.

Point 20 refers to the settlement statement. The reduction is therefore granted even where remuneration is calculated based on costs.

The reduction under point 21 is not directly related with either costs or income. The reduction is therefore granted even where remuneration is calculated based on costs.

Reductions for trade associations and for timely and complete reporting are assessed independently of the costs or income issue.

Broadcasters who belong to a recognised association of radio and television broadcasting companies are entitled to a 10% reduction, provided:

• the association supports SUISA and SWISSPERFORM in their work
• the broadcaster undertakes in writing to respect the tariff provisions. This includes, e.g.:
  • compliance with time limits
  • complete and timely delivery of all data for the final settlement statement

Important:
The reductions apply per channel or station – not for an entire company. This means that: in any given group, one channel may be granted a reduction while another will not.

Point 33. Jingles, background music, etc. must be reported in the broadcast lists. In practice, SUISA accepts jingles, signets, etc. being reported separately from the broadcast list. There are no specific reporting time limits.

Broadcasters which fail to comply with their reporting obligations lose their claim to reductions.

Important: Even if a reduction is cancelled, the obligation to provide information in accordance with Article 51 CopA remains. Therefore, the broadcaster must continue to submit all relevant data correctly and on time.

The Common Tariff S (CT S) is clear in this regard:
non-compliance with the reporting obligation may lead to

• reductions being cancelled, and
• the obligation to compensate the collective management organisations for additional costs.

This means that missing or belated reporting can cause additional costs.

Point 7.1 of Common Tariff S (CT S) provides that certain broadcasters must acquire supplemental rights from Audion: https://www.audion-music.ch/

Audion grants broadcasters who are not subject to the Federal Act on Radio and Television (RTVA) the reproduction licence for broadcasting purposes. Non-RTVA broadcasters are broadcasters with minor editorial significance, i.e. music-only stations with low broadcasting reach.