Overview
- Lower Saxony’s parliament approved the reform treaty for ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio, with SPD and Greens voting in favor and CDU, AfD and one independent opposing.
- The pact seeks to modernize public broadcasting by shifting more decisively to digital, trimming services, creating a Medienrat, reducing radio waves, merging Arte and 3Sat, and shutting two niche TV channels.
- Brandenburg’s upcoming vote is pivotal, as SPD and CDU together fall one short of a majority and BSW lawmakers remain split while AfD plans to reject the treaty.
- The overhaul leaves the household broadcasting fee unchanged at about €220 per year, drawing criticism that the structural cuts are too modest.
- Lower Saxony’s Minister-President Olaf Lies argued the reform strengthens the democratic public sphere and announced a media-policy dialogue for early 2026 to encourage public–private cooperation.