In 2009 we once again entered new territory in various areas, for example programme monitoring, broadcasting statistics and legislation. At this point I would like to emphasise in particular the first "quality assurance round". By August 2009 a total of 33 local radio and regional television broadcasters were obliged to have their quality assurance systems audited by an external evaluation company, as pledged in the licence candidature procedure. The broadcasters then had to inform us which of the optimisation proposals formulated by the assessors they intend to implement and to provide us with justification if they do not comply or only comply at a later date.

We cannot evaluate the level of quality assurance among private broadcasters in Switzerland until all the evaluation reports are in. From the feedback of many broadcasters and the assessors, we can, however, already conclude that the major reservations initially expressed about the licensing regime yielded to a wide acceptance. For example, the debate around quality assurance and the required processes is perceived by broadcasters as an opportunity to make improvements and implement developments which in the final analysis have a positive effect on the operating climate and programme quality.

Matthias Ramsauer, Vice Director and Head of Division