Radio and TV

Point 1. Common Tariff S is aimed at organisations which broadcast radio and/or TV programmes or directly feed those programmes into cable networks. These companies are referred to as “Broadcaster(s)”. Broadcasters may broadcast one or more channels and stations.

Point 30. No. Payments on account are decided on the basis of final statements of account or, in the case of new broadcasters, based on their registration forms. Payments on account are adjusted as required at SUISA’s discretion, or when a customer contacts SUISA proactively to request an adjustment.

Point 9. “Own resources” within the meaning of point 9 means anything that is not “Income” within the meaning of point 8, notably:

• Equity
• Third-party funds (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

The per-channel or per-station tariff rules under point 10 apply in this case.

If a station has its own name and the listener has to actively select that station to hear it, in SUISA’s opinion it is clear that the station is a separate station even if the only difference is the news bulletin.

In the case of such stations and channels, if neither their costs nor their income reach an amount producing a settlement higher than the minimum fee, SUISA bills the minimum fee.

Supplementary webcasting stations in accordance with point 17 must be settled individually for each main station or channel to which they can be assigned. This applies to what are known as “artist channels”, for example, with identical programming which can be assigned to several stations or channels.

Point 8.1, last indent. Yes. In this case, the broadcaster must report any income and contributions received which it needs to cover the shortfall arising from its broadcasting activities. The only exception is income which has already been accounted under other tariffs, such as concert performances or other events with music, or the production of sound and video recordings, etc. The DAB+ technology funding granted pursuant to Articles 58 and 109a RTVA does not have to be declared as a subsidy.

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.

If the amount is substantial, SUISA examines whether the individual revenue should be reported on a case-by-case basis.

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 that are members of a relevant broadcasting trade association (radio and TV) are entitled to a reduction of 10% if their association supports SUISA and SWISSPERFORM in their work and if the broadcaster undertakes in writing to adhere to the tariff and comply with its terms. This includes respecting specified time limits and submitting complete reporting for the preparation of final settlement statements. The reduction applies to the individual channel or station. This means that a station/channel within a given business group may receive a reduction while another may not, for example.

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.

The broadcaster loses its reduction. The loss of the reduction does not however release the broadcaster, channel or station from its reporting obligations under Article 51 CopA. The circumstances are regulated by point 48 CT S.

It is clear from point 48 that apart from the loss of the reduction, non-compliance with reporting requirements can lead to an obligation for the broadcaster to compensate any additional costs incurred by the collective management organisation.

Point 7.1. Non-RTVA broadcasters, and broadcasters which can be received outside Switzerland, must acquire supplemental rights from Audion. Audion grants non-RTVA broadcasters the reproduction licence for broadcasting purposes. Non-RTVA broadcasters are broadcasters with minor editorial importance, i.e. music-only stations with narrow dissemination.