YLE to restrict on-line services to licence fee payers

Up to 26,000 TV licences cancelled

Mikael Jungner

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The Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE plans to make some of its Internet services available only to households which have paid for their television licences. At present all of YLE's on-line services have been available without restriction.
      As of early next year, YLE's Arena service will require a registration number available only to those who have paid a licence fee. Arena is a service in which it is possible to watch or listen to radio and television programmes after they have been broadcast. Arena also contains a "Living Archive".
     
The registration system is part of a plan aimed at encouraging more viewers to pay their licence fees.
      Since the switch to digital television at the beginning of September, 26,000 television licences have been cancelled.
      "The number is greater than expected, but not as great as had been feared", says YLE Director-General Mikael Jungner.
      With digitalisation, the popularity of pay channels has skyrocketed. In September close to one in five households subscribed to at least one pay TV channel, while the number of people paying their licence fees has gone down to less than two million.
      Jungner says that YLE's trump cards in competition for viewers are news as well as domestic drama.
      Sports programming is one area where YLE also competes with pay channels. Jungner says that next year will be a "big year for sports".
      In addition, YLE is investing in children, with two-hour morning broadcasts of the old favourite Pikkukakkonen starting before Christmas.
     
YLE is upgrading its communications with a new communications and marketing organisation with 70 people. The organisation is launching operations this autumn.
      "Our task is to tell people what they get with their licence fees", says Päivi Nummi-Aho, head of the section, who joined YLE after leaving the telecommunications service provider Sonera at the beginning of the year.
      The work of the new marketing organisation has been seen in a massive billboard campaign advertising YLE dramas on city streets, as well as programme advertisements on YLE channels.
      The new organisation is burdened with ongoing negotiations with personnel on plans to cut 15 jobs from communications, and 30 jobs from the Swedish language programme unit.
      The reduction in the number of households paying licence fees is leading to a gap of EUR 4 million in YLE's total annual budget of EUR 400 million.
      However, Jungner is confident that YLE will achieve its goal of balancing its budget by next year.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Digital television era comes in tonight (31.8.2007)
  The great consensus that gave birth to digital TV (27.8.2007)
  Only 73% of homes are able to watch digital TV broadcasts (14.8.2007)

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