Funding for community broadcasters is a core issue that determines the sustainability and development trajectory of this sector. As a result, ensuring adequate funding and the ability to mobilise resources should be a core goal of the regulatory framework for community broadcasting. Many community broadcasters rely primarily on the goodwill of their communities and local civil society organisations to establish and manage their stations, to undertake programming, and generally to assist in ongoing fundraising. At the same time, experience shows that more robust sustainability, particularly over time, depends on the availability of various sources public funding for community broadcasters.
It is essential that, in order to guarantee their independence and ability to serve their communities, the allocation of any public funds to community broadcasters should be fair, transparent and equitable. Such funding should specifically target the growth and development of the sector, rather than attempting to condition and influence operations. For this to happen, it is crucial that such funds are administered by an independent body, in the same way as is necessary for the licence allocation processes, so as to avoid political pressure and influence.
The issue of private sources of funding for community broadcasters is addressed in
Policy Brief Six: Access of Community Broadcasting to Private Sources of Funding and Support. However, it is important to note that
these are not entirely discrete sources of funding. In particular, where substantial sources of public funding for community broadcasters exist, it may be appropriate to impose restrictions on funding from commercial sources, among other things to ensure fair competition with commercial broadcasters. Such restrictions should, however, always be necessary and consistent with the core community character of these services.
It is important for community broadcasters to have access to private sources of funding, both commercial and in the form of voluntary community contributions. But experience in countries around the world has shown that it is very difficult for these broadcasters to survive, especially over time, simply on these sources of funding. As a result, the availability to them of public funding can make the difference from a day-to-day struggle to survive to the ability to engage in longer-term planning and development.
It is essential that the allocation of any public funding be done in a fair and transparent fashion, allowing for equitable access to these funds. This has a number of implications. First, the process must be overseen by an independent body which is able to make decisions in an unbiased way which respects editorial independence, free of political or other unwarranted influences. Second, the procedures for applying for funding must not only be fair, but they must, like licensing procedures, take into account the developmental state of the sector. Unduly complex or time-consuming processes will favour more sophisticated, rather than necessarily more worthy, applicants.
Third, any such funding should be allocated on the basis of clear, pre-established public interest criteria. The exact selection of criteria will depend on the existing situation and the priority needs of the sector. In some cases, funds are divided into different tranches, which are then allocated to support different needs. One of the key needs that has been identified in many countries is support in the development and start-up phase, in particular with a view to promoting the extension of community broadcasting services to un-served or under-served communities. Closely related to this is directing allocations to purchase or maintain equipment, either in a start-up phase or as needed over time. Public funding for community media could also be provided to support operations in the areas of text messaging, online streaming, podcasting and social media presence, which can make an important contribution to the reach, richness and sustainability of community broadcasting.
Ongoing operations costs, particularly in terms of managing and operating stations – given that it is easier to attract volunteer support for programme production – also represent an important need. Human resource development and training is another core area of need. Finally, public support can help community broadcasters in a particular region or across a country form themselves into networks, which can then exchange programmes and otherwise support each other, which can be a longer-term sustainability measure.
Before any questions can arise about how to operate or run any public fund for community broadcasters, sources of support for the fund must be identified. This could involve an allocation from a broader fund or a dedicated fund for community broadcasters. An obvious candidate for the former is the universal service funds which exist in many both developed and developing countries, which already have goals which are at least philosophically very much in line with the idea of supporting community broadcasting. Another candidate is the funding that is provided in many countries for public service broadcasting, some portion of which could be allocated to support community broadcasting which, again, serves broadly overlapping goals, albeit in a distinctive manner.
A number of sources of support are possible in those countries which have established dedicated funds to support community broadcasters. In some cases, funding is provided through a direct government grant, which is a good source although this can depend on ongoing political support. Funding can also come from cross-subsidies from commercial broadcasters or distribution operators. A number of options are potentially available here, depending on how the system works and where resources are located in a particular country, including a levy on cable or satellite concessions or revenues, a levy on the advertising revenues of commercial broadcasters and/or a levy on the licence fees paid by commercial broadcasters. These systems have the benefit of being stable and not as directly dependent on political will as direct government grants.
Foreign funding – both bilateral and multilateral, including from sources like UNESCO and the World Bank – is a very important source of funding for community broadcasters in many developing countries, and it is obviously important for these broadcasters to have access to this form of funding. At the same time, inasmuch as broadcasting is supposed to be a national resource, it may be appropriate to place some limits or conditions on foreign funding. It is important that any limits can be justified by reference to a legitimate goal, such as protecting the independence and community nature of these broadcasters, for example against funding with religious strings attached to it and so on.
The revenues available to community broadcasters are almost always, essentially by definition, limited. While the previous two sections of this Policy Brief looked at ways to increase revenues from public sources, this section looks at ways to reduce expenditures. At the very minimum, no special fees should be imposed on these broadcasters. In many countries, furthermore, the various fees which are typically charged to broadcasters – which may include the licence application fee, an annual broadcasting fee and/or an annual spectrum usage fee – are waived or substantially reduced for community broadcasters. This makes obvious sense given the need to support and encourage the development of this broadcasting sector in most countries.
Another potential way to reduce expenditures or costs is to waive or reduce taxes on equipment purchases by community broadcasters (which may in appropriate cases also be extended to all broadcasters where the sector as a whole is not well resourced).
There are a number of general international statements about funding for community broadcasters. The
Declaration on Principles of Freedom of Expression in Africa includes a general call for community broadcasting to “be promoted given its potential to broaden access by poor and rural communities to the airwaves”. The
2011 General Comment of the UN Human Rights Committee calls for licence fees for all broadcasters to be “reasonable and objective, clear, transparent, non-discriminatory”.
v. Offer low fee or free access to licences and frequencies, including, where relevant, digital terrestrial frequencies;