Christian Wenande
January 22nd, 2018

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Time for change? (photo: DR)

Norway and Finland have already done it, and now it seems it’s finally Denmark’s turn to scrap the media licensing fee that Danes are forced to fork out for every year.

The contentious licence has been a point of heated debate for some time now and DR boss Maria Rørbye Rønn has now admitted that it’s archaic and should instead be funded via a new tax.

The news comes as the government prepares for negotiations regarding a new media agreement that is expected to come into effect on 1 January 2019.

“I can completely understand that there are political considerations about whether we need to make a transition from licence to tax,” Rønn told Børsen newspaper.

“I myself often experience how many young people think the licence is old-fashioned – perhaps even obsolete – and that it’s unfair for them to have to pay as much as you and me [who earn more money].”

READ MORE: Almost half of Danes want to scrap DR licence

Follow the Finns
Rønn has pointed to Finland as a possible route to take, where a special media tax of 0.68 percent has been incorporated to raise the funds.

With its 3.7 billion kroner, the national broadcaster DR is by far the largest beneficiary of the media licence – it will cost 2,527 kroner per household (immediate family members only) in 2018, regardless of their income. The government will present its media agreement proposal around February 1.

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