Public service fee revenues slightly down in 2025, overall development stable

COLOGNE, Germany – The collection agency for Germany's public service broadcasting fee, ARD ZDF Deutschlandradio Beitragsservice, announced its 2025 annual results, indicating a slight decrease in overall fee revenues. In 2025, total revenues amounted to €8.72 billion, a reduction of 0.22% compared to the prior year. Of this total, €8.56 billion was allocated to broadcasters ARD, ZDF, and Deutschlandradio, while €164.5 million was distributed to state media authorities.

The number of registered fee-paying households and accounts also saw a marginal decrease. As of the end of 2025, there were 46,922,005 registered fee accounts, a 0.15% drop from 2024. The number of apartments subject to the fee declined by 0.18% to 40,445,105.

According to the agency, this trend was anticipated and aligns with the final phase of the nationwide population data comparison, which occurs every four years. "Significant changes are only expected following the next nationwide data comparison, which we are currently preparing for and will conduct starting December 2026," stated Bernd Roßkopf, head of the finance and services division.

Processes related to fee collection, such as reminders and enforcement actions, also saw reductions. The number of accounts undergoing reminder procedures at the end of 2025 decreased to approximately 3.65 million. The number of reminder notices issued fell by nearly one-fifth, and enforcement requests dropped to 1.39 million.

Operational costs for fee collection remained largely stable at €191.4 million, representing a modest 0.4% increase from the previous year, despite general price inflation. The agency also reported an improved service level, significantly reducing the average processing time for fee-payer inquiries. The relaunch of its modernized website, rundfunkbeitrag.de, in November 2025 aims to further enhance digital services and internal process automation.