Millions in an escrow account, while simultaneously announcing a savings program: The financial situation of ORF raises questions. According to the corporate financial statement for 2025, Austria’s public broadcaster had 66.4 million euros in a legally mandated escrow account at the end of the year. By the end of 2026, this amount is expected to decrease to around 40 million euros.

As reported by the STANDARD on October 7, 2026, these are not freely available reserves. The money is subject to legal requirements and is intended to balance fluctuations in the financing of public broadcasting.

The escrow account becomes particularly relevant in 2027. Then, a federal subsidy of around 93 million euros will be eliminated. ORF plans to use the remaining funds in the account to cushion part of this reduction.

The background lies in the transition from the former GIS fee to the ORF contribution. Since 2024, there are legal limits on how much money ORF can use from the contributions for its public service offerings.

The monthly ORF contribution was set at 15.30 euros per household. At the same time, ORF was allowed to use a maximum of 710 million euros annually from the contribution revenues to finance its public service offerings until the end of 2026.

Revenues above this limit must flow into an escrow account after deducting collection costs.

The account thus fulfills a legally prescribed function. It is intended to balance financial fluctuations during a multi-year contribution period. Higher revenues may occur in the initial years, while rising costs may burden financing more heavily in later years.

At the end of 2025, according to the ORF corporate financial statement, a total of 66.4 million euros was in the escrow account.

A portion of this money will already be used in 2026 to finance the broadcaster. According to information from the ORF obtained by the STANDARD, the financial plan foresees that by the end of 2026, around 40 million euros will remain.

This amount is to be used in 2027 when the ORF has to cope with a significant reduction in its previous funding.

The federal government has decided to eliminate a previous subsidy from the federal budget starting in 2027. For the ORF, this means a loss of revenue of around 93 million euros annually.

The subsidy had a tax-related background. With the switch from the GIS fee to the ORF contribution, the value-added tax on the contributions was eliminated. This also changed the ORF’s ability to claim input tax amounts. The Republic had previously compensated for the resulting financial disadvantages with corresponding funds.

These payments will now cease.

The approximately 40 million euros from the escrow account are intended to help the ORF partially offset the financial impact in the first year. However, they are not sufficient to replace the entire eliminated subsidy.

Due to the loss of funds, the ORF has announced additional savings. According to the company, several areas are affected.

Cuts are planned in personnel, management positions, and organizational structures. The program offering is also under financial pressure.

An example is the ORF show „Millionenshow“. According to STANDARD, its continuation is currently only fixed until early summer 2027. Changes have also been made to the early evening quiz shows.

Personnel measures sometimes require a longer lead time. For older employment contracts, notice periods of up to one year may apply.

The ORF has announced that it will challenge the elimination of the federal subsidy at the Constitutional Court.

This concerns the short-term decided reduction of state funds. However, a court decision could take a longer time. How the proceedings will end is uncertain.

In parallel, the legal financing options for the ORF have been changed.

From 2027, the upper limit for the annually usable income from the ORF fee will increase from the previous 710 million euros to up to 780 million euros.

The increase was decided with a budget accompanying law. This allows the ORF to use a larger portion of its fee income directly for financing in the future.

For 2026, around 730 million euros in fee income are expected after deducting certain expenses and collection costs.

For households in Austria, the nationwide ORF fee is limited to 15.30 euros per month under the current legal regulation until 2029. Any regional taxes should be considered separately.

The higher revenue cap from 2027 does not automatically mean that the monthly ORF fee will increase.

Rather, the ORF may use a higher amount from the already collected fees for its public service offerings in the future.

With annual total revenues of around 1.1 billion euros, the ORF is, according to STANDARD, Austria’s largest traditional media company.

Nevertheless, financing remains a central challenge. While the ORF will have to forego a significant federal subsidy from 2027, higher statutory revenue limits and the remaining funds from the escrow account are intended to offset part of the burden.

Whether and to what extent further savings in personnel and programming will be necessary depends on further financial planning.

(VIENNA.AT)

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