Regulation by Incentives

Options for Incentive-Based Regulation of Services of Private Broadcasters in the RStV [Interstate Treaty of Broadcasting]

• The expert assessment was presented at the dlm-Symposion "Public Value – Was soll der private Rundfunk für die Gesellschaft leisten?" on 17 March 2011 (German press release of DLM) and was

• published in Vistas-Verlag: Schulz, W.; Held, T. (2011): Regulierung durch Anreize. Optionen für eine anreizorientierte Regulierung der Leistungen privater Rundfunkveranstalter im Rundfunkstaatsvertrag [Regulation by Incentives. Options for Incentive-Based Regulation of Services of Private Broadcasters in the RStV]. Berlin: Vistas (die medienanstalten-Band 47), 148 pages, EUR 15,--
• Dr. Wolfgang Schulz: Summary of the study on regulation by incentive options for services of private broadcasters (PDF, German, 1,4 MB)

Subject of this expert assessment for the State Media Authorities is the question of how service expectations and related burdens for private broadcasters can be linked with grants, so that an incentive evolves for broadcasters to fulfil those expectations. This is based on the academic insight that it is difficult to bind companies solely through legal guidelines to act positively, when certain expectations regarding quality exist. Special grants, however, can motivate companies to not only fulfil minimum standards.

The expert assessment systematically examines which services and incentives can be reasonably linked. This also takes into account that the legislator is subject to European and constitutional law limitations when it comes to the disposability of demands and incentives, but also the combination of both.

Even though the number of actual and legally available incentives remains low – especially eased traceability, limited advertising facilitation and privileged access to transmission capacities – options arise for an interstate treaty realisation. After the presentation of the assessment at the DLM symposium on 17 March 2011, a potential realisation is now being discussed.

The project continues the work of the Institute on new forms of regulation. It is surveyed how changes in media can be legally designed, where in the light of the dynamic development of media the necessity of a new legal regulation arises and which new forms of regulation are respectively suitable. With central ideas such as “regulated self-regulation”, innovative solutions for current problems are being developed, e.g. regarding media protection of young people or in the area of digitalisation.

A shift in perspective from regulation as a process with one coordinating agent to structures of regulation leads to questions of governance re-search. Especially for the normative framework of internet-based communication, e.g. in social media, this perspective seems appropriate. The Institute reviewed the state of research – in cooperation with colleagues from the University of Haifa – and is preparing individual research activities in this area.