According to the Federal Statistical Office, Swiss households spent an average of CHF 254 per month in 2008 to meet their information and communication needs, CHF 183 for content and CHF 71 (4.8% of total consumer spending). In 2016, media spending rose only slightly to CHF 300 (263 for content and 37 for devices), adding up to 5.6 per cent of consumer spending. Low-income households proportionately spend more on communication and information than higher-income households.
An annual subscription to a daily newspaper costs about CHF 570. And the Swiss billing company Serafe AG collects the obligatory licence fees for public service radio and television, which amounts to CHF 365 per year per household (combined fee). The monthly subscription fee for cable television costs about CHF 40, depending on the provider (e.g., UPC or Swisscom). Moreover, depending on the provider as well as on the capacity, the monthly costs for access to broadband Internet are about CHF 60. According to this, a full supply including radio, television, Internet, and cable television costs approximately CHF 120 per month.
Taken together, in 2017, private households in Switzerland spent CHF 15.8 billion for culture, including media. 13.5 milliards of the total costs fall upon content and services (print & audio-visual content, Internet, museums, libraries, theatre, concerts) and CHF 2.2 billion for equipment. And the biggest share with CHF 7.4 billion were the costs for the Internet, mostly subscriptions including television and telephone.
To conclude, the news media in Switzerland – press, television, and radio – as in most European countries, are still affordable for a majority of their consumers.
