Television licence (tax) and public broadcasting in YN

[Kergstan]

Is there a state tv in your country, if yes, how many channels they hold, are private tv channels allowed to broadcast, are there laws to grant independence from government?

Is there a tax licence tax in your country, what’s the amount of the tax, if not how is your state tv financed?

—

In Kergstan there’s 12 nationwide public channels and one for each province, which amounts to 55 public tv channels.
There’s also 6 nationwide radio stations and multiple for each province.

Private entities are allowed to broadcast on a province or regional level but not for profit.

There’s no laws protecting media from government interference.

There’s no tax licence in Kergstan and the state tv channels are funded through state funding.

[Gandoor]

The Gandoor Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) is the state-owned public television and radio broadcaster in the Democratic Republic. The GBC was established in 1917 as Radio Company Gandoor and came under state-ownership in 1921 following the passage of the Public Broadcasting Act in 1920. Uniquely, this act allowed for the continued existence of the privately-owned Wonder Radio and the establishment of future private radio broadcasters, although all future broadcasters would be subject to approval and licensing by the government before they could begin broadcasting. This was done under the belief that having competition in radio broadcasting would encourage innovation and quality in their programming while requiring new broadcasters would be licensed before air would prevent the airwaves from being flooded with a rash of low-quality broadcasters.

The GBC would begin to experiment with television broadcasting in 1935, broadcasting from the GBC Centre in Gandoor City. As television sets were not purchasable at the time, any members of the public who wished to view these broadcasts could only view them at universities or public libraries in Gandoor City that had 'television broadcast rooms'.

Regularly-scheduled television broadcasting by the GBC would begin on 31 December 1949, with the establishment of the Gandoor Broadcasting Network (later officially shortened to GBN in 2006).

In modern Gandoor, the GBC operates the following television channels:
- GBN (est. 1949)
- Gandoor News Network (est. 1990)
- Chiddies (est. 2003)
- GBN Alt (est. 2004)
- GBN Nihongo (est. 2023)
- GBN Russkiy (est. 2023)

They also operate the following radio stations:
- GBC Radio 1 (est. 1917)
- GBC Radio News (est. 1951)
- GBC Radio 2 (est. 1961)
- GBC Radio Entertainment (est. 1970)

In addition to the aforementioned television channels, the GBC also operates GBN International, GBN International 2, Chiddies International, and GNN World in international markets.

Despite being owned by the Government of Gandoor, the GBC maintains editorial independence from the government, as stated in the Public Broadcasting Act, which is renewed every fifteen years, most recently in 2025.

Funding of the GBC predominantly comes from the license fee, with all households that own at least one television or radio being required to pay 100 GDY annually, with the license fee increasing by 20 GDY for every additional television or radio in the house, up to a maximum license fee of 200 GDY annually. Additional funding for the GBC comes from advertising revenue from its international channels (the GBC legally cannot use the money it receives via license fees to operate channels outside of Gandoor) and other enterprises ran by the GBC's commercial arm.

Private companies are permitted to broadcast on television, but they are still required to be licensed by the government before establishing a new channel and, in order to prevent monopolies, a single company is generally limited to the ownership of no more than five OTA channels (the notion of 'affiliate networks' as viewed in North America does not exist in Gandoor, all local broadcasters of OTA channels are directly owned and operated by their parent companies, with the only difference in programming being locally produced news and informative programming), ten cable/satellite channels, and ten radio stations.

Despite these limits in ownership, there do exist several exemptions to them (at least when it comes to the limitations on the ownership of television channels, there are no exemptions to the ten radio station limit). The two general exceptions (granted to all private broadcasters automatically) are that the standard definition and high definition feeds of a single channel are considered to be one channel and time-shifted feeds of a channel (to account for Gandoor's three time zones, allowing for programming to be broadcast at the same local time) are also considered to be the same as its 'primary' channel. In addition to these general exemptions, private broadcasters may also apply for specific exemptions, which are only granted when the government feels there is a justifiable reason to allow a private broadcaster to own more than fifteen total channels (one example of a justifiable reason would be a company that operates channels that exclusively broadcasts movies, they may be granted an exception to allow them to operate more channels to account for the variety of movie genres there are). Although it should be noted that specific exceptions must be done per channel, a private broadcaster cannot simply apply to own an additional ten cable/satellite channels, for example.

While there are far too many private channels broadcast on cable/satellite to mention, OTA channels owned by private companies are:
- Osaka TV (owned by the Osaka Television Company, est. 1950)
- National Network (owned by RTV, est. 1950)
- Ten (owned by Alimore, est. 1971)
- TV Kira (owned by the KiraKira Corporation, est. 1976)
- Ten News (owned by Alimore, est. 1998)
- StarNet (owned by WoW Incorporated, est. 2013)

Just like with the GBC, all privately-owned television channels in the Democratic Republic are guaranteed editorial independence. In their case, it comes from the constitutionally enshrined and protected freedom of the press, one of the inalienable rights in the Gandoorese constitution.

In addition to all of the above, there also exists Forum TV. Forum TV (est. 1994) is the sole television channel in the Democratic Republic that is directly owned and operated by the Government of Gandoor and is not part of the GBC. Forum TV broadcasts sessions of the Forum live and unedited and, when the Forum is not in session, public affairs and other political programming (both Gandoorese and international) is aired. Forum TV is owned and operated by the Government due to laws forbidding non-governmental organizations from filming and broadcasting from within the Forum. (Prior to Forum TV's establishment, most 'important' events in the Forum [such as the appointment of the Prime Minister, Question Time, and important votes/political appointments] were filmed by staffers and broadcast live by the GBC and private channels. Such actions were not considered to be violations of the law as there was no restriction on non-governmental organizations from broadcasting what they received via government sources themselves. Many 'non-important' events in the Forum [such as non-newsworthy votes, routine polticial appointments, roll call, etc.] were also filmed for archival purposes, although these would rarely be broadcast on television)

[Zhouran]

Unlike many other nations, the People's Republic of Zhouran has multiple state broadcasters instead of a single state broadcaster. As a result, this has resulted in a diverse range of content as well as inter-competitiveness. Zhouran's four state broadcasters fall under the supervision of the National Media Administration, which is in turn subordinate to the Central Council of the People's Republic of Zhouran.

• Zhouran National Broadcasting Service - Established on January 18, 1957 (predominant radio broadcaster)
• Zhouran Central Broadcasting Network - Established on January 21, 1957
• Zhouran Public Broadcasting Corporation - Established on January 25, 1957
• Zhouran Central Television - Established on January 27, 1958 (predominant television broadcaster)

Currently there are up to 2,550 television broadcast stations in the country, of which 800 are operated by state-owned broadcasters under the supervision of the National Media Administration, while 1,750 are local regional stations. The country also currently has up to 18,610 radio broadcast stations, of which 4,875 are AM stations, 6,950 are commercial FM stations, 4,380 are FM stations operated by state-owned broadcasters under the supervision of the National Media Administration, and 2,405 are licensed low-power FM stations.

All public broadcasting in Zhouran are paid via tax, although unlike with countries such as the UK, Zhouran has no TV license as people have the right to access media without restrictions whatsoever. Radio and television have very long histories in Zhouran, in fact Zhouran was an early pioneer of radio and television in Asia.

The history of radio broadcasting in Zhouran started on December 8, 1921 during the first experimental radio broadcast using a five-watt transmitter. Experimental public radio broadcasting through larger transmitters began on February 23, 1922 with regular public radio broadcasting appearing on July 11, 1922. Regular nationwide radio broadcasting was suspended on August 17, 1956 due to the Zhouranese Civil War. While local regional radio broadcasting continued intermittently, regular nationwide radio broadcasting was not fully-restored until January 18, 1957.

The history of television broadcasting in Zhouran started on May 15, 1931 during the first experimental mechanical-television broadcast. Experimental all-electronic television broadcasting began on June 21, 1936 with regular all-electronic television broadcasting launched on February 13, 1937 while the last mechanical television broadcasts ended in late 1939. Regular nationwide television broadcasting was suspended on October 24, 1955 due to the Zhouranese Civil War. While local regional television broadcasting continued intermittently, regular nationwide television broadcasting was not fully-restored until December 10, 1960.

While public broadcasters generally stay with the traditional formats of radio and television, Zhouran's four public broadcasters were very early to utilize the Internet back in the 1990s due to the potential of broadcasting content online to anyone. The history of the Internet in Zhouran started on August 15, 1981 during the establishment of the earliest Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) in the country, followed by the first experimental deployment of Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) networks on October 12, 1987. Permanent public-access to the Internet in Zhouran was introduced on June 17, 1992.

Logo of ZNBS


Logo of ZCBN


Logo of ZPBC


Logo of ZCTV

[Hoyerlay]

The Hoyerlayian Broadcasting Company (HBC) used to be publicly owned (but independent of government control) and a licence fee (approximately 120 Pound sterling in real life currency) was in place until 2020, when the TV licence and the fee were abolished and HBC was privatised.

[Philosocom]

Being a web-based entity, Philosocom provides two forms of broadcasts: video messages and lectures from Tomasio Rubinshtein, and music that appears in some of the articles provided on Philosocom.

[The Imagination Animals]

In Crossoveria, there are about 8 major TV channels, all of which are owned by the government.

• Crossoverian Television Network
• Allaband News Network
• Children’s Television Programming Network
• Comedy WRLD Crossoveria
• Crossoverian Entertainment of Sports
• RomanticTV
• Cooking Television Network
• MTV CROSSOVERIA

[Aikoland]

The SRTA (Société Radio-Télédiffusion Aikolandais, officially translated as the Aikolandais Broadcasting Corporation) is the public broadcaster in Aikoland. It was originally established as the Société Radiodiffusion Aikoland in 1933 as the national radio broadcaster, but was forced off the air during WW2 due to the Axis invasion of Aikoland before being reestablished after the war. In 1951, the Société Télévision Aikoland was established to serve as the public television broadcaster in our nation. While both the SRA and STA were owned by the state, they were separate organisations until 1976, when they were merged into the modern Société Radio-Télédiffusion Aikolandais.

The SRTA owns and operates three television channels and four radio stations:
Television:

• SRTA
  The primary channel broadcast by the SRTA, established in 1951 as Télévision Aikoland and renamed to SRTA in 1976.
• Aikoland News - A 24-hour news channel established in 1993 as Actualité Aikoland, renamed to Aikoland News in 2006.
• SRTA-Parlement - A parliamentary affairs channel established in 2003, following the passage of legislation allowing the live visual broadcast of parliamentary affairs in 2003. (Prior to this 2002, only the audio was allowed to be broadcast live, with any video having to be broadcast after the affairs had concluded)

Radio:

• Radio-Aikoland - The original and primary radio station operated by the SRTA, established in 1933.
• Radio-Aikoland Info - A 24/7 news and call-in show radio station, established in 1990.
• Radio-Aikoland Sport - A sports station, established in 1993, and the only dedicated sports radio station in Aikoland.
• Radio-Aikoland Divertissement - A station dedicated to the broadcast of made-for-radio dramas and other entertainment programming, established in 1995.

The SRTA receives funding via the licence fee, which is currently set at 150₣ per annum, although households with at least one family member on welfare (or at least one elderly family member receiving a government pension) have the license fee lowered to 75₣ per annum.

Private television broadcasting has been permitted since the passage of the Private Broadcasting Act 1968 and there are currently four private channels in Aikoland:

• RTC - An abbreviation of Réseau de télévision commercial (Commercial Television Network), RTC was established in 1970 as the first privately-owned channel in Aikoland. Currently owned by TéléAiko.
• Le Métro - The second privately-owned channel in Aikoland, established in 1987. Owned by Société de Métro.
• TéléJeunes - A privately-owned television channel aimed at Aikolandais youth, established in 1993. Owned by TéléAiko.
• Métro News - A privately-owend 24-hour news channel established in 2001, owned by Société de Métro.

In addition to these four private channels broadcasting from within Aikoland, all French television channels have been available on cable or satellite since the early 1960s.

All television channels in our nation, both public and private, are entirely free of government interference with their affairs and programming.

[Thermodolia]

The Thermodolian Public Broadcasting Corporation (Thômthdólá Pûbæl Bêaœgcæź Črathœta) is the sole federal public broadcaster.

It is considered a national corporation which means it receives government funding but is completely independent of government control.

It currently runs 2 television channels and 6 radio channels. Through its two subsidiaries it jointly runs four more channels.

Current TV channels:

Thermodolia Public Television
Federal Parliament Television

Current Radio Channels:

Thermodolian National Radio
National Talk Radio
Federal Parliament Radio
English Language News Radio
English Language Music Radio
English Mixed Format Radio

Under federal law no other language other than Thermodolian may be broadcast nationwide over the radio waves as there is no ability to add subtitles. However the there are exceptions for religious and educational groups who may broadcast nationwide radio in non Thermodolian languages.

The TPBC is the only company allowed to broadcast nationwide radio in non Thermodolian languages without qualifying as religious or educational.

There are no TV or Radio fees in Thermodolia as they are prohibited by federal law. So the TPBC is funded by direct government funding.

There is also no restrictions on private or public broadcasters and there are several hundred other broadcasters

[Aldina]

As television is a recent invention and is largely considered a novelty in Aldina, broadcasting is effectively unregulated; anyone with the know-how to build a television set may tune to whatever frequency they wish. The few commercial television broadcasts use the same frequency bands as commercial radio; amateur broadcasts likewise use the amateur bands.

[The British Protectorate]

There is only one state-owned broadcasting network called the BCBN(British Commonwealth Broadcasting Network), which is a branch of the wider BCMN(British Commonwealth Media Network), with the network being funded by government taxation. Content is strictly restricted and censored to follow governmental and religious doctrine.

The channels of BCBN are:
BCBN News(24/7 news-only network)
BCBN Children(children's channel)
BCBN Information(documentary channel)
BCBN Church(religious channel)
BCBN Entertainment(general entertainment)

There are also radio versions of the following channels.

[Alzatia]

Alzatia doesn't have a public broadcaster, since most households don't have a radio or television set.

[Isles of Eamhna]

Is there State Television in your country?

Yes — in addition to the availability of regional BBC Television (BBC South West) as well as ITV (ITV News West Country, Emnian variant), there also exists Television Eamhna (Teilifisea t-Eamhna, TV:E), a division of Radio Eamhna (Raidió t-Eamhna, R:E), which is the public broadcasting corporation local to the Isles.

How many channels do they hold?

• TVC:E (Teilifisea Chadhaiseoth t-Eamhna, "News Television Eamhna")
  This channel is used for local and locally relevant news coverage in the Emnian language.
• TV:E-D (Teilifisea t-Eamhna — an Dóphaec, "Television Eamhna — the Pulse")
  This channel is operated by the cultural board with the aim of promoting culture, entertainment, and music television programming in the Emnian language.
• TV:E-Y (Teilifisea t-Iálaide h-Eamhna — Iálaidimh, "Youth Television Eamhna")
  This channel airs Emnian-language programming aimed at children and youths from 07:00 to 19:00.

Are private tv channels allowed to broadcast?

Theoretically, yes; there are, however, no currently operant private television channels exclusive to the Isles of Eamhna.

Are there laws to grant independence from government?

Television programming, both private and public, is subject to similar oversight as in the United Kingdom, if slightly more lax.

Is there a TV licence/tax in your country?

Public television broadcasting is funded the radio license as well as government grants.

What’s the amount of the tax?

£160 annually. Emnians are usually happy to find that their television licenses are a bit cheaper if they ever end up living in the mainland UK.

[Estados Vaticanos]

The Vatican Broadcasting Corporation (VBC) is the government's national radio and television network, in total this chain has a total of one international channel, one news channel at the national level and 21 at the regional level, although it is subsidized by the government has total autonomy over the news they present



VBC Logo

[Pamia]

There are 3 major government-ran TV channels
• Pamian International News Network (PINN)
• South Pamian News Network (SPNN)
• Pan-Siberian Broadcasting Network (PSBN)

There are also 40 public broadcasting channels for each of the 40 oblasts

There are also about 800 privately ran TV channels that can air depending on which TV provider you pick

[Antwerp Free State]

RTA (Radio Television Antwerp / Radio Televisie Antwerpen) is the national public broadcaster in the Free State. It was founded in 1955 as a merger of Radio Antwerp and the Antwerp Television System, both of which were formerly commercial networks that were nationalised in 1939 and 1953, respectively. It is funded partly by a tax on television ownership (similar to the “TV License” in Britain), and partly by the sale of commercial airtime. The network operates three free-to-air TV stations:

RTA1 – Broadcasts in Dutch. The most popular channel in Antwerp, it shows a variety of content aimed at mainstream audiences, such as sitcoms, dramas, soap operas, quizzes and reality shows.
RTA2 – Broadcasts in English. Programming is similar to RTA1, but with a higher proportion of imported British and American shows, as well as mainstream films. On weekends and holidays, it shows more programmes geared towards teenagers and young adults.
RTA3 – Broadcasts in both languages and shows mostly documentaries, political debates and programmes aimed at niche/minority audiences.

Additionally, it offers three digital channels:

K-RTA – Aimed at children aged 2-13, and broadcasts in both Dutch and English. Shows a mixture of home-grown and imported (usually from the Netherlands, UK or US) children’s programming, all of which is intended to be both entertaining and educational.
RTA Sport – Broadcasts major live events in a variety of sports, such as football, rugby, tennis and basketball. Also hosts sport analysis shows and documentaries. Available in both languages.
P-RTA – Broadcasts debates in the Legislative Assembly of Antwerp, as well as the European Parliament and UN General Assembly, and occasionally proceedings from other legislatures around the world, such as the British House of Commons and the US Congress. Available in both languages.

RTA runs several radio stations, including both the English and Dutch versions of the nationwide Radio Antwerp, and many other local and specialist stations.

[Syndic Australia]

The Australic Broadcasting Consolidation (A.B.C.) is the national broadcaster for both television and radio. The ABC is operated dualy by the Federal Consolidated Syndicate for Infrastructure (F.C.S.I.) and Federal Consolidated Syndicate for Academics (F.C.S.A.) - the equipment and infrastructure is managed by the former and the programming by the latter. The A.B.C. is generally reserved for news, events, and documentary broadcasting.

In addition to the A.B.C., each state and territory has several state-wide television stations, as well as many communal stations. At a bare minimum, a state will possess its own equivalent to the A.B.C. station (for news, events, and documentaries), a children's station, an entertainment station, and a vocational station (i.e. cooking shows). Local communal stations vary wildly in content, and are often broadcast in minority languages. Like the A.B.C., the state and/or communal infrastructure syndicates generally maintain television broadcast infrastructure, whilst the body in charge of programming could be the state or local academics syndicate, cultural syndicate, religious or ethnic body, or a communal council. Universities will typically possess their own station for broadcasting students' productions.

Funding for all levels of broadcasting is allotted by the relevant syndicates, in line with funds allocated to the syndicates by the various levels of government. Individual programs may be granted funds for production in a similar manner.