Swiss public broadcaster SRG returns radio to FM from mid-November 2026

A concession that is now final

On Monday, 2 November 2026, the Swiss public broadcaster SRG announced that it will bring its radio programmes back to FM, the analogue band it stopped using at the end of 2024. The Federal Office of Communications granted the company a licence, and it is now in force because the appeal period has passed. The first transmitter sites will go back into operation in mid-November 2026, which the company says will restore FM reception to about 80% of the population. FM will complement digital reception through internet and DAB+ rather than replace it.

Why the reversal happened

The move follows a political decision. FM switch-off had been planned for the end of 2026, after which all programmes would be broadcast only via DAB+. Lawmakers feared that listeners of private stations still broadcasting on FM would switch to foreign stations if they had no DAB-compatible receivers. In December 2025 parliament adopted a motion asking for FM to be kept for longer. Earlier, the SRG had said that dropping FM entirely would only have made sense if the whole sector stopped broadcasting on FM by the end of 2026, and that it could not keep giving up FM without risking many listeners.

Cost and listening habits

The reactivation costs 6.5 million Swiss francs a year, which the SRG says has to fit within the federal government's savings programme. Full FM coverage cost 15 million francs a year before the switch-off. Blick reported, citing an internal SRF paper from summer 2026, an initial cost of 6.6 million francs a year and further expansion steps in 2027 that could cost up to 15 million francs a year. Blick's figure differs slightly from the SRG's 6.5 million. 20 Minuten reported that the SRG had announced further job cuts in October, with 900 full-time posts to go by 2029. Listening has moved decisively to digital channels: about nine in ten radio minutes are now heard via DAB+ and internet, and much audio is consumed later through streaming catch-up or podcasts.

Reactivation, initial annual cost6.5

Previous full FM coverage, annual cost15

Reactivation, initial annual cost

6.5 million CHF per year

Previous full FM coverage, annual cost

15 million CHF per year

Data from the article text

Reaction and next steps

SRG director-general Susanne Wille framed the parliamentary decision as a direct mandate from listeners. The company says it will keep monitoring listening habits and financial conditions before expanding FM further.

“Our listeners are at the centre.”

The restored FM sites will carry the main programmes in all language regions, together with the culture channels of SRF, RTS and RSI, and in German-speaking Switzerland the regional journals. Listeners who lost analogue access when the switch-off happened in 2024 can receive these channels again at home or on the move. Further expansion depends on how listeners use FM and on the financial framework, and the SRG says it will set those steps itself. The digital offer stays unchanged.