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ORF-GD Wrabetz: “ORF on course in all areas!”

Savings and program investments enable positive ORF 2020 annual results despite the corona crisis

Vienna (OTS) 2020 was one of the most challenging years in its history for ORF due to the corona crisis and increasing competition from the platform giants. It was necessary to secure broadcasting operations, to cope with the negative economic effects of the pandemic and to avert an impending loss scenario of up to EUR -75 million. That – and maintaining our market leadership in TV, radio and online – has succeeded. “ORF is on course in all areas”, as ORF Director General Dr. Alexander Wrabetz in the plenary meeting of the ORF Foundation Council chaired by Dr. Norbert Steger informed on Thursday, March 18, 2021 in Vienna.

The consistent austerity course and at the same time investments in the program enabled the ORF to post a positive balance sheet in 2020 despite the Corona crisis. According to the preliminary annual financial statements, the ORF 2020 achieved an operating result of 7.7 million euros, the ORF Group of 22.3 million euros. With TV market shares of 37.5 percent (1/2 2021), radio market shares of 74 percent (2020) and 145 million visits (1/2 2021) for ORF.at- Network at a record level.

“The media world is currently experiencing the greatest upheaval in the last few decades. The platform age has finally dawned. In the USA, streaming providers were used more than traditional broadcasters for the first time. The corona crisis has accelerated this development. The tech giants were able to expand their supremacy and invest billions in content. Your market power is a challenge for society, so that national media markets can survive it is essential to create a level playing field for everyone. This development confirms the digital platform strategy of the ORF. With the ORF-PLAYER, the ORF Media Campus and the ORF Strategy 2025, we have laid the foundations for the further development of the ORF from a public service broadcaster to a public service platform, ”said ORF General Director Dr. Alexander Wrabetz: “In 2020 we made the right program and economic decisions and managed ORF well through the crisis with the right balance of savings and investments in the program. This enabled us to ensure that the Austrians were supplied with information on radio, television, online and in the state studios during the pandemic and that the ORF was successful! “

Targeted savings and a concentration of resources in information as well as numerous other program initiatives in the areas of culture, entertainment, education, sport and films and series enabled the ORF to reach record levels. This enabled the decline in advertising to be slowed in the second half of the year and advertising revenues to be stabilized. At the same time, the ORF has implemented a comprehensive security concept consisting of hygiene measures, home office, isolation areas in the information system, its own test strategy and much more to secure broadcasting operations in the company.

The preliminary operating result of the ORF parent company 2020 is 7.7 million euros. The preliminary, operative ORF group result amounts to 22.3 million euros. The sales of the ORF parent company in 2020 will be EUR 966.1 million. The revenues from program fees amounted to 644.9 million euros, those from advertising to 200.3 million euros. The other sales revenues in 2020 are 120.9 million euros.

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