In 2025, three of the world’s biggest public broadcasters — the BBC, Germany’s ARD, and France Télévisions — are under fire from their own political classes.
Across continents, populist and nationalist forces are trying to defund, delegitimize, or discipline once-untouchable media institutions.
And while these fights rage, something interesting is happening in Tokyo: NHK is quietly rising in relative strength — not by growing, but by standing still.
🇬🇧 The BBC vs. Trump: From Global Brand to Legal Battlefield
The BBC, long considered the gold standard for public broadcasting, now finds itself threatened with a US $1 billion lawsuit from Donald Trump over alleged mis-editing of January 6th footage.
It’s a symbolic battle — not about money, but control. A forced apology or settlement would reshape how the BBC covers powerful figures.
Meanwhile, years of budget freezes have already weakened its institutional independence.
BBC total operating cost: ~£6 billion (≈ US $7.3 billion)
Public-service portion: ~£4 billion funded by the UK licence fee
Trend: Flat or declining in real terms since 2016
The risk isn’t that the BBC will be dismantled — it’s that it will become timid, spending more time defending itself in court than challenging those in power.
🇩🇪 AfD vs. ARD: The Attack from Within Federalism
Germany’s ARD (budget ≈ €6.9 billion / US $7.5 billion) is the world’s largest public broadcaster by funding — but it’s also the most federally fragmented.
Each of its nine regional networks (WDR, NDR, BR, etc.) is independently run, a deliberate design to prevent centralized propaganda after World War II.
Yet the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) is using that decentralization as a wedge.
AfD politicians accuse ARD and ZDF of “left-liberal propaganda,” and propose abolishing the €18.36 household licence fee and privatising parts of the system.
“Die öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten müssen … die Gebührenfinanzierung sofort abgeschafft werden.”
— AfD statement, quoted in Verfassungsblog
The result: paralyzed budget negotiations, regional boycotts of fee hikes, and a steady erosion of legitimacy.
Even if ARD survives, its financial and political resilience is being hollowed out from the inside.
🇫🇷 RN vs. France Télévisions: Populism Meets Austerity
In France, Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National (RN) doesn’t need to destroy France Télévisions — Macron already did half the job by abolishing the licence fee in 2022.
Public funding now flows directly from the state budget, a move critics say makes broadcasters more politically exposed.
France Télévisions budget: ~€3 billion total
Public funding share: ~€2.5 billion
2025 budget cut: –€43 million vs 2024
RN leaders continue to claim the public channels are “the mouthpiece of those in power” and promise deep reform or partial privatisation.
France Télévisions isn’t collapsing — it’s shrinking, year after year, in both budget and perceived neutrality.
🇯🇵 NHK: The Silent Beneficiary
While Western public broadcasters fend off populist assaults, Japan’s NHK stands out for its sheer boring stability — and in this context, that’s power.
NHK annual budget: ~¥603 billion (≈ US $4 billion)
Funding source: ~96 % licence fees, < 1 % government subsidies
Deficit: ~¥40 billion, but covered without political interference
NHK’s governance may be bureaucratic, even conservative, but it remains legally independent and widely trusted (70 %+ trust rating in Japan).
Its global arm, NHK World-Japan, broadcasts in 17 languages and reaches over 150 countries — quietly filling the soft-power vacuum left by its louder Western peers.
🧭 The Global Balance Shifts
| Broadcaster | Country | Budget (US $ approx.) | Main Pressure |
|---|---|---|---|
| BBC | UK | ~7 B | Political lawsuits & funding freeze |
| ARD | Germany | ~7.5 B | Populist attacks, licence-fee revolt |
| NHK | Japan | ~4 B | Minor deficits, high trust |
| France Télévisions | France | ~3 B | Funding cuts, legitimacy erosion |
| CBC/Radio-Canada | Canada | ~1 B | Chronic underfunding |
| China Media Group | China | 0.3 B (official) → likely > 1 B | State-controlled opacity |
| RT | Russia | ~0.4 B | Sanctions, isolation |
When the West politicises its public media and the East instrumentalises it, Japan’s middle path suddenly looks remarkably credible.
NHK isn’t trying to sell a revolution or a civilisational narrative — it’s just broadcasting calmly in a world screaming at its own screens.
And that makes it, paradoxically, the most globally valuable public broadcaster today.
🌏 Why We Still Need Public-Funded Media
Private media maximises attention; state propaganda maximises obedience.
Public broadcasting — when it works — maximises trust.
Despite bureaucracy, inefficiency, and periodic scandals, the world still needs a few institutions whose job isn’t to chase clicks or party lines.
If the BBC bleeds legitimacy, ARD drowns in politics, and France Télévisions shrinks into irrelevance, NHK’s quiet resilience will look less like luck and more like foresight.
✳️ Closing Line
As democracies wrestle their own broadcasters into submission, Tokyo’s newsrooms keep humming with that signature NHK calm.
In the noise of lawsuits, populism, and austerity, silence has become Japan’s strongest broadcast signal.