Facts
In April 1996, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG) concluded a cooperation agreement with the Touring Club of Switzerland (TCS) and the Swiss Automobile Club (ACS) regarding the broadcasting of "traffic information" on Radio DRS. The Independent Complaints Authority for Radio and Television (UBI) had initially decided that the repeated mention of ACS and TCS in connection with this traffic information did not constitute prohibited political advertising. However, in the run-up to a vote on the financing of public transport infrastructure, the UBI later concluded that the mention of the automobile associations had an impermissible political effect. The Federal Court overturned this decision and ruled that the mention of ACS and TCS constituted permissible sponsorship that did not violate any programming regulations.Considerations
The Federal Court concluded that the mention of ACS and TCS in connection with the "traffic information" on Radio DRS constitutes a permissible form of sponsorship. The traffic information represents a sponsorable program in the programming area, with the automobile associations acting as sponsors. Their mention serves to enhance the image and not the conclusion of specific legal transactions, thus fulfilling the requirements for sponsorship. The substantive connection between…