På baggrund af en lang tradition betales offentlig tv-virksomhed over de nationale budgetter, dvs. af skatteborgerne, og det bygger på den antagelse, at offentlige tv-stationer beskytter offentlighedens interesser, mens private radio- og tv-virksomheder beskytter private, kommercielle interesser. ###>On the strength of a long tradition, national budgets, i.e. the taxpayer, support public TV broadcasters based on the assumption that public TV stations are there only to protect the public interest, while private broadcasters are there to protect private, commercial interests.