Finland · 100 years of Finnish Broadcasting (Yle Broadcasting)

Yle, known as Yleisradio Oy in Finnish and Rundradion Ab in Swedish, emerged during a period when broadcasting in Europe was developing from a technical experiment into a mass medium. In Finland, radio offered the first opportunity to transmit news, culture and entertainment simultaneously to sparsely populated and remote parts of the country. The broadcasting company, initially supported by several social and economic stakeholders, came largely under state ownership in the 1930s.

During the war years, broadcasting was a central means of disseminating official announcements, front-line reports and communications with the civilian population. Like other broadcasters of the time, Yle was subject to political directives and censorship. In the post-war period, the broadcaster expanded its services. Regular television broadcasts were added to radio, followed later by colour television, additional programmes, and digital and internet-based services.

Yle’s statutory remit encompasses information, education, culture and entertainment. Its programmes are intended to be accessible nationwide and to take different population groups into account. The services are provided primarily in Finnish and Swedish, the two national languages of Finland. They also include, among other things, broadcasts in Sámi languages, sign language services and offerings for other language groups. The broadcaster’s activities are therefore also connected with the country’s linguistic and regional diversity.

Yle is organised as a public limited company and is owned by the Finnish state. Parliamentary oversight is exercised by an Administrative Council elected by Parliament. Since the abolition of the former broadcasting licence fee, public broadcasting has been financed largely through a special tax. Advertising generally plays no role in its programmes.

The choice of this occasion for a commemorative coin refers to the role of broadcasting in the emergence of a shared national public sphere. At the same time, Yle represents the transformation of radio and television into digital media, as well as the continuing political debate over independent information, public funding and the remit of state-supported media.