본 연구에서는 독일, 영국, 프랑스, 일본의 재원구조 특히 수신료 관련 법제와 정책을 비교 분석해 보고 이 과정에서 수신료의 법적 성격, 법원의 수신료 판결(독일) 및 규제기관의 역할, 수신료와 광고 및 기타 재원조달 방법, 공영방송의 성격 변화(상업화 노선 등), 최근의 수신료 및 재원조달 방법에 대한 정책방향 등을 검토해 보고자 하였다. 아울러 해외 공영방송사들의 재원 조달방안을 토대로 하여 공영방송 KBS의 수신료 및 재원 문제를 해결할 수 있는 법제 및 개편 방향을 제시하고자 하였다. 따라서 본 연구는 국가 간 비교 연구, 문헌연구, 사례분석 방법을 연구방법으로 채택하였다. 공영방송의 수신료 법제 및 정책분석은 2000년~2006년까지 관련 문헌을 검토하였으며, 독일의 연방헌법재판소 판결은 6,7,8차 방송 판결을 분석하였다. 아울러 국내 수신료와 해외 수신료 비교 및 인상 수준 검토에서는 다변인 회귀분석(multiple regression) 방법을 사용하였다.
The premise of raising the licence fee is that Korean Broadcasting System, publicly owned organization representing terrestrial broadcasters in Korea, should not only reform a system to ensure public and fair broadcasting services, but try to promote major changes in programming. Also, KBS should make a public apology for its unfair programs aired in the past and provide people with a new vision for the future. Meanwhile, people should have a willing to pay the increasing fee so that they can support and promote the public broadcaster on Korea's behalf in a global age. Though terrestrial broadcasting is in general regarded as advertising medium, people should wipe out the recognition that they can view television for free while paying no small of money for call charge. We must not understand the problem of increasing fee only in the view of price policy and audience's benefit. We need to adopt 'price-linked fee' and 'compulsory payment' enforcing in England. Special fee should be imposed on digital device to receive terrestrial DMB service that KBS is providing, and it is needless to say that we must consider such funding methods for public broadcasting as advertising, pay-TV, pay per view, and so on. The license fee has to be estimated by economic analysis with its estimation described in the broadcasting law. Its estimation should not count on political circumstances. If the licence fee will be raised to 5,000 won, it will come to 75~80% of total revenue KBS will gain a year, which is the same to that of German and English public service broadcasting syetem. For the public service broadcasting to survive in the future, it should branch out to both broadcasting and telecommunications services to prepare for the integration between broadcasting and telecommunications. Such financial methods should be found out as stable fee revenues, pay services, commercial services, channel rent through partnership, and advertising revenues. Without stable financial system, public broadcasting could not provide public services under the pressure of commercial competition. The problem of license fee is the most difficult to solve in the Korean broadcasting policies, because so many factors are involved. The most important thing is that KBS regains the impaired its mission and role as public service provider, keeping independent of political intervention in the licence fee system. Therefore, KBS should be earnest in its endeavors to provide more public programs, manage its organization efficiently, and systemize more justifiable institutions-management, ownership, independent regulating regime-before it tackles financial problem.