The German: Rundfunkstaatsvertrag (English: Interstate Broadcasting Agreement), abbreviated as German: RStV, is the nationwide law for radio station and television licensing in the Federal Republic of Germany. Based on the German: [[Kulturhoheit der Länder]] (sovereignty of the German states in terms of cultural aspects) it is not a federal law but instead it is a treaty passed by all German: Bundesländer (states of Germany).
The full title of the law is German: Staatsvertrag für Rundfunk und Telemedien (English: State Treaty on Broadcasting Services and Telecommunication Media) but on most occasions it is called Rundfunkstaatsvertrag. The first version was enacted on 1 December 1987 (signed on 3 April 1987) and the fifteenth revision of 30 October 2010 is due to come into effect on 1 January 2013.
The German Interstate Broadcasting Agreement is the basis for a series of other laws, most notably the German: Rundfunkgebührenstaatsvertrag (German: RGebStV – English: Interstate Agreement on Broadcasting Licence Fees) and the German: Rundfunkfinanzierungsstaatsvertrag (German: RFinStV – English: Interstate Agreement on the Financing of Broadcasting). Some aspects were refined by the federal German: Telemediengesetz (German: TMG – English: Telecommunication Media Act) that is otherwise covering Internet services.
The German public broadcasting services were introduced in post-war Germany in a similar fashion to the British Broadcasting Corporation. The German: Rundfunkstaatsvertrag is similar to the royal charter of the BBC however the licensing and financing model diverged over time. The German: Rundfunkstaatsvertrag was introduced in 1987 to allow licensing of private broadcast companies beyond the public broadcast services that existed before.