Switzerland has at least six terrestrial TV stations available everywhere, two channels each from Schweizer Fernsehen (SF), Télévision Suisse Romande (TSR) and Televisione Svizzera Italiana (TSI), plus a handful of national channels from mostly German-speaking private operators, and plenty of local stations for each area. None is what you might call glittering, offering an undemanding diet of chat-shows, game-shows, made-for-TV movies (dubbed) and lots of local news and local interest programming.

Each language area of the country has three broad-coverage regional radio stations, one channel devoted to each of news, classical music and popular music, although stations from neighbouring countries are easy to pick up as well. Aside from regular programmes of traditional Alpine music and alphorn recitals on the Swiss-German DRS-1, Romandie’s Couleur-Trois is the most entertaining station by miles, playing consistently good cutting-edge dance music from France, the US and the UK. The German-language equivalent, DRS-3, has its moments, but is much less adventurous. Both are on varying frequencies depending on where you are, but generally stick around 104–107FM. Italian-language music stations are eurobland in the extreme. Switzerland also has more than forty local radio stations catering to various communities around the country. Swiss Radio International broadcasts news and analysis in English on short wave at 6.165MHz at breakfast time and the evening, and at 9.535MHz at lunchtime, and is also on cable.