What is actually ... Long Tail?

TV stations that have recorded a market share of less than 1% in the last year - among all people in Switzerland over the age of three - are referred to as long tail. In addition to inexpensive advertising space, long-tail channels are also characterized by their focus on specific interests. These include sports, entertainment and news channels.

Advertisers benefit from this positioning on specific interests or subject areas: If they book long-tail channels from the sports sector, they achieve a very high affinity with the target group "sports enthusiasts" and thus minimize their wastage.

Long-tail channels generally increase the performance of a broad-based TV campaign. They offer a good platform for achieving a high advertising impact even with a smaller TV budget.

With the strong fragmentation of the TV market, long-tail channels are becoming increasingly important. If all these channels are considered together as one entity, they are the market leader in German-speaking Switzerland with a market share* of over 14% among people aged between 15 and 49.

The fact that these channels generate good advertising effects has long been recognized in the advertising market. More than 75 percent of TV advertising customers** now book long-tail channels as part of their communication campaigns - and the trend is rising.

* Source: Mediapulse television panel (Instar Analytics), 1st half of 2017
** Source: Media Focus

Term explained by: Emeline Paul, Senior Research Manager at Goldbach Media.