Swiss Txt becomes ICT competence center of SRG SSR
Swiss Txt, headquartered in Biel, will merge with SRG’s internal IT and infrastructure unit, INIT, effective January 1, 2020, to form SRG’s new center of excellence for infrastructure, digital, and distribution services. The company will continue to operate under the name Swiss Txt as a wholly owned subsidiary of SRG.
In April 2019, the SRG Board of Directors had already decided to create a new ICT competence center by the beginning of 2020 (Werbewoche.ch reported). The new competence center is intended to further expand the existing internal services for SRG and at the same time generate additional revenues on the market with selected services.
The new competence center is headed by Martin Schneider, former CEO of Swis Txt, and comprises a total of 270 employees at locations in Biel, Berne, Zurich, Geneva, Lausanne and Comano.
In addition to IT infrastructure and cloud solutions, Swiss Txt's services also include multimedia offerings for sports content and smart TV platforms and applications (HbbTV). Automation and efficiency enhancement along central workflows are part of the services for broadcasters. Swiss Txt supports versatile video applications and processes with professional services and integral management and distribution platforms. Interactive elements, multilingual subtitles and enrichment with metadata are designed to create targeted added value.
Another focus is on innovation projects in areas such as "Accessibility" and "Citizen Journalism / Social Media," where the latest technologies and business models are to be tested with partners from all over Europe. This also with EU funding and financing.
Swiss Txt is also the SRG's competence center for access services - subtitling, audio description and sign language - and continues to subtitle all SRG TV programs. At the same time, the company supports a wide variety of stakeholders in implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities regarding accessibility of information.
With the merger of Swiss Txt and INIT SRG, the employees of Swiss Txt will now be subject to the CBA of SRG SSR as of January 1, 2020.
