Radio men fight hard
On Wednesday, Zurich radio executives engaged in a heated discussion at the IGEM Talk about the ongoing license renewal process, radio advertising, and legal action. Things got pretty heated—after all, there will be losers in the Zurich area when the licenses are awarded.
Zurich radio men had a heated discussion on Wednesday at the talk organized by the Interessengemeinschaft elektronische Medien (IGEM) about the current relicensing, radio advertising and legal steps. Dani Büchi (Energy Zurich), Urs Lorenz (Radio Zürisee), Andreas Meili (Belcom AG/Radio 24), Roger Schawinski (Radio 1) and Giuseppe Scaglione (RMC Züri and Radio 105 Züri) sat on the podium, with IP Multimedia CEO Michi Frank moderating. Things got heated. Egos were puffed up and lectures were delivered. The gentlemen got out of hand at times and exchanged jibes such as "You don't understand anything about radio" and "Target groups are being invented that don't even exist". Michi Frank asked the audience with feigned desperation whether anyone wanted to take over his job as presenter.
Intact radio landscape required as an advertising partner Although the verbal battles had a certain entertainment value, they were not met with enthusiasm everywhere. One member of the audience said that the discussion reflected what the advertising industry has to contend with when it comes to radio: You don't need a quarrelling bunch, but rather rely on an intact radio landscape as a communication partner "so that our advertising customers can believe in radio again". So the gentlemen should please get their act together.
Media zampano Schawinski delivered the counterattack: After all, they were in a competitive situation for the concessions, "so you have to understand if we don't fall around each other's necks". And the advertising industry also has its part to play: "Bad advertising on the radio is annoying!". The advertisers should therefore do their bit with high-quality spots, the Radio 1 owner demanded. Whether this will stop listeners from zapping away, however, is another matter. Schawinski, as usual not mincing his words, had nothing good to say about the intermediary Mediasense: they had "thrown themselves at the arch-competitor SRG".
Not everyone will win But for radios to be attractive for advertising at all, they naturally need reach. And that depends on the FM license. There will be losers in the awarding process, as there are more stations competing than there are licenses to be awarded. For the existing radio stations, it was clear that the license is a question of existence. Dani Büchi explained that some of the staff would have to leave if Energy Zurich was left empty-handed. Andreas Meili emphasized Radio 24's track record and felt that there was no reason to deny successful radios a licence.
Giuseppe Scaglione, on the other hand, speaking from a different perspective with his cable radio, emphasized that there were only three things for Bakom to consider: The invitation to tender, the law and the applications. In the eyes of the Radio 105 man, there should be no bonus for past performance. Urs Lorenz provided a calming voice, emphasizing that he was not opposed to competition.
Threat of legal action It has become clear that the broadcasters will not simply accept it if they come away empty-handed in the awarding of the license. They will then probably have to go to court. Schawinski provocatively proposed a pact "right here and now": Everyone should undertake to leave the legal process alone if they are among the losers. Probably knowing that his competitors would never agree to the deal, Schawinski declared that he would sign such an agreement immediately. One should accept what the Uvek decides, because anything else would be "an abuse of the system". As expected, the pact did not materialize.
Once again, it was Schawinski who had another solution up his sleeve: he argued that four licenses should be distributed for the large Zurich-Glarus area. He had also suggested this to the Zurich City Council. However, it is doubtful whether Bakom will change the tendered coverage areas again. Büchi questioned the role of the Federal Office in general: It is disturbing that the authority lags behind current media developments and still intervenes so heavily in a regulatory capacity. In the end, however, the federal government will probably have the upper hand.
Carole Scheidegger
Intact radio landscape required as an advertising partner Although the verbal battles had a certain entertainment value, they were not met with enthusiasm everywhere. One member of the audience said that the discussion reflected what the advertising industry has to contend with when it comes to radio: You don't need a quarrelling bunch, but rather rely on an intact radio landscape as a communication partner "so that our advertising customers can believe in radio again". So the gentlemen should please get their act together.
Media zampano Schawinski delivered the counterattack: After all, they were in a competitive situation for the concessions, "so you have to understand if we don't fall around each other's necks". And the advertising industry also has its part to play: "Bad advertising on the radio is annoying!". The advertisers should therefore do their bit with high-quality spots, the Radio 1 owner demanded. Whether this will stop listeners from zapping away, however, is another matter. Schawinski, as usual not mincing his words, had nothing good to say about the intermediary Mediasense: they had "thrown themselves at the arch-competitor SRG".
Not everyone will win But for radios to be attractive for advertising at all, they naturally need reach. And that depends on the FM license. There will be losers in the awarding process, as there are more stations competing than there are licenses to be awarded. For the existing radio stations, it was clear that the license is a question of existence. Dani Büchi explained that some of the staff would have to leave if Energy Zurich was left empty-handed. Andreas Meili emphasized Radio 24's track record and felt that there was no reason to deny successful radios a licence.
Giuseppe Scaglione, on the other hand, speaking from a different perspective with his cable radio, emphasized that there were only three things for Bakom to consider: The invitation to tender, the law and the applications. In the eyes of the Radio 105 man, there should be no bonus for past performance. Urs Lorenz provided a calming voice, emphasizing that he was not opposed to competition.
Threat of legal action It has become clear that the broadcasters will not simply accept it if they come away empty-handed in the awarding of the license. They will then probably have to go to court. Schawinski provocatively proposed a pact "right here and now": Everyone should undertake to leave the legal process alone if they are among the losers. Probably knowing that his competitors would never agree to the deal, Schawinski declared that he would sign such an agreement immediately. One should accept what the Uvek decides, because anything else would be "an abuse of the system". As expected, the pact did not materialize.
Once again, it was Schawinski who had another solution up his sleeve: he argued that four licenses should be distributed for the large Zurich-Glarus area. He had also suggested this to the Zurich City Council. However, it is doubtful whether Bakom will change the tendered coverage areas again. Büchi questioned the role of the Federal Office in general: It is disturbing that the authority lags behind current media developments and still intervenes so heavily in a regulatory capacity. In the end, however, the federal government will probably have the upper hand.
Carole Scheidegger
