National Council committee puts the brakes on SRG in folk music dispute

 The tug-of-war over folk music on the radio continues: the National Council's Telecommunications Commission (KVF) wants the folk music broadcasts on Radio DRS to be moved to digital radio (DAB) only once digital broadcasting has been secured nationwide. The KVF had invited SRG Director General Armin Walpen and Director Walter Rüegg from Schweizer Radio DRS to a discussion, as the decision to relocate folk music had led to criticism on various occasions. According to KVF, those responsible justified their decision on Tuesday by saying that they wanted to adapt programming to individualized listener behaviour and focus more on special-interest stations.
With this in mind, the Commission agreed to a concentration of folk music on the Musikwelle station if this would lead to an effective expansion of the folk music offering. It noted that alternative transmission options would have to be considered following the closure of the Beromünster medium wave station at the end of 2008.
Radio DRS did not wish to comment on Tuesday. As no details are yet available from the KVF, it is not yet possible to comment, said spokesman Andreas Notter at the request of SDA. Once more is known, the next steps will be discussed.