New free newspaper .ch but without Marquard
According to reports in the Sunday newspapers, Jürg Marquard is pulling out of Sascha Wigdorovits' free newspaper project .ch. The Zug-based publisher’s involvement apparently fell through because the parties could not agree on the balance of power.
As reported by the Sonntagszeitungen, Jürg Marquard is leaving Sascha Wigdorovits' free newspaper project .ch. The Zug-based publisher's involvement apparently failed because there was no agreement on the balance of power. Although Marquard decided against getting involved, he was replaced by the Innsbruck-based Moser publishing family, the largest free newspaper publisher in Austria, which also includes Phonak man Andy Rhis among its investors. According to Wigdorovit's statements to the Sonntagszeitung, the project is therefore not at risk. However, Sonntagsblick speculates that the budget could be cut to an estimated 50 to 60 million francs. And this significantly reduces the project's chances of success, as industry experts put the capital required to challenge the supremacy of 20 Minuten at around CHF 100 million.
