Against one-size-fits-all plans of DETEC
Regional Television: The people of Upper Valais want their own regional TV station and have already established one. The people of Fribourg have similar aspirations, but are less assertive.
Regional television The people of Upper Valais want their own regional TV and have already founded it. The people of Fribourg have similar wishes, but are less brash.The fact that the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC) is holding a second consultation for the TV broadcasting areas in north-eastern Switzerland is also triggering a desire for a second consultation elsewhere, for example in Upper Valais and Fribourg. However, the starting points are different: DETEC has planned a single TV channel for bilingual Valais. The canton of Fribourg, on the other hand, has been divided up: According to DETEC, the German-speaking part belongs to the Bern region, the French-speaking part to the Vaud region, meaning that the cantonal capital of Fribourg would be served twice.There was resistance in both regions. The Upper Valais was united in demanding its own German-language television. To underline this demand, Tele Oberwallis AG was founded at the end of March (see interview), in which the Upper Valais cable network operator Valaiscom, local radio station Rottu, the publishers of the daily newspaper Walliser Bote and the weekly newspaper Rohnezeitung as well as the Swiss Distance Learning University of Applied Sciences Association each hold a 20 percent stake. The latter already operates the VS2 video channel.
Canal 9 in Sierre regrets that the Upper Valais went it alone. Cooperation had been sought, but was rejected by the Upper Valais, says director Aline Nicol. Nevertheless, Canal 9 is continuing to pursue the DETEC's unified proposal, she said, even in competition with Tele Oberwallis if necessary. However, Nicol left open how she intends to cover the Upper Valais.
Edipresse says non In the cantons of Vaud and Fribourg, however, the issue is not a language problem, but the question of whether a television station for the already fragmented Vaud can also serve the denominationally and politically different French-speaking inhabitants of Fribourg. In particular, the publisher Edipresse, which has been trying to unite five local Vaud stations into Vaud-TV for two years, spoke out against a cross-cantonal TV station. "It would be too expensive," says Christophe Rasch, Head of TV at Edipresse. Should DETEC nevertheless stick to the original plan, "we would have to start again from scratch", he says. He does not want another consultation. "DETEC already has all the facts on the table," says Rasch.
Albert Noth, member of the boards of trustees and directors of Radio Fribourg, Freiburger Nachrichten and La Liberté, would be happy to have a second hearing. From the point of view of the Fribourgeois, a connection to Vaud is possible, but they understand Edipresse's rejection. It had already put out feelers to Neuchâtel, but a joint TV would be similarly difficult to realize. "That's why we prefer to have our own French-speaking broadcasting area, perhaps with the Broye district," says Noth. The economic potential is currently being clarified. But this much is already clear: Noth does not believe that a Fribourg television station without a license is feasible at the moment, nor is a bilingual station.
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Canal 9 in Sierre regrets that the Upper Valais went it alone. Cooperation had been sought, but was rejected by the Upper Valais, says director Aline Nicol. Nevertheless, Canal 9 is continuing to pursue the DETEC's unified proposal, she said, even in competition with Tele Oberwallis if necessary. However, Nicol left open how she intends to cover the Upper Valais.
Edipresse says non In the cantons of Vaud and Fribourg, however, the issue is not a language problem, but the question of whether a television station for the already fragmented Vaud can also serve the denominationally and politically different French-speaking inhabitants of Fribourg. In particular, the publisher Edipresse, which has been trying to unite five local Vaud stations into Vaud-TV for two years, spoke out against a cross-cantonal TV station. "It would be too expensive," says Christophe Rasch, Head of TV at Edipresse. Should DETEC nevertheless stick to the original plan, "we would have to start again from scratch", he says. He does not want another consultation. "DETEC already has all the facts on the table," says Rasch.
Albert Noth, member of the boards of trustees and directors of Radio Fribourg, Freiburger Nachrichten and La Liberté, would be happy to have a second hearing. From the point of view of the Fribourgeois, a connection to Vaud is possible, but they understand Edipresse's rejection. It had already put out feelers to Neuchâtel, but a joint TV would be similarly difficult to realize. "That's why we prefer to have our own French-speaking broadcasting area, perhaps with the Broye district," says Noth. The economic potential is currently being clarified. But this much is already clear: Noth does not believe that a Fribourg television station without a license is feasible at the moment, nor is a bilingual station.
Markus Knöpfli
