Radiotele sows, Publisuisse reaps
Advertising Packages: Local TV stations in French-speaking Switzerland are having their new Tele Romandie Combi marketed by SRG subsidiary Publisuisse.
After a good six years of discussion, the time has finally come in French-speaking Switzerland: the seven larger local TV stations are joining forces to form a simple company called Groupement des Télévisions Régionales Romandes (GTRR) and are launching Télé Romandie Combi (TRC), a nationwide advertising network. From the point of view of the advertising industry, this finally gives the Swiss-German TeleNewsCombi (TNC) a private counterpart in French-speaking Switzerland. Also on board are Geneva's TV Léman Bleu, TVRL in Lausanne, ICI-TV in Vevey, Canal 9 in Sierre VS, Canal Nord-Vaudois in Yverdon, Tele Bielingue in Biel and Canal Alpha in Cortaillod NE.TRC is due to launch in March or April - with SRG subsidiary Publisuisse as the exclusive marketer. However, the broadcasters themselves will remain responsible for local and regional advertising. "Publisuisse made us the best offer," says Pierre-André Léchot, GTRR President and head of Canal Alpha. The PubliGroupe subsidiary Radiotele and the Goldbach subsidiary IP Multimedia have lost out.
The fact that Publisuisse has been awarded the contract is a real eye-opener, as it also markets the TNC in German-speaking Switzerland, albeit not alone, but together with Radiotele. However, this cooperation goes back to the time when Radiotele was still independent. For Radiotele founder Bruno Oetterli in particular, who could not be reached at the time, the decision in French-speaking Switzerland is certainly a bitter pill to swallow, as he campaigned tirelessly for years for the combined idea and tried to bring the local TV stations in French-speaking Switzerland together. Now Publisuisse is reaping the rewards. For the print giant PubliGroupe, the decision is a big slap in the face.
Nevertheless, this is hardly surprising. This is because Publisuisse was already successful in German-speaking Switzerland, not least because it offered to include the TNC in its Publiplan booking tool. Since then, the TNC can be planned and booked in the same place as SRG's market-leading channels - which greatly simplifies handling for agencies. Publisuisse also made the same offer to TRC. P and IP cannot really offer anything comparable.
As in German-speaking Switzerland, Publisuisse is also planning joint advertising offers between French-speaking Swiss television (TSR) and TRC. "French-speaking Swiss content for a French-speaking Swiss audience," says François Besençon, Head of French-speaking Switzerland at Publisuisse.
A second reason probably also played a role: TSR and the private TVs have been united for years in the Communauté Télé Romande, which deals with training issues and selective editorial cooperation. The Communauté has also been described as a standstill agreement between TSR and local TVs, which the latter are certainly not happy to jeopardize. Besençon emphasizes that TRC and the Communauté have nothing to do with each other. But he confirms that "the good atmosphere between local TVs and TSR certainly forms a good basis for the new commercial cooperation".
Markus Knöpfli
The fact that Publisuisse has been awarded the contract is a real eye-opener, as it also markets the TNC in German-speaking Switzerland, albeit not alone, but together with Radiotele. However, this cooperation goes back to the time when Radiotele was still independent. For Radiotele founder Bruno Oetterli in particular, who could not be reached at the time, the decision in French-speaking Switzerland is certainly a bitter pill to swallow, as he campaigned tirelessly for years for the combined idea and tried to bring the local TV stations in French-speaking Switzerland together. Now Publisuisse is reaping the rewards. For the print giant PubliGroupe, the decision is a big slap in the face.
Nevertheless, this is hardly surprising. This is because Publisuisse was already successful in German-speaking Switzerland, not least because it offered to include the TNC in its Publiplan booking tool. Since then, the TNC can be planned and booked in the same place as SRG's market-leading channels - which greatly simplifies handling for agencies. Publisuisse also made the same offer to TRC. P and IP cannot really offer anything comparable.
As in German-speaking Switzerland, Publisuisse is also planning joint advertising offers between French-speaking Swiss television (TSR) and TRC. "French-speaking Swiss content for a French-speaking Swiss audience," says François Besençon, Head of French-speaking Switzerland at Publisuisse.
A second reason probably also played a role: TSR and the private TVs have been united for years in the Communauté Télé Romande, which deals with training issues and selective editorial cooperation. The Communauté has also been described as a standstill agreement between TSR and local TVs, which the latter are certainly not happy to jeopardize. Besençon emphasizes that TRC and the Communauté have nothing to do with each other. But he confirms that "the good atmosphere between local TVs and TSR certainly forms a good basis for the new commercial cooperation".
Markus Knöpfli
