2006 was the year of the publishers
Radio Publishers have taken the reins in the Swiss-German radio industry. This is causing increasing concern for the other broadcasters.
Radio Publishers have taken the reins in the Swiss-German radio industry. In the eyes of many private radio operators in German-speaking Switzerland, 2006 should have been a year of transition. After that, many hoped, things would get better - not primarily in terms of sales, but in terms of cooperation within the scene. But at the end of this year, the mood in many places is subdued, cautiously optimistic at best. In the eyes of those with an overview of the entire industry, too much has gone wrong. On the one hand, there was the marketing idea of IP Multimedia (IP Pool), which it had already served up at too short notice in 2005 and again served up amateurishly this year. The result: a shambles. Marketer Radiotele was then swallowed up by print giant PubliGroupe. And finally, at their fall congress, the publishers agreed to expand the existing Swiss Radio Pool (SRP) to 13 members with the addition of the two radio stations BE1 and Basel 1. Under the leadership of Andreas Meili, Head of Electronic Media at Tamedia, the publishers have thus succeeded in turning the SRP into a pool that not only covers the major centers, but also sorts the radio industry into publisher and non-publisher radio stations: All publisher radio stations are gathered in the SRP (except Radio Munot), the others remain outside the door. This is new for the industry: until now, there have been pools based on (publisher) political and geographical criteria as well as personal preferences, but none for a specific guild.
The main problem for those who remain: They are so scattered that they cannot form a meaningful (counter) pool. And there is another concern for many: The SRP is possibly to be marketed exclusively. In any case, an invitation to tender has been issued for this. But what if an exclusive lease is actually granted? Then it is likely that the unsuccessful bidders will file an antitrust lawsuit, which could block the industry for months or years to come. Should this scenario fail to materialize, a number of questions arise: Would the other marketers be able to make do with the few crumbs that are still available in addition to the SRP? Wouldn't some of them be forced to give up radio mediation? Would national radio marketing then be monopolized in the medium term, as with the medium of cinema? Questions upon questions that are currently only being discussed behind closed doors. Some believe that in the end all radio stations will lose out, especially non-SRP members.
It's not that far yet. Whether the SRP will enter into an exclusive lease is still open, says Andreas Meili on request. By the deadline, "more than three offers" had been received, including "foreign ones", he adds. According to reports, the three marketers Radiotele, IP Multimedia and Publisuisse have also submitted bids, but do not wish to comment.
Which of the three, if any, is most likely to get the exclusive contract? Opinions in the industry are divided: IP has no chance as long as it is also affiliated with Radio Energy Zürich, which is not part of SRP. Publisuisse will probably not want to concede even more market power to the publishers. It already handles DRS radio sponsorship exclusively and also markets SRG TVs fully and TeleNewsCombi semi-exclusively. That leaves the PubliGroup subsidiary Radiotele: it is possibly the ideal candidate, as it offers the greatest synergy from a publisher's point of view with print, TV, cinema, online and mobile. Why else would a pure publisher pool make sense?
Markus Knöpfli
The main problem for those who remain: They are so scattered that they cannot form a meaningful (counter) pool. And there is another concern for many: The SRP is possibly to be marketed exclusively. In any case, an invitation to tender has been issued for this. But what if an exclusive lease is actually granted? Then it is likely that the unsuccessful bidders will file an antitrust lawsuit, which could block the industry for months or years to come. Should this scenario fail to materialize, a number of questions arise: Would the other marketers be able to make do with the few crumbs that are still available in addition to the SRP? Wouldn't some of them be forced to give up radio mediation? Would national radio marketing then be monopolized in the medium term, as with the medium of cinema? Questions upon questions that are currently only being discussed behind closed doors. Some believe that in the end all radio stations will lose out, especially non-SRP members.
It's not that far yet. Whether the SRP will enter into an exclusive lease is still open, says Andreas Meili on request. By the deadline, "more than three offers" had been received, including "foreign ones", he adds. According to reports, the three marketers Radiotele, IP Multimedia and Publisuisse have also submitted bids, but do not wish to comment.
Which of the three, if any, is most likely to get the exclusive contract? Opinions in the industry are divided: IP has no chance as long as it is also affiliated with Radio Energy Zürich, which is not part of SRP. Publisuisse will probably not want to concede even more market power to the publishers. It already handles DRS radio sponsorship exclusively and also markets SRG TVs fully and TeleNewsCombi semi-exclusively. That leaves the PubliGroup subsidiary Radiotele: it is possibly the ideal candidate, as it offers the greatest synergy from a publisher's point of view with print, TV, cinema, online and mobile. Why else would a pure publisher pool make sense?
Markus Knöpfli
