RTVA: Consultation on coverage areas opened
Under the DETEC proposal, Switzerland will be divided nationwide into 13 regional TV coverage areas, each with its own share of license fees. As for local radio stations, practically everything will remain the same. To determine what the regional coverage areas should look like, DETEC has launched a public consultation.
According to DETEC's proposal, Switzerland will be divided into 13 regional TV coverage areas with fee shares. For local radio stations, practically everything will remain the same. In order to obtain an answer to the question of what the regional coverage areas should look like, DETEC has opened a public consultation. According to the DETEC communiqué, the planning guidelines will reshape the television landscape. There will be fewer licenses, but 13 larger areas for professional TV stations, which will receive a share of the fees. The 13 areas include the large conurbations. In the Zurich area, the fee share will finance program windows for Schaffhausen and Glarus. In eastern Switzerland, the draft envisages a uniform coverage area from Winterthur to the St. Gallen Rhine Valley. In western Switzerland, Vaud and Fribourg as well as Neuchâtel, Jura and Bernese Jura will each be combined into one coverage area. As a bilingual region, Biel will remain a separate area.
The amount from the fee pot that the broadcasters in the individual areas will receive will only be announced when the licenses are put out to tender. According to DETEC, this will not be the case until summer 2007 at the earliest. Television broadcasters are expected to receive a share of the fees from 2008.
VHF radio stations in a spirit of continuity Local radio stations are only undergoing a gentle adjustment, the statement continues. The FM radio landscape is the result of 20 years of development, which has led to the current coverage areas. The planning guideline aims to promote the competitiveness of commercial stations in the conurbations. Local radio stations from peripheral regions will be given access to the nearest agglomeration where they do not yet have this. There is practically no change to fee splitting.
The amount from the fee pot that the broadcasters in the individual areas will receive will only be announced when the licenses are put out to tender. According to DETEC, this will not be the case until summer 2007 at the earliest. Television broadcasters are expected to receive a share of the fees from 2008.
VHF radio stations in a spirit of continuity Local radio stations are only undergoing a gentle adjustment, the statement continues. The FM radio landscape is the result of 20 years of development, which has led to the current coverage areas. The planning guideline aims to promote the competitiveness of commercial stations in the conurbations. Local radio stations from peripheral regions will be given access to the nearest agglomeration where they do not yet have this. There is practically no change to fee splitting.
