Scramble for box exclusivity

Commuter newspapers The Federal Railways actually wanted to decide by the end of March whether 20 Minuten or Zisch-News (see WW 12/04) would be allowed to use their box locations in Central Switzerland. "It will probably be the end of April," is now the word from SBB. The Neue Luzerner Zeitung (NLZ), which wants to launch Zisch-News, has more information. "SBB has reservations about the exclusivity we want", says Managing Director Jürg Weber, which probably means that SBB is demanding higher fees for exclusive box locations than NLZ is offering. As a result, there is apparently a lot of haggling going on behind the scenes. Because SBB knows full well that 20 Minuten is coming anyway - and with it additional waste costs. Meanwhile, Rolf Bollmann, Managing Director of 20 Minuten, has recovered from the stress of the last-minute box tender. He is confident again and claims to have already "found a solution" regarding the print shop and describes its launch date as a "well-kept secret". In any case, Bollmann says: "We've done our homework."
(mk)