Rolf Bollmann wants one million readers
Free Newspapers The free newspaper 20 Minuten has long had more readers than the Tages-Anzeiger. Now it’s closing in on the Blick—or may have already surpassed it.
Free newspapers The free newspaper 20 Minuten has long had more readers than the Tages-Anzeiger. According to the latest readership figures from Wemf, the commuter newspaper 20 Minuten has gained almost as many readers as in the record year 2002. With a total of 720000 readers - an increase of 194000 (+37 %) - the commuter newspaper is now the second largest daily newspaper in German-speaking Switzerland. Just behind Blick. The gap to the tabloid is now only a wafer-thin 26,000 readers. 20 Minuten is almost certain to overtake the tabloid next year. The overtaking maneuver has probably already taken place. This is because an important step in Zurich, which is likely to have brought a further boost in new readers, has not yet been recorded by the current Mach Basic. Following the discontinuation of the Zürich-Express in April and the disappearance of its distribution boxes from the city and agglomeration, numerous additional commuters are likely to have used 20 Minuten. However, the survey period for the readership study ends on March 30, which is why the readership inheritance is not yet shown.
New growth impetus
Rolf Bollmann, CEO of 20 Minuten, believes that the potential is far from exhausted, not least because of his monopoly position. His aggressiveness is unbroken: "Growth, growth and more growth is my goal." However, it is not the reader segments that still need to be addressed that stand in the way of a further step in this direction, but simply capacity bottlenecks. "We have at least 20,000 copies too few in Zurich every day - because we simply can't deliver more copies in the necessary time with the printing plant in Vorarlberg, which prints the Zurich edition," says Bollmann.
The contract with the print shop runs until March 2005, after which the company will probably have to switch to a new one. The lights are not yet green for the next expansion steps. Everything that Bollmann is currently putting into the pipeline ready for implementation depends on the decision of the Competition Commission (ComCo). If it approves the takeover of 20 Minuten by Tamedia and Espace Media Groupe, the doors will be open, according to Bollmann.
As soon as the Weko has given its word in favor of the deal, the expansion is likely to pick up speed. "In this case, 20 Minuten will have a new Board of Directors, to which I will submit my proposals," says Bollmann. He will then also put possible areas of expansion back on the table. The regions of Lucerne and St. Gallen, which have been under discussion for years, are at the forefront.
"But all of this involves investment," explains Bollmann. And it needs the support of the new owners. If the Competition Commission agrees, they will play the leading role in a historic act: Tamedia and Espace Media Groupe will oust Blick publisher Ringier from the top spot in the lucrative Swiss-German news business. And probably with a not too narrow lead over Blick. Bollmann is already thinking ahead: "My goal is one million daily readers and a cash flow that satisfies investors." However, he is not yet sure how long it will take to exceed this threshold.
Unique recipe for successThe expansion of readership continues to make rapid progress, particularly in and around 20 Minuten's core regions. Zurich was once again the high-flyer last year. The commuter newspaper gained around 35 percent new readers in WG 43 and now serves its 303,000 readers with free news. Things are also looking up in the two markets with their own editions. In both the Basel area (WG 31) and the Berne area (WG 34), the number of free readers rose by 33 percent to 129,000 and 118,000 readers respectively. There is still potential in Lucerne and St. Gallen. Here, readership figures are only in the single-digit thousands.
20 Minuten's recipe for success appears to be unique. Even the Basel staff could not stop the rapid advance in its catchment area. Nevertheless, the paper of the Basel media group - with a slight upswing (plus 8 %) and 188,000 readers - is still almost 60,000 ahead of its strongest competitor.
Among the other free titles, only one in a different category recorded a real success: AZ Medien's Aargauer Woche increased significantly by 32,000 readers. (dse)
Daniel Schifferle
New growth impetus
Rolf Bollmann, CEO of 20 Minuten, believes that the potential is far from exhausted, not least because of his monopoly position. His aggressiveness is unbroken: "Growth, growth and more growth is my goal." However, it is not the reader segments that still need to be addressed that stand in the way of a further step in this direction, but simply capacity bottlenecks. "We have at least 20,000 copies too few in Zurich every day - because we simply can't deliver more copies in the necessary time with the printing plant in Vorarlberg, which prints the Zurich edition," says Bollmann.
The contract with the print shop runs until March 2005, after which the company will probably have to switch to a new one. The lights are not yet green for the next expansion steps. Everything that Bollmann is currently putting into the pipeline ready for implementation depends on the decision of the Competition Commission (ComCo). If it approves the takeover of 20 Minuten by Tamedia and Espace Media Groupe, the doors will be open, according to Bollmann.
As soon as the Weko has given its word in favor of the deal, the expansion is likely to pick up speed. "In this case, 20 Minuten will have a new Board of Directors, to which I will submit my proposals," says Bollmann. He will then also put possible areas of expansion back on the table. The regions of Lucerne and St. Gallen, which have been under discussion for years, are at the forefront.
"But all of this involves investment," explains Bollmann. And it needs the support of the new owners. If the Competition Commission agrees, they will play the leading role in a historic act: Tamedia and Espace Media Groupe will oust Blick publisher Ringier from the top spot in the lucrative Swiss-German news business. And probably with a not too narrow lead over Blick. Bollmann is already thinking ahead: "My goal is one million daily readers and a cash flow that satisfies investors." However, he is not yet sure how long it will take to exceed this threshold.
Unique recipe for successThe expansion of readership continues to make rapid progress, particularly in and around 20 Minuten's core regions. Zurich was once again the high-flyer last year. The commuter newspaper gained around 35 percent new readers in WG 43 and now serves its 303,000 readers with free news. Things are also looking up in the two markets with their own editions. In both the Basel area (WG 31) and the Berne area (WG 34), the number of free readers rose by 33 percent to 129,000 and 118,000 readers respectively. There is still potential in Lucerne and St. Gallen. Here, readership figures are only in the single-digit thousands.
20 Minuten's recipe for success appears to be unique. Even the Basel staff could not stop the rapid advance in its catchment area. Nevertheless, the paper of the Basel media group - with a slight upswing (plus 8 %) and 188,000 readers - is still almost 60,000 ahead of its strongest competitor.
Among the other free titles, only one in a different category recorded a real success: AZ Medien's Aargauer Woche increased significantly by 32,000 readers. (dse)
Daniel Schifferle
