The Central merger
Radio Central is looking for a pool partner with its newly acquired Eviva
Radio Central goes pool-hunting with the newly acquired EvivaBy Markus Knöpfli Goldbach Media exits cable radio station Eviva, Radio Central becomes the new main shareholder. Together, the FM radio station and the cable station have 207,000 listeners.
Goldbach Media's reason for leaving Radio Eviva is that the folk music station no longer fits in with the Group's cross-media offering in terms of affinities. However, Goldbach spokesman Paul Riesen does not hide the fact that marketing the station is "difficult" due to the lack of young listeners: Around half of the 95,000 listeners belong to the 60-plus target group. "Radio Eviva is not making a loss, but it has hardly developed at all." The new owner, Central Managing Director Alfons Spirig, gives more precise figures: Eviva made a turnover of around one million francs last year and "is self-supporting, so to speak". Too little for Goldbach Media to continue.
As Radio Central recently received a license for a second cable channel with popular music, the two companies began talking to each other. If the Federal Council now gives its approval, Goldbach Media will sell its 60 percent majority stake in Radio Central. The latter will relinquish its own station Central 2 and can instead take over Eviva, a program that has been established for ten years, including nationwide distribution via cable and satellite. According to Spirig, Eviva is to remain independent and not become a second station to Central. On the other hand, he sees great synergy potential. And with reference to the SRG cable radio station Musig-Wälle 531, which is similar to Eviva and reaches 409,000 listeners, Spirig describes his latest achievement as definitely expandable.
For the time being, however, he no longer wants to offer the two radios individually, but also in two packages: on the one hand Eviva/Central Deutschschweiz with 207,000 listeners (which corresponds to third place among private radio stations), and on the other hand Eviva/Central, in relation to Central's broadcasting area: Spirig expects around 30,000 additional Eviva listeners there. Above all, however, he now wants to get involved in the ongoing pool discussions with renewed self-confidence. "Our main goal is to find pool partners," he says. Central is "only" in the target group-specific tourism pool - but only since January.
Goldbach Media's reason for leaving Radio Eviva is that the folk music station no longer fits in with the Group's cross-media offering in terms of affinities. However, Goldbach spokesman Paul Riesen does not hide the fact that marketing the station is "difficult" due to the lack of young listeners: Around half of the 95,000 listeners belong to the 60-plus target group. "Radio Eviva is not making a loss, but it has hardly developed at all." The new owner, Central Managing Director Alfons Spirig, gives more precise figures: Eviva made a turnover of around one million francs last year and "is self-supporting, so to speak". Too little for Goldbach Media to continue.
As Radio Central recently received a license for a second cable channel with popular music, the two companies began talking to each other. If the Federal Council now gives its approval, Goldbach Media will sell its 60 percent majority stake in Radio Central. The latter will relinquish its own station Central 2 and can instead take over Eviva, a program that has been established for ten years, including nationwide distribution via cable and satellite. According to Spirig, Eviva is to remain independent and not become a second station to Central. On the other hand, he sees great synergy potential. And with reference to the SRG cable radio station Musig-Wälle 531, which is similar to Eviva and reaches 409,000 listeners, Spirig describes his latest achievement as definitely expandable.
For the time being, however, he no longer wants to offer the two radios individually, but also in two packages: on the one hand Eviva/Central Deutschschweiz with 207,000 listeners (which corresponds to third place among private radio stations), and on the other hand Eviva/Central, in relation to Central's broadcasting area: Spirig expects around 30,000 additional Eviva listeners there. Above all, however, he now wants to get involved in the ongoing pool discussions with renewed self-confidence. "Our main goal is to find pool partners," he says. Central is "only" in the target group-specific tourism pool - but only since January.
