"We have a different model"
Belcom COO Martin Spieler is confident that the planned Money-24 financial portal will be a success
Belcom COO Martin Spieler believes in the success of the planned Money 24 financial portalMister "Money" Martin Spieler believes that his own model holds better cards than the existing financial portals. A ray of hope for the planned channel: despite the depressed stock market, the viewing figures for "Money" have grown significantly.Martin Spieler, there are commercials for Moneycab on Tele24, immediately before the trailer for the "Money" show. Will Moneycab become the financial portal for your stock market channel Money24?
Martin Spieler: That's pure coincidence. Moneycab - like other financial companies - appreciates the attractive advertising environment surrounding the "Money" program.
But now that Cablecom and its subsidiary SwissOnline have become fickle as a preferred partner for the planned financial portal, this would be an alternative.
Spieler: We are in intensive talks with several partners from the financial, Internet and telecommunications sectors. We are open to various conceivable possibilities. I can't say any more at the moment.
When will you announce the partnerships?
Player: We want to find the best possible solution, and that just takes time.
However, we heard months ago that you had already reached an agreement with some partners.
Player: That's the case, several contracts have already been signed.
Who is there?
Player: Out of consideration for the ongoing negotiations, I'm not able to name names right now. We don't want to communicate bit by bit, but when everything is finalized.
Money24 was announced for this fall. When will you get started?
Player: We have never set a fixed date. We have not yet made a definitive decision regarding the launch date. It's like an IPO: you have to get the timing right, the framework conditions have to be right. We will launch when we are sure that it will be a success.
By the right framework conditions, you also mean: when the stock market goes up again.
Player: This is definitely a consideration, but not the most important one.
Once again on the finance portal: there is no finance portal that has made it into the black so far. Why do you still believe that things will be different with your planned portal?
Spieler: We have a completely different model. As far as most other financial portals are concerned, I have to agree with you. On the revenue side, they don't look great at all.
What sets you apart from the others?
Spieler: Our core business is television. We have had great success with "Money". We said from the outset that we would not build the portal ourselves. We also said that we would not rely on online advertising or commissions. Many financial portals have done both. And that's why they have very, very big problems today.
How do you earn money with the portal?
Player: We sell our content to the portal. The banks that sign contracts with us have an interest in acquiring customers for their own trading platforms via our portal. It is two different things whether you operate a portal that is also your main business or whether you are a bank for which a portal is merely a secondary business with the aim of acquiring trading clients.
As far as I know, the combination of TV station and financial portal does not yet exist anywhere else in the form you are planning. Do you know of a successful model?
Player: There are aspects of this. For example, you can also download individual stock market broadcasts from the major portals. The vision of our portal is that it will be possible to do this much more consistently and, above all, in real time. However, the technology required for this is not quite ready yet. But we are working on it. It's all just a question of time, and we have it.
Like many other new launches in German-speaking countries, which have shot out of the ground in the past stock market boom years, Money24 also focused on expanding the stock market audience. However, the bear market has probably already reversed this expansion of the audience. The bottom line is that more people may have been driven away from the stock market than were added during the boom years. Doesn't that give you a stomach ache?
Player: At the beginning of the year, I also wondered how the "Money" ratings would react to the weakness on the stock markets. But we were totally surprised: From January to May, we had audience growth rates of between 25 and 35 percent, more than ever before. That encourages us. If you can record such growth in such turbulent times, that's a great signal. Interview: Daniel Schifferle
Martin Spieler: That's pure coincidence. Moneycab - like other financial companies - appreciates the attractive advertising environment surrounding the "Money" program.
But now that Cablecom and its subsidiary SwissOnline have become fickle as a preferred partner for the planned financial portal, this would be an alternative.
Spieler: We are in intensive talks with several partners from the financial, Internet and telecommunications sectors. We are open to various conceivable possibilities. I can't say any more at the moment.
When will you announce the partnerships?
Player: We want to find the best possible solution, and that just takes time.
However, we heard months ago that you had already reached an agreement with some partners.
Player: That's the case, several contracts have already been signed.
Who is there?
Player: Out of consideration for the ongoing negotiations, I'm not able to name names right now. We don't want to communicate bit by bit, but when everything is finalized.
Money24 was announced for this fall. When will you get started?
Player: We have never set a fixed date. We have not yet made a definitive decision regarding the launch date. It's like an IPO: you have to get the timing right, the framework conditions have to be right. We will launch when we are sure that it will be a success.
By the right framework conditions, you also mean: when the stock market goes up again.
Player: This is definitely a consideration, but not the most important one.
Once again on the finance portal: there is no finance portal that has made it into the black so far. Why do you still believe that things will be different with your planned portal?
Spieler: We have a completely different model. As far as most other financial portals are concerned, I have to agree with you. On the revenue side, they don't look great at all.
What sets you apart from the others?
Spieler: Our core business is television. We have had great success with "Money". We said from the outset that we would not build the portal ourselves. We also said that we would not rely on online advertising or commissions. Many financial portals have done both. And that's why they have very, very big problems today.
How do you earn money with the portal?
Player: We sell our content to the portal. The banks that sign contracts with us have an interest in acquiring customers for their own trading platforms via our portal. It is two different things whether you operate a portal that is also your main business or whether you are a bank for which a portal is merely a secondary business with the aim of acquiring trading clients.
As far as I know, the combination of TV station and financial portal does not yet exist anywhere else in the form you are planning. Do you know of a successful model?
Player: There are aspects of this. For example, you can also download individual stock market broadcasts from the major portals. The vision of our portal is that it will be possible to do this much more consistently and, above all, in real time. However, the technology required for this is not quite ready yet. But we are working on it. It's all just a question of time, and we have it.
Like many other new launches in German-speaking countries, which have shot out of the ground in the past stock market boom years, Money24 also focused on expanding the stock market audience. However, the bear market has probably already reversed this expansion of the audience. The bottom line is that more people may have been driven away from the stock market than were added during the boom years. Doesn't that give you a stomach ache?
Player: At the beginning of the year, I also wondered how the "Money" ratings would react to the weakness on the stock markets. But we were totally surprised: From January to May, we had audience growth rates of between 25 and 35 percent, more than ever before. That encourages us. If you can record such growth in such turbulent times, that's a great signal. Interview: Daniel Schifferle
