Ringier: National entertainment channel planned
Ringier is planning its own national TV program with entertainment shows, series and TV films. Ringier intends to decide in the first half of 2011 whether and when the project will be implemented. The plan is for a program that would be distributed both analog and digitally. Large parts of the Group are involved, including Blick and the Zurich radio station Energy. 3+ shows that it is possible to operate a commercially successful entertainment channel in Switzerland, Marco Castellaneta, Managing Director of Ringier Entertainment, told the SonntagsZeitung. The timing is ideal, especially as SRG says it wants to focus more on public service and information offerings in future. The reorganization of Ringier's TV division must also be seen in this context. As of November 1, all television activities will be brought together under one roof and one management. The newly created "Television" division is affiliated to Ringier Entertainment. It will be headed by Corinna Scholz, who is moving to Ringier from the management of Schweizer Fernsehen.
UBS: new campaign, new sponsorship
UBS's new image campaign in Switzerland was launched this Sunday under the motto "We will not rest". Le Corbusier, mountaineer Evelyne Binsack and Peter Monteverdi are among those promoting the big bank. The campaign, which was developed in collaboration with the agency Publicis, will initially run on television, the Internet and in print media until the end of the year. On Monday, the major bank then announced its global sponsorship commitment to Formula 1. The partnership will be officially launched at the Singapore Grand Prix at the end of September. According to Group CEO Oswald Grübel, the partnership fits in perfectly with the new campaign. Formula 1 is the ideal partner because it is equally represented in Europe, Asia/Pacific, the Middle East and Latin America. In return, UBS will be present at the Formula 1 races with its brand and offer its clients exclusive events. The parties have agreed not to disclose the amount or duration of the commitment. Credit Suisse once supported Peter Sauber in the premier class of motorsport. Grübel, who sits on the Board of Directors of BMW-Sauber, was also the driving force behind this commitment.

Top1: Bilan and Finanz und Wirtschaft bring luxury magazines together
The business media Bilan and Finanz und Wirtschaft are launching a nationwide luxury magazine. The two magazines Luxes par Bilan and Deluxe will be merged into a joint publication under the title Luxe at the end of November 2010. As an independent magazine published in French and German, Luxe will offer its readers news from the fields of watches, cars, fashion, new technologies, travel and wellness. Luxe Finanz und Wirtschaft in Zurich will be managed by Konrad Koch, who is currently responsible for Deluxe. Luxe par Bilan in Geneva will be managed by Emmanuel Grandjean, who will join the team in September 2010. The quarterly magazine will be distributed throughout Switzerland, to subscribers of both publications as well as in newsagents. With a circulation of 65,000, of which 20,000 are in French and 45,000 in German, it reaches over 240,000 readers. The first issue will be published in French on November 24 and in German on November 27.
Top 2: NYT: International Weekly is added to the Tages-Anzeiger
As the International Weekly, the New York Times publishes a weekly best-of edition in cooperation with daily newspapers in over 25 countries. The Tages-Anzeiger (TA) has joined the international network of the New York Times and will exclusively publish the Swiss edition as a weekly supplement to the TA.
The newspaper supplement consists of original articles from the current editions of the New York Times on the topics of world politics, culture, life and trends. The first issue of the English-language supplement in the layout of the New York Times will be published on Monday, September 6. According to co-editor-in-chief Res Strehle, the partnership will further strengthen the Tages-Anzeiger's journalistic offering. Advertising customers will also be offered a high-quality advertising environment, says advertising manager Andy Bürki. After the Standard in Vienna and the Süddeutsche Zeitung in Munich, the Tages-Anzeiger is the third partner in the German-speaking region. The three newspapers have already been working closely together for some time in the area of international marketing.

Top 1: Publishers launch digital pilot project
Tamedia, Ringier and NZZ are planning to sell newspapers digitally on a joint platform called Codex from the fall. The book publisher Orell Füssli is also involved and intends to offer electronic books. Swisscom will be responsible for the technical implementation. In a pilot phase from May to July, 150 readers are to be equipped with an e-reader, according to a report in the SonntagsZeitung. It is not yet clear exactly which publishers' titles are included in the test offer. Payment will be made in a fictitious currency. The publishers want to understand what readers are prepared to pay for and how much. Definitive prices for the commercial launch in the fall have not yet been decided. The option of a personalized newspaper is also being discussed. In the music business, Apple can now dictate prices thanks to iTunes. With the launch of the Codex platform, publishers are trying to prevent a similar dependency in the newspaper and book business: Although the plan is to sell their own e-readers, the Codex platform is intended to be compatible with third-party products. The iPad should therefore also be able to be served with digital Swiss newspapers in the fall.
Top 2: 3+ continued to increase its market share in 2009
In the 15- to 49-year-old segment, Switzerland's largest private broadcaster recorded a market share of 4.4% during prime time. In 2008, the figure was 3.3 percent. This put 3+ ahead of all other Swiss private channels and also ahead of Vox, RTL2, Kabel1, ARD, ZDF, ORF1 and ORF2 (source: GfK Switzerland/Publicadata AG/Telecontrol/3+ Medienforschung). In addition, a small profit of around CHF 30,000 was reported for the first time in 2009. This is an important signal, said station boss Dominik Kaiser in an interview with the Sonntagszeitung. "You can also make successful television in Switzerland, even in a very difficult year." First and foremost, however, he does not want to optimize profits, but rather grow and continue to invest in programming. In addition to US series, the channel is focusing on in-house productions such as "Bauer, ledig, sucht ..." and "Restauranttester Bumann". "Bauer, ledig, sucht ..." was also the most successful show in the fourth season. The fifth season starts in August. However, the matchmaking show is not profitable. "One season costs us around 1.7 million francs," Kaiser continues. However, the programs in Swiss German are very important for positioning the channel.

Dialog Marketing Award 2009: Agency at the airport wins eight trophies
16 awards in bronze, 8 in silver and 2 in gold: this is the proud result of this year's Dialog Marketing Awards ceremony, which took place last week in a festive setting at the Zurich Kongresshaus.
The guests were welcomed by Milo Stössel, the newly elected President of the Swiss Direct Marketing Association. The award ceremony featured highlights of varying formats - the surprising dramatization of benefits and the achievement of the highest possible response are challenges that pose high demands in difficult economic times. At the beginning of the evening, jury chairman Guido Wietlisbach therefore spoke of a rather average year, but optimism quickly returned during the presentation of the winners and they were applauded enthusiastically. The winners in the special categories Audience Award (SAP Switzerland and Ogilvy Mather), Innovation Award (Touch¬more GmbH) and Platinum Award (Lufthansa and Wundermann Germany) deserve special respect.
A breath of fresh air for radio
On June 4, Radio 105 launches on FM. Its founder, Giuseppe Scaglione, is as self-confident as ever. In terms of advertising marketing, he has no need to lean on a marketer or the Swiss Radio Pool. "As in the last ten years, we will stand on our own two feet and market our stations (105, RMC, Rock Nation, all web radios, 105TV) ourselves. We have had very good experience with this in recent years," he says when asked. Six people are responsible for marketing Radio 105. Despite his independence, Scaglione does not say no when he is offered spots from other sources. "Of course, we are also open to all existing marketers and are happy to accept their bookings," he says. Whether 105 will ever join the Swiss Radio Pool, he leaves open. "This would not be the case today or tomorrow anyway, as we are currently setting our priorities differently," he says. Of course, the first priority is to achieve the most attractive reach possible. Depending on this, radio advertising and the Swiss Radio Pool will then be shaken up. In any case, the radio scene could do with a breath of fresh air.

Stocks editor wins Friedrich Vogel Prize
Ulrich Hanke has been awarded the Friedrich Vogel Young Talent Prize for his article "Energy mix of the future". The article was a cover story in the Swiss investor magazine Stock published by Axel Springer Switzerland. In the article, the 31-year-old highlighted the importance of alternative energy sources and showed how the supply of households and industry will develop over the next ten years, the publisher wrote in a press release. The Friedrich Vogel Prizes are awarded annually in memory of the work of "Handelsblatt" founder and publisher Friedrich Vogel.

Newsnetz the most popular Swiss media site
Success for the online network of Switzerland's largest daily newspapers: Three months after its launch, the news network of Basler Zeitung, Berner Zeitung and Tages-Anzeiger is in first place among Swiss media sites. This is shown by the Net-Metrix figures for the month of October compiled by AG für Werbemedienforschung. As Head of Advertising Market Dominik Lämmler reports, the Newsnetz recorded around 1?,638,000 unique clients last month. This corresponds to growth of 135,000 unique clients or around nine percent compared to the previous month of September. Newsnetz is now 11,000 unique clients ahead of Blick Online, 24?,000 unique clients ahead of 20 Minuten Online and 55?,000 unique clients ahead of NZZ Online.