TV license in Eastern Switzerland: Tele Säntis is turned down in court
The battle for the TV license in Eastern Switzerland is turning into a skirmish between Tele Ostschweiz and its competitor, Tele Säntis. Tele Säntis’s lawsuit against Tele Ostschweiz was dismissed.
In mid-December, Tele Ostschweiz reported on the Federal Administrative Court's ruling on the licensing procedure in a one-sided manner. "I wanted to put a stop to that," says Günter Heuberger. The "tremendous media campaign" was damaging to his image, said the initiator of Tele Säntis, which has not yet been founded. He had filed a lawsuit against Tele Ostschweiz (TVO) with the district court in Winterthur. And was dismissed, as the media companies involved announced on Thursday according to SDA.
Reporting not unbalanced
According to the court ruling, TVO's reporting was not unbalanced.
"We have neither spread untruths nor put competitor Günter Heuberger in a bad light," writes André Moesch, Head of Electronic Media St. Galler Tagblatt, to which TVO belongs.
Günter Heuberger, Tele Säntis initiator and managing director of Radio Top and Tele Top, must pay his opponent compensation of CHF 3,000. According to Heuberger, this judgment is of no great significance for Tele Säntis. The judge had not even commented on the actual allegations. "As TVO also violated essential programming principles, we have initiated proceedings with the ombudsman's office for radio and television."
The Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (Uvek) rejected the application from Tele Säntis (in formation) in 2008. The license for a local television station in Eastern Switzerland was awarded to TVO AG. The unsuccessful applicant then appealed to the Federal Administrative Court. The judges in Bern have since upheld the appeal. The contested licensing decision was revoked and the dossier was sent back to the Uvek for reassessment.
Reporting not unbalanced
According to the court ruling, TVO's reporting was not unbalanced.
"We have neither spread untruths nor put competitor Günter Heuberger in a bad light," writes André Moesch, Head of Electronic Media St. Galler Tagblatt, to which TVO belongs.
Günter Heuberger, Tele Säntis initiator and managing director of Radio Top and Tele Top, must pay his opponent compensation of CHF 3,000. According to Heuberger, this judgment is of no great significance for Tele Säntis. The judge had not even commented on the actual allegations. "As TVO also violated essential programming principles, we have initiated proceedings with the ombudsman's office for radio and television."
The Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (Uvek) rejected the application from Tele Säntis (in formation) in 2008. The license for a local television station in Eastern Switzerland was awarded to TVO AG. The unsuccessful applicant then appealed to the Federal Administrative Court. The judges in Bern have since upheld the appeal. The contested licensing decision was revoked and the dossier was sent back to the Uvek for reassessment.
