Press TV: Baz inherits Ringier's health show

Following Ringier's exit from the publisher's television station PresseTV (PTV), Basler Zeitung Medien (BZM) will take on more responsibility. Firstly, it is doubling its stake from 10 percent today to 20 percent, and it is also continuing the program "Gesundheit Sprechstunde" under a new name, but with the same concept (see interview with BZM CEO Filippo Leutenegger). The editorial team will also remain largely unchanged: The previous editor-in-chief Regula Käch is leaving the team and presenter and doctor Jeanne Fürst is taking over.

However, since Ringier held 30 percent of the shares in Publisher TV, 20 percent will go back to PTV: They are available in case another publisher wants to get involved. At present, AZ Medien seems to be the primary candidate: It had shown interest earlier, all the more so as it has excess studio capacity with its local TVs in Zurich, Aargau and Bern. In response to an inquiry from Werbewoche, Claudia Bossert, Managing Director TV at AZ Medien, did say that "PTV has not yet received any requests to participate." "But we are still open to meaningful collaborations," she added. According to reports, however, initial talks are already scheduled for the next few days.

SRF has to fill two program gaps

Ringier is leaving gaps not only in the shareholder base, but also in the programs: "Cash TV" and "Motor Show TCS" are being dropped without replacement, leaving two nearly half-hour gaps in SF2 programming from 2013: Saturdays at 20:30 and Sundays at 22:05. "The slot for "Cash-TV" will go to a new format, the content of which has not yet been decided, while that of "Motorshow" will be retained for a format on the subject of cars," SRF spokesman Jonathan Engmann announced in response to an inquiry. Both formats will be run under SRF's responsibility in the future, and negotiations with production companies are already underway for the car format.

A third Ringier contribution, the "Sonntagsblick-Standpunkt", will also be cancelled without replacement, but because the other three Standpunkt providers NZZ, Basler Zeitung and Bilanz will step into the breach and run a three-week instead of a four-week rotation in future, there will be no gaps here.

The cancellation of "Cash TV" and "Motorshow TCS" means that PTV will only produce 6500 broadcast minutes per year for SRF from 2013. Previously, it was 8500 broadcast minutes per year, with the repeats even more than double. The reduction will also reduce the compensation PTV receives from SRF: While it used to be CHF 5 million per year, it will probably be less than CHF 4 million in the future.

Markus Spillmann to become Chairman of the Board of Directors

There are also weighty personnel changes at PTV. Some of them have already been quietly initiated in recent weeks: For example, the previous Chairman of the Board Wolfgang Frei, who was Head of New Media at NZZ, recently resigned due to retirement. Martin Lutz (73), a media lawyer who represents DTCP, an association of German publishers, at PTV, was elected as his successor. However, he is now stepping down at the end of the year - for reasons of age, according to a communiqué. PTV shareholders have now recently decided to propose NZZ editor-in-chief Markus Spillmann as the new president and BaZ publisher Filippo Leutenegger as vice president. An extraordinary general meeting is to be held at the end of November.

Fibo German steps down a year early

The most important personnel change, however, is at the operational level: 72-year-old Ringier man Fibo Deutsch, who has led PTV's fortunes from the beginning, will hand over the management already at the end of the year. This is surprising, as it was originally said that Deutsch would negotiate a new contract with SRF starting in 2014. Now his successor will do it. Who this will be is still open. The office will be reorganized, the communiqué simply said. But one thing is certain: Doris Maeso, Deutsch's right-hand woman, will remain loyal to PTV.

Since Ringier is also discontinuing its own TV production under the name Ringier TV, there will also be changes at this level: The Standpunkt programs and the BZM health program will now be produced by Content Park in Schlieren, the company that emerged from Lobster TV and belonged to Christoph Blocher's financing company Robinvest until mid-2010. Content Park has experience in producing TV programs and has a larger studio than Ringier TV. Incidentally, PTV will also move its headquarters from Ringier's main building on Dufourstrasse to Schlieren.

Cooperation for 17 years

PTV was founded in 1995 by NZZ, Ringier and DCTP. The Basler Zeitung joined in the same year, and later Jean Frey AG, which sold its share to Axel Springer Schweiz in 2007. From the outset, the aim was to broadcast contributions from private suppliers in program windows of Swiss television - in the knowledge that it would be virtually impossible for publishers to finance their own language-regional TV program in competition with SRG.

But the publishers did not always feel comfortable under SF's wing. In the Peter Schellenberg era, they were merely tolerated, and under Ingrid Deltenre, they even saw themselves as an "unloved louse in SRG's fur" (quote from Deutsch). The relationship only eased with the 2008 contract: Since then, PTV has felt taken seriously as a partner, and thanks to joint slot planning, the PTV broadcasts again achieved better ratings. In the first half of 2012, for example, "Gesundheit Sprechstunde" achieved an average market share of 19.7 percent, "NZZ Format" 15.3 percent, "Standpunkte" 7 percent, and "Motorshow," "Cash TV" and "Bekanntmachung" came in at 4 percent to 6 percent. SRG is therefore interested in cooperating with PTV even after 2013. "SRF wants to continue working with the publishers," confirms SRF spokesman Jonathan Engmann.

Markus Knöpfli