Telebasel launches new multimedia offering under resistance
Telebasel launched its new multimedia offering on Thursday. In addition to the revised television program, the partially fee-financed broadcaster is relying heavily on a new news portal on the Internet. Two Basel media companies are fighting back.
At 6:30 p.m., a presenter welcomed viewers to the first edition of the new "Telebasel Hour". Beforehand, Telebasel broadcast a countdown and the new logo, a large colorful B, for about a day.
The TV program, which is now broadcast from a multimedia studio, begins with headlines and the weather. The following program, "News," which replaces the previous news magazine "7vor7," features short reports on current topics for about five minutes. In addition to regional reports, there are also short national and international reports. The only longer news report follows after sports with the topic of the day. This is followed by a "talk" program, then more short news reports as well as a stock market program and the new people magazine "Glam". After the news content is repeated at the top of the hour, a new magazine, such as the new cooking show "Kitchen Stars," is broadcast every day.
Together with the completely revamped television program, Telebasel also launched on Thursday an expanded Internet offer. A new online editorial team puts news and film reports on the Internet every day between six and 11 pm. There is also a new Telebasel app for smartphones. According to the regional broadcaster, the multimedia offering is aimed primarily at people between the ages of 30 and 50. The focus is on news, sports, society and enjoyment.
Barfi.ch and BaZ file complaint
Resistance to Telebasel's new offering has formed even before its launch: Basel media entrepreneur Christian Heeb, who runs the online portal Barfi.ch, has filed a complaint with the Federal Office of Communications (Bakom): Telebasel, which is partly financed by licence fees, is violating its licence with the new online presence. The program mandate contains binding requirements, the complaint states. The program must concentrate on local and regional news. The use of public funds for tasks that are not directly related to the production and distribution of news programs via television is therefore inadmissible. Barfi.ch's complaint was joined by the Basler Zeitung (BaZ), the company announced in its Thursday edition. Telebasel's online involvement is an attack on private media companies, the newspaper wrote in a commentary. The attack could be carried out without risk due to state subsidies.
Telebasel: Changes agreed
Telebasel argued before the relaunch that it generated around 70 percent of its revenues from advertising. Only 30 percent came from license fees. The station therefore sees itself as a private media company. In addition, the reorientation had been agreed with Bakom. Telebasel currently employs 120 people. The concession for the operation of a regional television station is held by the Telebasel Foundation. The station went on the air in 1993 as a city channel and has been called Telebasel since 1997. (SDA)
