"We are doing well. We are growing and commercially on track"
Watson CEO Michael Wanner talks about the German expansion of the news portal Watson in Switzerland at the weekend.
In April 2018, the AZ Medien news portal will also be launched in Germany (Werbewoche.ch reported). A German equivalent is being launched under the leadership of the media group and advertising marketer Ströer. After the 2016 closed TV station Joiz another "hip" Swiss medium with a younger target group is venturing into the far north.
In an interview with Schweiz am Wochenende's editor-in-chief, Watson CEO Michael Wanner is full of praise for the new partner in Germany. In addition to its strong market position and marketing power, the Group is also investing in journalistic quality. Ströer operates the news portal T-online.de. "So they know the business and what it takes to succeed," Wanner said.
The aim of the German adventure is to strengthen the Watson brand - and also to learn from the new partner and exchange content, says Wanner. In this way, the Swiss readership should also benefit from a larger journalistic offering.
Watson already has a partnership with Spiegel.de and exchanges articles - according to Wanner, this cooperation will continue unchanged.
The target group in Germany is 20- and 40-year-olds. Wanner believes he is filling a gap in the market: "Watson.de is the first fully-fledged and independent news service for this younger target group in Germany.
The aim is to appeal to readers "with good journalism, a mix of news and intelligent entertainment" - all prepared for the social media generation.
Visually, Watson.de will look like its Swiss sister portal, Wanner reveals. And contrary to rumors that Watson is struggling with existential financial problems in Switzerland, he is optimistic about the Swiss market: "We are doing well. We are growing and are commercially on course. (hae)
