Federal government to pay one centime less per newspaper copy in 2018

The Federal Council on Friday approved the reductions for the delivery of subscription newspapers and magazines from Swiss Post in the coming year. Daily and weekly regional and local newspapers will benefit from 24 centimes per copy. This is one centime less than in the current year.

Smaller surplus

This reduction is explained by lower overall funding available for the following year. To the 30 million Swiss francs that the federal government makes available each year, the unused subsidies of the last available annual financial statement are added in each case.

At the end of 2016, a smaller surplus remained than in the previous year. Accordingly, slightly less funding is available for the calculation of the 2018 delivery allowance.

As of October 1, 2017, 139 titles in the regional and local press met the requirements for receiving indirect press subsidies. That is three titles fewer than in the previous year. The mailing volume decreased by 1.4 million copies.

Media concentration and digitization

For newspapers and magazines of the membership and foundation press, the discounts are now 17 centimes per copy, one centime more than in 2017. Overall, the federal government supports this branch of the press with 20 million Swiss francs annually.

As of October 1, 2017, a total of 1013 newspapers and magazines met the requirements to benefit from indirect press subsidies. This is 33 titles fewer than in the previous year.

The annual mailing volume fell to 125.2 million copies (-4.8 million). The reasons for this are the merging of several titles, too few subscribers, insufficient publication frequency or even the discontinuation of the physical publication of a title.

To benefit from a delivery discount, publishers and editors must meet certain requirements. The eligible newspapers and magazines can be found on the website of the Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM). (SDA)

Photo: Parliamentary Services, Bern