Free contacts (excluding regional free titles) increased by 287,000, mainly thanks to the first-time inclusion of .ch and News titles, and now account for over a third of all contacts. In total, 7 titles have significantly increased their reach compared to the previous year, 4 of which are distributed free of charge. In the daily press, there were 3 winners and 5 losers. In the general and business press there is 1 winner and 13 losers and in the special press there are 3 winners and 14 losers.
News before .ch?For the first time, values for .ch are shown in Mach Basic. However, with a reach of 5.0 percent and 214,000 readers, only the situation before the relaunch last fall is shown. A few days before the official publication of the data (and therefore too late for the accompanying special edition of Media Trend Journal), there are also figures for News, which are shown in a special table. With a reach of 6.5 percent and 276,000 readers, the free newspaper is ranked 8th in German-speaking Switzerland between NZZ (6.9%) and Neue Luzerner Zeitung (6.3%) and thus ahead of .ch. However, due to the tripling of distribution boxes in the public sector, .ch is already likely to achieve higher values. Assuming 0.9 readers per copy, as with News, the figure is 333,000 readers.
Blick am Abend is shown for the first time (and also as part of a special table) with a reach of 7.4 percent and 313,000 readers. However, the figures are only based on the third quarter of 2008, one month after the relaunch. Based on observations on public transport, the "Brombeer-Blick" is now likely to have around 400,000 readers. This results in a total of around 3.7 million daily free contacts in German-speaking Switzerland (excluding the discontinued Cash). This results in an estimated market share of 44 percent throughout Switzerland and almost 37 percent in German-speaking Switzerland. In French-speaking Switzerland, the two commuter newspapers effectively hold 46.8 percent after further significant gains. If the Competition Commission approves the takeover of Edipresse's domestic business by Tamedia, this share will shrink to around 30 percent. Around half a million free contacts will then be lost. However, it is unlikely that the figures for paid daily newspapers will subsequently recover.
Le Matin and 24 heures continued to lose significantly compared to 2008-1. In German-speaking Switzerland, only the Tages-Anzeiger suffered a significant drop in reach for once. Blick lost slightly - but not significantly.
Sunday, the two major titles in German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland lost significant ground. The continuous decline of the unrivaled Matin Dimanche, which has lost significant reach compared to both 2008-1 and 2008-2, is particularly astonishing. In German-speaking Switzerland, SonntagsBlick has been hit hard. It appears to be the main victim of the new competitor Sonntag, which immediately achieved a reach of 8.3 percent. And incidentally, the new Sonntagsblatt also seems to be helping the Catholic magazine of the same name to soar, as this title, which has been stable for years, has suddenly made significant gains after hitting a low point a year ago. Of course, no figures are yet available for Zentralschweiz am Sonntag, which was only launched after the current survey period.
A thirsty winnerBy far the highest increase in reach was achieved by someone who was dying of thirst, so to speak. The print edition of Cash, which was discontinued before the data was published, increased its reach by no less than 60 percent. With a reach of 2.8 percent (excluding screen usage via Livepaper), the paper was probably still behind the Handelszeitung (3.4%) and Finanz und Wirtschaft (3.1%). However, if the trend had continued, it could have been number two behind Bilanz (5.0%) in six months' time. The printed Cash is still at the beginning of its dry spell due to the abrupt advertising slump (-34 percent adjusted for expenditure in the first two months of 2009).
Once again, the losers in the popular press come from all title groups. And there is no winner. Weltwoche has lost significant reach compared to both 2008-1 and 2008-2 and is now at 8.1 percent. Geo and NZZ Folio also lost significant ground in the news and themed press. Among the magazines, four titles lost significant coverage: Beo-b¬achter, Paris Match, Reader's Digest Suisse and Illustrazione Ticinese. In the program press, only Tele and TV täglich suffered significant losses this time. Among the women's titles, two German titles (Brigitte and Freundin) as well as Annabelle and Femina are on a mini-trip.
Ueli Custer
Table: Securities with significant changes compared to January 2008
Table: Securities with significant changes compared to February 2008