As the surveys presented in Bern on Thursday by the SRG SSR idée suisse research service show, TV and radio usage fell in all three parts of the country. It is unclear whether this is a reversal of the trend or whether the reason lies in the lack of major sporting events. In 2005, the German-speaking Swiss watched an average of 147 minutes of television per day, slightly less than in 2004. In French-speaking and Italian-speaking Switzerland, however, the decline was more pronounced: TV usage in French-speaking Switzerland fell from 173 to 171 minutes and in Ticino from 178 to 175 minutes. TV consumption among the under-25s has also been declining for years, according to the SDA news agency. Radio is listened to less frequently by 25 to 25-year-olds. Nevertheless, 91 percent of the Swiss population listen to the radio every day, with an average of 106 minutes in German-speaking Switzerland. The results for the SRG are also mixed. As already reported, the two Swiss television channels SF1 and SF2 lost market share. Over 24 hours, their share was 33.4 percent (34.5 percent in 2004). TSI also suffered losses in Italian-speaking Switzerland. In contrast, TSR in French-speaking Switzerland and, to a lesser extent, the radio stations were able to increase their share. In German-speaking Switzerland, foreign broadcasters as a whole made slight gains and achieved a market share of 61.8%. Domestic private stations lost ground slightly and achieved a market share of 4.1%.
The fact that viewers spent less time in front of the television in 2005 resulted in a decline in the amount of TV advertising consumed. The average German-speaking Swiss viewer watched 333 minutes of commercials per month, while the average French-speaking Swiss viewer watched 324 minutes.
This is the last time that the SRG SSR idée suisse research service has presented its annual audience research figures. The SRG department will become the independent mediapulse foundation, which will take over the research service as
foundation assets. The employees also transferred to the foundation. The prices and services of mediapulse will also remain the same, according to a press release. The spin-off is necessary due to the new radio and television law.
Television Act (RTVA). Accordingly, the new foundation is under
Supervision by the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC).

Denner has filed a complaint against Nestlé with the Competition Commission (ComCo) over the dispute about the price increase for the new Cailler chocolate. The Competition Commission is to decide whether Nestlé's price recommendations are unlawful. Denner is contesting in particular the forced harmonization of prices, which would have led to a price increase of over 8 percent for Denner and which Denner did not accept. Nestlé justified the price increase with the adjustment of conditions to those of other customers, where prices rose by an average of 0.8 percent. As Denner had continued to sell Cailler chocolate at the same price, Denner was no longer supplied and no longer carries Cailler in its range.

The Alstom Journalism Prize was awarded for the fifth time in Baden on Thursday evening: Four media professionals received equal numbers of awards. Pierre Veya, Le Temps, impressed with his series of articles entitled "Dévelppement durable", in which he provided a "coherent" picture of the current state of development of alternative energies. For the article "Nuclear power? Yes, please!" - published in the news magazine Facts - the jury praised Rainer Klose for his "good" overview of the development history of the pebble bed nuclear reactor. Christian Schmidt (author) and Jörn Vanhöfen (photographer) were honored for their reportage "Der Stolz der DDR - Über den Abbruch des Kernkraftwerks Greifswald" in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung. In their work, they show the development of nuclear power in reverse gear. Every year, the Alstom Journalism Prize Foundation honors exceptional journalistic achievements and contributions that deal with energy and transport. According to a press release, the aim of the prize is to promote understanding of the topics and contribute to an in-depth discussion. The jury assessed a total of 92 entries as part of the fifth call for entries. The prize money amounts to CHF 25,000. 

Radio Basel 1 is expanding its sports department: As of May 1, 2006, David Frey will become deputy head of sports. Frey has been working at Radio Basel for over a year, having previously worked for the regional journal of Radio DRS, among others. In addition to daily sports news, the local radio station is the only radio station in the region to broadcast all FC Basel and EHC Basel matches. In addition, Radio Basel 1 has been reporting live from the Davidoff Swiss Indoors for years. The sports broadcasts on Radio Basel 1 stand out from conventional sports reporting, according to a press release: the broadcasts are up-to-date, competent, emotional and entertaining.

On Thursday, WEMF published the Advertisign Index Switzerland AIS by sector and media for the advertising month of March 2005. According to the index, advertising sales in March 2006 amounted to CHF 355 million, which corresponds to an increase of 2.6 percent compared to the previous year. This means that the negative trend of the first two months of 2006 has been broken. The following sectors invested significantly more in advertising: politics/business/administration/industry with +37.3 percent, watches/jewelry with +26.4 percent, office/IT with +21.8 percent, pharmaceuticals/health with +19.8 percent, classifieds with +16.5 percent, food with +13.4 percent, finance/insurance with +12.5 percent and clothing/shoes with +10.2 percent. The following sectors reduced their advertising investments: Telecommunications/Internet by -31 percent, tobacco products by -28.2 percent, media by 13 percent and tourism/leisure by -11.9 percent. The other sectors' investments were a maximum of 10% above or below the advertising expenditure of the same month last year.

In the current edition of the AIS (Advertising Index Switzerland), WEMF has published for the first time the figures for advertising investment in the adscreen medium. In 2005, a total of CHF 9.065 million was invested in the new, three-year-old advertising medium at points of sale, information points and public places in Switzerland. This represents an increase of 74 percent over the previous year. The WEMF calculated the investments on the basis of data communicated to it by the most important adscreen advertising marketers such as Cinecom, Die Schweizerische Post, Flatspot Media, IP Multimedia, Neo Advertising and Screenimage. With the published conversions one is already on a similar level as the Teletext, it is said in a statement. For the months of January to March 2006, Adscreen again recorded an increase of more than 12 percent compared to the same quarter in 2005.

(pr) The BR Commission for the Professional Register of Swiss Copywriters has examined two submitted dossiers - and found one to be good: Martin Wüthrich, who is responsible for Cablecom's customer magazine among other things, can now call himself a BR copywriter. Congratulations! script, the Swiss Association of Copywriters, maintains the professional register of copywriters in Switzerland. Anyone working in the field of copywriting, editing and adaptation in the context of advertising, public relations and corporate journalism can apply for entry in the Professional Register (BR) of Swiss Copywriters.
Unlike other professional registers, the script BR is not simply a value-free "professional confirmation", but a seal of quality. Therefore, the three submitted works per copywriter are evaluated by the BR commission according to strict, but fair, precisely defined guidelines. It does not know the names of the applicants, nor whether they are script members or non-members.
The BR: a title for three yearsThe entry is valid for three years. Then a new certification is due if you want to continue to call yourself a "BR copywriter" or "BR copywriter". Of course, copywriters whose work has been rejected can submit a new dossier for the next certification.
The next BR certification will take place in November 2006. The application documents can already be requested via the script website.

The media company Ringier has commissioned Ruf Lanz with the advertising measures for the evening newspaper "heute". As the new free paper will be in the newspaper boxes in Zurich, Berne and Basel on May 15, the creative agency is working at full speed. According to Dietrich Berg, Head of Publishing at the Blick Group, the Zurich-based agency impressed with "fresh ideas that strike a chord with the younger target group". The campaigns for the reader and advertiser markets will start soon and consist of posters, advertisements, radio spots and below-the-line measures.

The Independent Complaints Authority (UBI) has dealt with complaints against two Swiss television reports. The complaint against the "Kassensturz" report was upheld, the complaint against the report on "10 vor 10" was rejected. The Kassensturz report "Useless conventional medicine: health insurers pay millions for nothing", broadcast on June 7, 2005, was criticized for not correctly reflecting the position of the pharmaceutical industry. The audience had to assume that the 16-month-old statement broadcast reflected the current position of the pharmaceutical industry. The UBI criticized Kassensturz for failing to obtain a current position. The contested report therefore violated the principle of fairness. However, the UBI's decision was narrow with 5:4 votes. However, the complaint was rejected for the "10 to 10" report on the impact of the free movement of persons broadcast on August 18, 2005. The UBI conceded to the complainant that a figure on pensions had been incorrectly communicated. However, the shortcomings only concerned secondary points and therefore the information principles under program law were not violated. The complaint was rejected by 7:1 votes. The decisions of the UBI can be appealed to the Federal Supreme Court by means of an administrative appeal.

The Goldbach Electronic Media Index (GEMI) moved in March
2006 at 166 points, the same level as in February. While the other electronic media lost points across the board, the Internet gained a whopping 4 index points (from 173 to 177 points) and thus proved to be the winner in terms of growth in gross advertising investment in the electronic media. The other electronic media lost growth in the short term with a total decline of 2 index points (from 318 to 316 points). The GEMI in the
Individuals: TV fell from 324 index points to 322, radio lost 2 points from 249 to 247. Teletext fell by one index point from 153 to 152. The GEMI is based on the
published data from Media Focus for advertising investments in the
Switzerland. 

The ZH2O drinking water bottle, which won the "coolest souvenir of Zurich" innovation competition in 2005, has been temporarily withdrawn from sale. According to the initiator, Zürich Tourism, some rust stains appeared on the neck of a small number of the bottles sold. Buyers of the souvenir will receive a full refund. The souvenir will be available again at a later date in a higher-quality version.

Sports fashion On the release day of this advertising week, the time has come: the first Nike Only Store in Switzerland opens its doors. Not in the lifestyle mecca of Zurich, but in cozy Bern. The largest Swiss selection of the broad Nike range will be presented on 420 square meters on Neuengasse. As Nike Switzerland's advertising agency, +söhne from Winterthur is responsible for communication. In addition to traditional media such as flyers, posters, window displays and radio spots, there will also be a competition. Everyone is invited to come to the store in a sports outfit on the Friday after the opening. The first ten costumed athletes will win a Nike shoe of their choice. For the competition card, +söhne has given a bear the power of countless athletes in a graphic way.