The two Internet leisure portals Partyguide.ch and Tilllate.ch took first and second place in the category of page impressions (total of all page views) for the month of March 2006 in the NET Audit for online usage data from the Advertising Media Research Institute (WEMF). Partyguide.ch is the Swiss leader in terms of page views (79.2 million) and dwell time (20:02 minutes), with Tilllate.ch (75.5 million) and Homegate.ch (60.1 million) in second place for the most page views generated. Partyguide.ch was created in 1999 under the name ausgehen.ch and was renamed in July 2001. The original website has 150,000 registered members.

The study by the French research institute Médiamétrie and the German media consultancy Goldmedia "One Television Year in the World" for 2005 concludes that television is the undisputed most popular leisure medium. The two companies examined television viewing behavior in more than 70 nations. The average amount of time spent watching television worldwide last year was 184 minutes or more than three hours a day per TV consumer. The front-runner is the USA with 271 minutes per day. The Japanese also spend an average of 251 minutes a day in front of the screen, in stark contrast to the TV viewing behavior in the rest of Asia, where the average TV consumption is just 154 minutes a day. Latin Americans watch 196 minutes a day, while Europeans watch 195 minutes or 3:25 hours a day, the same amount of time as in the previous year. The most popular TV genre is fictional programs such as feature films, series and soap operas, which account for 44% of total programming. Series in particular were preferred at the expense of feature films. While series accounted for 50 percent of the most-watched fiction programs in 2004, their share rose to 64 percent in 2005. 38 percent of the top ten programs worldwide belong to the entertainment sector. In Europe, their share is as high as 64 percent. Special events such as the Eurovision Contest are also global audience magnets. As in the previous year, news programs, political programs and documentaries are among the most popular TV programs at 18% and are particularly popular in Europe.

The new quarterly magazine published by sports publisher Europa Medien, which is aimed at the target group of sports decision-makers in Switzerland, is called Important. The content focuses on portraits of decision-makers from the fields of sport, clubs/associations, business, sports sponsorship and the media. Portraits from the international sports business sector, reports on various events, analyses of sports stocks, stories on sports law, sports & culture and a lifestyle section with a service character are also part of the magazine's content concept. The aim of the new publication is to reach the increasingly interesting target group of decision-makers in sport. The magazine management explained to Werbewoche that the sports publisher does business with these decision-makers through sports books and sports magazines. Important is available by direct mail and also by subscription and comprises 84 pages in the first issue. The print run has not yet been determined.

Ringier has commissioned the Zurich advertising agency Jung von Matt/Limmat to communicate the new SI Style magazine. The first campaign for the sister publication of Schweizer Illustrierte will be launched this summer. Jung von Matt/Limmat's web unit is also developing the magazine's website.

The Polish subsidiary of Axel Springer AG, Axel Springer Polska, is launching a new national daily newspaper in Poland on April 18, 2006. Dziennik (Daily Newspaper) has its editorial office in Warsaw and is a modern quality newspaper, the company announced in a press release. The title is aimed at a young readership that is equally interested in Polish, European and international topics. Various topic-specific supplements complement the newspaper, which will be published from Monday to Saturday in tabloid format with a circulation of 150,000 copies. The launch of Dziennik will be supported by a nationwide image campaign.Axel Springer has been active in Poland since 1993. In addition to the tabloid Fakt, which today is Poland's largest daily newspaper with a paid circulation of around 520,000 copies, Axel Springer Polska also publishes various magazines.

Rochat & Partners is expanding its Geneva team with Christophe Roulet. The business press specialist was previously editor-in-chief of the financial newspaper Agefi. The PR agency, which is based in Geneva, Lausanne and Zurich, is also strengthening its team with the formation of a group of external consultants. Martine Brunschwig Graf (former President of Geneva's Government Council and National Councillor), Anne Biéler (Head of Communications for the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie), Jean-Nicolas Thalmann (former Director of Geneva's Office de Promotion Industrielle), Jean-Pierre Jobin (Director Emeritus of Geneva Airport) and Jean-Philippe Rapp (television journalist) will support the PR company with special mandates. Brunschwig Graf will be responsible for public affairs, Thalmann for industry and nanotechnologies, Jobin for aviation and tourism and Rapp for the development of radio and TV training programs for company managers at Rochat & Partners. As the 14-strong PR agency reports in a press release, it recorded a 15 percent increase in fees in 2005 compared to the previous year. In addition, its new clients include start-ups and companies in French-speaking Switzerland, as well as foreign investment funds and two pan-European mandates, namely for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Pfizer.

The Federal Department of the Environment, Energy and Communications (DETEC) has commissioned Billag AG to collect radio and television reception fees until 2014. Billag prevailed in the DETEC's invitation procedure against two other competitors, whose names are not being disclosed for legal reasons. The Department has come to the conclusion that the Accarda subsidiary Billag, which in turn belongs to Swisscom, best meets the requirements. Criteria such as operating procedures, quality and suitability of the service, cost-effectiveness, operating costs, customer service, technical solutions and price were taken into account. The new contract between DETEC and Billag begins on January 1, 2008 and will run for seven years.Billag has been collecting broadcasting fees since 1998. According to Swisscom, market penetration is 96% for television reception and 92% for radio reception. With this collection service, Billag has covered all fee payers apart from a few percent. The collection volume amounts to more than CHF 1.2 billion per year. francs per year. In return, 12 million invoices are issued to three million customers each year. The fees are owed to the federal government for the reception of radio and television programs, whereby the fee income is primarily used to finance SRG SSR idée suisse programs.

After the Swiss news magazine Facts, a second magazine from Tamedia is venturing into Germany and Austria. The women's magazine Annabelle is now on sale in the neighboring countries. Like Fachts, it is also available at train stations and airports to boost sales.

Karlheinz Pichler, former editor-in-chief of the weekly Computerworld, has launched the PR agency Kapi-Media. The Pfaffhausen-based company aims to operate at the interface between the ICT industry and communications, offering customized communications solutions for cultural institutions and ICT companies. Kapi-Media's team includes the former editor of Computerworld Corinne Schmidt, who looks after the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and Armin Fetz, who operates in the field of specialist articles. Kapi-Media is networked with a number of creative bureaus. The PR agency's clients include Check Point Software Technologies, the City of Zurich's Tobacco Prevention Office, Kultur-Online, Muparo Buchs and NCR Teradata.

The Publicitas Print Media Trophy 2006 has been canceled due to extensive restructuring and reorientation resulting from the merger of Publicitas Berne and Biel. The URS award for the best Bernese advertisements and national campaigns with a Bernese connection will have to "undergo a cure in order to reinvent itself", according to a Publicitas press release. "We look back wistfully on the splendid, unique and amusing URSs of recent years and will do everything in our power to ensure that it will once again honor its winners in 2007 in a unique new guise!" said Publicitas Director Biel and Berne Patrizia Caldini in the communiqué.

The Basel advertising agency Favo has designed and conceived the Coop annual report for 2005. The ongoing advertising campaign should also be clearly recognizable here: "For me. For you." runs through the report, according to a press release. The image section and the financial section have been restructured and the products and target groups of the wholesaler are presented with several motifs.

New transmitters on the Zürichberg and Albis ensure better reception in the city of Zurich, while two more on the Bachtel and Feusisberg provide better coverage of the Zurich agglomeration. In addition, the needs of commuters are also increasingly being met, as Radio Zürisee can now be received without gaps in the Milchbuck and Schöneich tunnels. Thanks to a new transmitter network structure, the previous frequencies can be switched off. The expanded broadcasting area will also be taken into account in journalistic terms, with plans to expand regional reporting.