The Swiss Press Association has presented its proposal for the reorganization of the Swiss television landscape. The newspaper publishers from all three language regions are thus joining the battle over the so-called fee-splitting. According to a press release, the association's aim with the report is to "contribute to the discussion on the specific structure of the future Swiss television landscape as part of the implementation of the new RTVA". The publishers own a large proportion of the approximately 40 private TV stations, and the new Radio and Television Act (RTVA), which is expected to come into force in spring 2007, will determine the number of fee-supported broadcasters and the coverage areas so that fee splitting can be implemented at all. The number of license areas previously envisaged by the Federal Council is between 10 and 12, but the publishers want the license fees for private TV stations to be distributed in 14 coverage areas after the new fee-splitting, 9 of which are in German-speaking Switzerland, 4 in French-speaking Switzerland and 1 in Ticino. Overlapping coverage areas are "unavoidable" and "sensible in individual cases", according to the communiqué. The introduction of fee splitting will have a significant impact on the relationship between the providers. A "certain consolidation" or consolidation of the private TV providers is therefore to be expected.
In addition to the distribution criteria, Schweizer Presse has also presented a distribution key. A modular three-pillar model is proposed. At least half of the fee share should be earmarked for a basic contribution, 30 to 40 percent for a structural equalization premium and the remaining 10 to 20 percent should be used as a so-called "performance premium" for special achievements in the area of public service. As co-author of the study Hanspeter Kellermüller told SDA, the structural equalization would also ensure that private TV providers in disadvantaged regions with little economic strength would receive additional support. According to the publishers, a sector committee independent of the federal government should decide on the allocation of funds.
The association of 17 regional television broadcasters, Telesuisse, announced in a communiqué on Monday that it had no intention of drawing up proposals for the division of the license areas. However, the association would like to see "future-oriented solutions" and "intelligent synergies between the existing broadcasters". It is up to DETEC, the Federal Office of Communications and the Federal Council to apply the guidelines of the new law analogously on their own initiative and after consulting the cantons.

From the beginning of January to the end of February 2006, Swiss television SF 1 lost an average market share of 0.4 percent between 6 and 11 pm. This is reported by the Sonntagszeitung, which cites unpublished figures from SRG audience research. The difference for SF 1 was mainly due to losses among younger viewers: The share among children had fallen by 1.7 percentage points and among young people by 1.1 percent. On a daily average, SF 1 lost 1 percentage point last year compared to the previous year. However, the picture is exactly the opposite for SF2. Thanks to the Winter Olympics, the second channel, which has been expanded into an event channel, gained 1.7 percent after 6 pm.

Wild posters, advertisements and event calendars throughout German-speaking Switzerland have carried the slogan "Alex in Concert" over the past two weeks. However, the campaign was not advertising a concert, but the new telenovela "Lotta in Love", which is set in the music business and has been on ProSieben since Monday. In addition to the teaser, ProSiebenSat.1 subsidiary SevenOne Media also realized a classic advertising campaign. In addition to the TV trailers, radio and cinema spots, ad screens, advertisements and posters, the Zurich-based company advertised on the street, on websites and at party locations.

If the government of Basel-Landschaft has its way, the regional private TV station NW1 will not receive any fee money from fee splitting. According to the new Radio and Television Act (RTVG), only one broadcaster per region can expect fee money. As the Basler Zeitung reports, the money is to go to competitor Telebasel. When the broadcasting license for the whole of north-western Switzerland was extended in 2004, NW1 undertook to waive state fees in favour of the city station. This promise was included in a gentlemen's agreement signed by the two Basel governments with the mediation of the Federal Office of Communications. Now the two main shareholders Christian Heeb and EBM director Hans Büttiker, who both want to sell their shares in NW1, are distancing themselves from this. There is no formal decision by the Board of Directors. However, the gentlemen's agreement remains valid for the Basel government. NW1 no longer wants to cooperate with Telebasel, but the Basel government is still trying to find a political solution with both broadcasters. The Baselstadt government would support a political solution. The governments want to present their concept in three months at the latest.

The new slogan of Europe's largest magazine publisher Gruner + Jahr (G+J) is "Expand your Brand". As Group CEO Bern Kundrun announced at the annual press conference on Monday, the company wants to move away from thinking purely in terms of magazines and create brand communities. G+J recorded sales growth of 8 percent to 2.62 billion euros in 2005. This was partly due to the acquisition of Stuttgart-based Motor-Presse and the printing joint venture Prinovis. At the same time, operating profit grew significantly. Adjusted for portfolio effects, sales grew by 1.2 percent in 2005, writes the news agency SDA. This was the first increase in revenue for four years. Operating earnings before interest and taxes rose by 17 percent to 250.3 million euros. The distribution and advertising market remained tense, Kundrun said on Monday. Meanwhile, he continues to rely on the company's "vital culture of innovation. Since 2003, 47 titles have been launched worldwide, compared to 16 in 2005. By 2010, G+J is aiming for a turnover of 3.5 billion euros and plans to open up further countries abroad. The Hamburg-based publishing house is owned by Bertelsmann AG (74.9 %) and the Hamburg-based Jahr publishing family (25.1%).

The communications agency Assai has designed and implemented an online and mobile package of measures for the youth brand Clockhouse. The Zurich-based agency created the first Swiss website for the young C&A line. Multimedia and interactive content such as an image gallery, video stream, online game, SMS competition and newsletter are intended to arouse the interest of the young target group, according to a press release. In addition to the website, Assai is also creating the online advertising material and monitoring its implementation.

According to a study by the US Pew Research Center, the internet is becoming a more important source of information than television among broadband users. Every day, 23 percent of Americans visit information sites on the Internet, and among broadband users the figure is as high as 43 percent. Conclusion: The Internet is increasingly catching up with television as the primary source of information, although 60% of respondents still cite television as their primary source of information. Surfers prefer the websites of the traditional media: 46% inform themselves on the sites of CNN and MSNBC, 32% read their local newspaper online and 20% visit the national newspapers online. Weblogs have not yet been able to establish themselves as a news source. Only 9 percent of all Internet users (12 percent of users with broadband) stated that they take weblogs into account when searching for information. Paid content is also not yet suitable for mass use. Only 6 percent stated that they use them. Users are more tolerant when it comes to free registration. Here, 54 percent of users have already registered on at least one site. The Pew study is based on a telephone survey of 3,011 adults conducted between November 29 and December 31, 2005.

The advertising agency Contexta has won the budget for the third wave of the national apprenticeship campaign. According to the Federal Office for Professional Education and Technology (OPET), the Bern-based company came out on top in the two-stage selection process with creative ideas that promise a lasting effect and can be used in the long term. The campaign is aimed at young people and companies and is also intended to strengthen the cantons' apprenticeship marketing measures, according to a press release.

The distribution key for fee splitting under the new RTVA, which the Swiss Press Association presented on Monday, has been negatively received and criticized from many sides. According to Günter Heuberger, Managing Director of Tele Top, independent private TV operators have criticized the proposal. The publishers' concept was neither appropriate nor in line with the federal government's previous media policy. The newspaper publishers would once again be seeking to eliminate competition in their monopoly areas. The new RTVA is also sharply criticized. After Radio Zürisee and Jean-Frey Ag lamented "the missed opportunity for a modern media policy" in a communiqué on Friday, the new Radio and Television Act (RTVA) is described in a press release from private broadcaster U1 as a "law from the Middle Ages. Made for feudal lords and robber barons". Guiseppe Scaglione from Radio 105 also sent a sarcastic greeting to the SRG, saying that their "years of outrageous lobbying financed by our fees have paid off: the new Radio and Television Act secures the state broadcaster's monopoly for the next 10-15 years." The Medien-Forum, the interest group of Swiss media consumers, is also disappointed. In a press release, it speaks of a failed revision. With the fee-splitting, the future of other electronic media would be on a state drip and thus in problematic dependence on the public sector, it criticizes. Unfortunately, there will be no real competition in the electronic media sector in Switzerland in the future either.

The underwear brand Sloggi presents the current Mister Switzerland Renzo Blumenthal surrounded by female panty models: "Win a dinner with Mister Scheiz or one of the top models!" is the slogan of the new spring 2006 campaign. The advertisement with the four half-naked men has been on display since Monday on posters, hanging boxes on public transport, e-boards and Internet banners on 20 Minuten Online and Blick Online. The campaign is primarily intended to raise awareness of Sloggi Men and is aimed at a young urban audience, according to a press release. The electronic media for the competition, such as SMS and the Internet, will allow the target audience to get actively involved and get in touch with Sloggi.

Mediapolis, the agency for business and communications consultancy, has announced that "Aktion für freie Meinungsbildung" (Action for free opinion-forming) aims to provide citizens with a platform for open political discussion. It also sees weblogs as a barometer of public opinion based on reactions. The lead contributions on Politlog.ch come from liberal politicians and entrepreneurs; according to Commuiqué, critical comments are even explicitly encouraged as part of a constructive political debate.

Tamedia's management is said to have announced a staggered reduction in the number of jobs in the advertising production department known as Advertising Production Newspapers (APZ). As Kleinreport.ch reports, it should be clear by Easter how many of the 110 full-time and part-time positions that still exist today will be cut. The management has justified the job cuts with the declining order volume, especially for the flagship Tages-Anzeiger. The number of advertisements processed between the last job cuts in September 2005 and February 2006 alone had fallen by an average of 15 percent compared to the same period in the previous year. Tamedia management also announced that it would invest in a new, modern advertising system. By the end of 2007, all Tamedia titles and other acquired newspapers are to be integrated onto a standardized platform. There are also plans to replace certain APZ services currently provided with a new web tool.