A TV pool for the whole of Switzerland

Christian Stärkle, Managing Director of Belcom and TeleNewsCombi, has a new project: a private TV pool that can cover the whole of Switzerland. he wants to add a Ticino and a Romandie module to the German-speaking Swiss TeleNewsCombi with the members Tele Züri, Tele Bärn, Tele Basel, Tele Top, Tele Ostschweiz, Tele Tell, Tele M1 and Tele Südostschweiz. Stärkle has two conditions, however: The programmes of the private stations in Ticino and French-speaking Switzerland must be aligned with the stations in German-speaking Switzerland: half an hour each of news and magazine with hourly repetition and inclusion in the media optimizer. The Ticino module with Tele Ticino will probably be finalized by the middle of the year. Only the tariff is still open, as Tele Ticino will synchronize spots at its own expense, says Managing Director Filippo Lombardi. The situation is different in French-speaking Switzerland. The existing Télépool Romand with Léman bleu, TVRL, Canal Alpha +, Ici TV, Canal TV and now Canal 9 is struggling with the required programme adjustments and the expensive media optimizer. The lack of telecontrol devices in some broadcasting areas is making things more difficult. A decision will not be made there until the end of February at the earliest (mk).