Size alone does not give hope
Werbewoche employee Markus Knöpfli on the Tamedia deal.
"The future of the paid daily newspaper was particularly important to us for our joint project." Tamedia CEO Martin Kall made this statement four times at the press conference of Tamedia and Edipresse on March 3. But one should not delude oneself. Kall neither spoke in favor of maintaining the structure, nor did he present a new business model for paid newspapers. His only idea: size creates synergies, which enable savings that may prolong survival. Kall wants to save 50 million a year with Espace Media and Edipresse. Not much in view of rapidly declining advertising revenues. It will hardly help the Berner Bund, for example, as long as Tamedia keeps the circulation of the Berner Zeitung artificially high. Kall only has ideas for the Internet. These are not new either. And they will be of little use to his newspapers, because cross-subsidies are taboo. Each title is looked at individually. That is Kall's credo. So don't get your hopes up!
