Channel 1 still leaves many questions unanswered
With the purchase of TV 3's studio facilities, Kanal 1 has certainly taken another step forward.
With the purchase of TV 3's studio premises, Kanal 1 has taken a step forward, but important questions regarding the three-country TV project of Hanno and Erwin Soravia, the two sons of the Carinthian construction industry, remain unanswered. The required Swiss partner is still missing, and cable distribution is also still a long way off, but Peter Kölbel, project manager of Kanal 1, is optimistic that they will be able to start in September or possibly a month later. Eight hours of programming with magazine shows, reality formats, reports, talk shows and discussion panels will be broadcast daily. The annual budget of Kanal 1 will be well below the 70 million francs of TV 3, Kölbel reveals.
The start will be made within the framework of the Austrian satellite license. However, there will be no Swiss content at this time. These will be launched as soon as the license for Switzerland is available. Kanal 1 is still looking for a Swiss partner to take over the 51% majority stake in the Swiss company required by the license. Now that Ringier and Tamedia have already declined, he could well imagine a partner from outside the media industry. "An advertising agency, for example," says Kölbel.
He also remains confident about the unresolved distribution problem. As soon as the channel has a Swiss license, which he expects to happen in six months at the earliest, Cablecom will have to grant the station an analogue channel.
Together with the program launch in autumn, Kanal 1 is planning a free program magazine to be published five times a week, which will be produced and printed in Vienna. The magazine, entitled U 1, is intended as a promotional tool and will be distributed in around 100,000 copies in Zurich, Bern and Basel. For this purpose, Kanal 1 has purchased the approximately 450 orphaned Metropol boxes. (dse)
The start will be made within the framework of the Austrian satellite license. However, there will be no Swiss content at this time. These will be launched as soon as the license for Switzerland is available. Kanal 1 is still looking for a Swiss partner to take over the 51% majority stake in the Swiss company required by the license. Now that Ringier and Tamedia have already declined, he could well imagine a partner from outside the media industry. "An advertising agency, for example," says Kölbel.
He also remains confident about the unresolved distribution problem. As soon as the channel has a Swiss license, which he expects to happen in six months at the earliest, Cablecom will have to grant the station an analogue channel.
Together with the program launch in autumn, Kanal 1 is planning a free program magazine to be published five times a week, which will be produced and printed in Vienna. The magazine, entitled U 1, is intended as a promotional tool and will be distributed in around 100,000 copies in Zurich, Bern and Basel. For this purpose, Kanal 1 has purchased the approximately 450 orphaned Metropol boxes. (dse)
