"No termination of the exercise"
Florenz Schaffner, Head of Electronic Media at the AZ Media Group, on the new round of cost-cutting measures
Florenz Schaffner, Head of Electronic Media at AZ-Medien Group, on the new round of savingsBy Daniel Schifferle Another slimming down at Tele Tell: the three-member management team is being replaced. However, the future of the local broadcaster is not in danger, says Florenz Schaffner, Head of Electronic Media at the AZ Media Group. The Board of Directors has just confirmed that Tele Tell and Tele M1 will go ahead - unless losses continue to increase massively.
They have put the knives to Tele Tell - that doesn't sound like a strategy correction, but rather like abandoning the exercise.
Florenz Schaffner: By no means does this mean that the exercise has been abandoned. We have taken measures that the current management could not stand by. We have been forced to do so because income is not flowing as we had hoped when budgeting. That's why we had to introduce massive cost-cutting measures, first at Tele M1 and now at Tele Tell. People were not made redundant. Two have resigned on a staggered basis, and the editorial manager has received an offer to move to Tele M1, which she is still considering.
Tele-Tell managing director Hansruedi Hottiger has been with Tele M1 since the start. What did he do wrong?
Schaffner: Hottiger was of the opinion that the measures now being taken at Tele Tell were the wrong ones. Therefore, he could not support them. That's why he left us.
There is still a long lean period before the announced fee splitting comes into effect, which will not happen until 2005 at the earliest. How great is the danger that Tele Tell will have to close before it is rescued?
Schaffner: Tele Tell is not on the brink of closure. Better to save than to close, we told ourselves. At its last meeting, the Board of Directors of the AZ Medien Group confirmed to me once again that Tele M1 and Tele Tell would be kept going. At least as long as the losses remain within the range of recent years and do not continue to rise massively. With the current step, we are well on the way to reducing our losses. I am therefore very optimistic.
The current cost-cutting exercise is not the first within a year. Can you count on one hand all the rounds of savings that Tele M1 and Tele Tell have recently undergone?
Schaffner: The current round of cuts is the third since I took up my post in September 2001 and I hope it will be the last for the time being. With these rounds of savings, Tele M1 and Tele Tell have cut around 20 percent of their jobs.
In view of these successive slimming cures, the question arises as to whether the line between slim and anorexic has not already been crossed at Tele M1 and Tele Tell.
Schaffner: We still have a daily program that we can stand by. We have even improved in the area of "information". But I think we have now reached the absolute minimum if we still want to be taken seriously as a regional broadcaster. Of course, it always depends on what demands you place on a program. Intro-TV in Solothurn, for example, makes a TV program with only three to four permanent employees. We still employ over 50 people.
Regardless of the number of employees: Are viewers still on board with this round of cost-cutting?
Schaffner: One indicator that shows us that we have not yet fallen below the limit is our audience numbers, which are still rising. The bigger problem with such tight budgets, however, is the lack of reserves. If the slightest extraordinary thing happens, we are immediately running on empty. That's not professional in the long run.
How dramatic is the gap between costs and income at Tele Tell?
Schaffner: Both Tele Tell and Tele M1 have been making losses for years, that's nothing new. While we are able to refinance around 80% of our expenses at Tele M1 through advertising and sponsorship, this ratio will only be around 65% at Tele Tell in the current year.
Since the beginning of the collaboration between Tele M1 and Tele Tell, the accusation of an Aargauization of Central Switzerland has not been silenced. This constant criticism is likely to become even louder. Aren't you worried about this image?
Schaffner: I don't think we really have this image with the general public. The audience figures say the opposite.
But the balancing act between the two very different cultural regions of the Central Plateau and Central Switzerland is now even greater.
Schaffner: We've done this balancing act before. Now we may have to push it a little further. The program of both stations will probably become a little more tabloid in the future because we are increasingly looking for topics that apply to both regions.
New squad for Tele Tell
They have put the knives to Tele Tell - that doesn't sound like a strategy correction, but rather like abandoning the exercise.
Florenz Schaffner: By no means does this mean that the exercise has been abandoned. We have taken measures that the current management could not stand by. We have been forced to do so because income is not flowing as we had hoped when budgeting. That's why we had to introduce massive cost-cutting measures, first at Tele M1 and now at Tele Tell. People were not made redundant. Two have resigned on a staggered basis, and the editorial manager has received an offer to move to Tele M1, which she is still considering.
Tele-Tell managing director Hansruedi Hottiger has been with Tele M1 since the start. What did he do wrong?
Schaffner: Hottiger was of the opinion that the measures now being taken at Tele Tell were the wrong ones. Therefore, he could not support them. That's why he left us.
There is still a long lean period before the announced fee splitting comes into effect, which will not happen until 2005 at the earliest. How great is the danger that Tele Tell will have to close before it is rescued?
Schaffner: Tele Tell is not on the brink of closure. Better to save than to close, we told ourselves. At its last meeting, the Board of Directors of the AZ Medien Group confirmed to me once again that Tele M1 and Tele Tell would be kept going. At least as long as the losses remain within the range of recent years and do not continue to rise massively. With the current step, we are well on the way to reducing our losses. I am therefore very optimistic.
The current cost-cutting exercise is not the first within a year. Can you count on one hand all the rounds of savings that Tele M1 and Tele Tell have recently undergone?
Schaffner: The current round of cuts is the third since I took up my post in September 2001 and I hope it will be the last for the time being. With these rounds of savings, Tele M1 and Tele Tell have cut around 20 percent of their jobs.
In view of these successive slimming cures, the question arises as to whether the line between slim and anorexic has not already been crossed at Tele M1 and Tele Tell.
Schaffner: We still have a daily program that we can stand by. We have even improved in the area of "information". But I think we have now reached the absolute minimum if we still want to be taken seriously as a regional broadcaster. Of course, it always depends on what demands you place on a program. Intro-TV in Solothurn, for example, makes a TV program with only three to four permanent employees. We still employ over 50 people.
Regardless of the number of employees: Are viewers still on board with this round of cost-cutting?
Schaffner: One indicator that shows us that we have not yet fallen below the limit is our audience numbers, which are still rising. The bigger problem with such tight budgets, however, is the lack of reserves. If the slightest extraordinary thing happens, we are immediately running on empty. That's not professional in the long run.
How dramatic is the gap between costs and income at Tele Tell?
Schaffner: Both Tele Tell and Tele M1 have been making losses for years, that's nothing new. While we are able to refinance around 80% of our expenses at Tele M1 through advertising and sponsorship, this ratio will only be around 65% at Tele Tell in the current year.
Since the beginning of the collaboration between Tele M1 and Tele Tell, the accusation of an Aargauization of Central Switzerland has not been silenced. This constant criticism is likely to become even louder. Aren't you worried about this image?
Schaffner: I don't think we really have this image with the general public. The audience figures say the opposite.
But the balancing act between the two very different cultural regions of the Central Plateau and Central Switzerland is now even greater.
Schaffner: We've done this balancing act before. Now we may have to push it a little further. The program of both stations will probably become a little more tabloid in the future because we are increasingly looking for topics that apply to both regions.
New squad for Tele Tell
Managing Director Hansruedi Hottiger, Editorial Manager Monika Senn and Marketing Manager Esther Infanger are leaving Central Switzerland Local Television in corpore. In future, the sales management and marketing of the two stations will be merged. There will now only be one Head of Marketing & Communications for Tele M1 and Tele Tell. This task will be taken over by Kurt Schudel, who is currently still working as Head of Sales at Business Guide to Switzerland (GTS-Verlag), by the beginning of 2003 at the latest. Michele Macaluso, previously Head of Sales at Tele M1, has been promoted as the new Head of Sales for both channels. Ernst Meier, currently head of azonline.ch, will take over the management of the Tele Tell editorial team from mid-November. The journalistic management of Tele M1 and Tele Tell will remain with program director Heinz Lang.
Costs are to be reduced thanks to better utilization of synergies between the two stations. However, the aim of the restructuring is also to create the conditions for a further increase in quality at both Tele Tell and Tele M1. (dse)
