"Marketing opportunities are being systematically blocked"
Günter Heuberger on the Publicom Study on Media Competition in Eastern Switzerland
Günter Heuberger on the Publicom study on media competition in Eastern SwitzerlandSt.Galler Tagblatt Medien AG is not competing fairly with Radio and Tele Top. This is the conclusion of a Publicom study (see page 21) commissioned by Top boss Günter Heuberger. But what does he do with this finding? Heuberger comments: What do you find the most astonishing statement in the Publicom study?
Günter Heuberger: I didn't expect to realize to such an extent that a media company as large and with an editorial statute as St.Galler Tagblatt Medien AG would blow all its fuses because of a competitor and that the editorial team would allow itself to be harnessed to the publishing doctrine. It is also revealing that, according to the study, the Confederation could lose its room for maneuver in the electronic media. Because if an existing multimedia company can prevent the challenger from being noticed by the population at all, the desired competition will not take place.
The study sheds light on three things. With regard to reporting in the St.Galler Tagblatt (SGT), it comes to the conclusion that radio and Tele Top come off worse than the Group's own media. What are you doing about this?
Heuberger: I will ask the SGT editors-in-chief to adhere to the usual rules of the game with regard to radio and Tele Top.
The second result: The top media have no or only small program columns in the SGT and hardly any program information. What do you do?
Heuberger: Here, too, I will ask the editor-in-chief to give Tele Top a column that is the same size as that of Tele Ostschweiz (TVO). But that's actually a matter of course.
The third result: the gross value of TVO advertisements in the SGT exceeded TVO's advertising income in the period under review. How do you react to this advertising pressure?
Heuberger: We can't argue with that. On the other hand, a media company that took the step into the regional TV sector rather late should be given the opportunity to make a decent cross-media commitment so that it can catch up. But from a competition policy point of view, it is unacceptable that TVO and Radio Aktuell place the third most advertisements in SGT after Coop and Migros. After all, this is how they buy viewers and listeners.
What was the trigger for the study - the "advertising war" two years ago, when Radio Akuell placed an advertisement next to a Radio Top advertisement and also referred to it in terms of content?
Heuberger: That was certainly a key experience. If you can no longer place an advertisement in the regional monopoly newspaper without the publishing house placing an advertisement for your own radio station next to it, then part of free competition and democracy is broken. The second reason, however, was last year's Publicom study on Radio Tropic. It showed that a newcomer without a large marketing budget has no chance of penetrating an existing market. That gave me the clue back then, which has now been confirmed by our study: If some of the marketing opportunities are systematically blocked for us, this is a disadvantage that is difficult to compensate for.
Publicom is now proposing to increase the marketing budget for future media newcomers in the start-up phase. What do you think of this?
Heuberger: As the diversity of opinion in Switzerland is at risk, every proposal that could lead to fairer competition should be seriously examined.
Publicom also proposes that fee-splitting funds should only be distributed to non-monopoly program providers.
Heuberger: This proposal is being hotly debated at the moment anyway. After all, you don't want to support well-profitable publishers with license fee money. But I am an advocate of the dual system. With fair competition and cooperation between private broadcasters, it should be possible to do without fees anyway.
And what do you think about obliging multimedia groups to have advertising for their own media reported and publicized by Mediafocus in their own media and to have it included in future fee-splitting calculations?
Heuberger: An interesting proposal. But, as I said, I am against fee splitting.
In January, negotiations between SGT and Top Group about a joint TV project were broken off. Are you still thinking about new negotiations after this study?
Heuberger: I had demanded that the top group should be able to participate in at least 50% of the joint project and take over the operational management. When I saw the results of the study at the end of December, I was vindicated in this demand. Because the way SGT is managing the competition, we can only cooperate with it if we have the say in terms of capital and publishing.
So it was not least because of this study that you stuck to your demand, which you criticized as "excessive" and which then led to the conversation being broken off?
Heuberger: Yes, we took this risk because we didn't want to be tied in by the SGT. But perhaps the study will also lead to people in Zurich saying: Stop, not like that, this is not the NZZ style!
Although you don't have a print medium at your disposal, how does cross-media work at the Top Group - are there reports about Tele Top on Radio Top and vice versa?
Heuberger: No. We only reported on the concession decisions, and only in the news.
Does Radio Top advertise programs on Tele Top and vice versa?
Heuberger: This happened a few times in 2000, but not since then. We don't make trailers either.
And how do the top media report on the SCT media?
Heuberger: When Radio Herzschlag went on air in St. Gallen, we reported it in the news. That will also be the case when Radio Aktuell goes on air in Wil.
Are you already considering a second Publicom study - for example, to find out what effect the study and interventions have in St.Gallen?
Heuberger: I rather hope that there will be a national follow-up study. Because if media politicians want to know what they can do with the money from large publishers before handing out fee money to regional TVs. So let's wait and see. Interview: Markus Knöpfli
Günter Heuberger: I didn't expect to realize to such an extent that a media company as large and with an editorial statute as St.Galler Tagblatt Medien AG would blow all its fuses because of a competitor and that the editorial team would allow itself to be harnessed to the publishing doctrine. It is also revealing that, according to the study, the Confederation could lose its room for maneuver in the electronic media. Because if an existing multimedia company can prevent the challenger from being noticed by the population at all, the desired competition will not take place.
The study sheds light on three things. With regard to reporting in the St.Galler Tagblatt (SGT), it comes to the conclusion that radio and Tele Top come off worse than the Group's own media. What are you doing about this?
Heuberger: I will ask the SGT editors-in-chief to adhere to the usual rules of the game with regard to radio and Tele Top.
The second result: The top media have no or only small program columns in the SGT and hardly any program information. What do you do?
Heuberger: Here, too, I will ask the editor-in-chief to give Tele Top a column that is the same size as that of Tele Ostschweiz (TVO). But that's actually a matter of course.
The third result: the gross value of TVO advertisements in the SGT exceeded TVO's advertising income in the period under review. How do you react to this advertising pressure?
Heuberger: We can't argue with that. On the other hand, a media company that took the step into the regional TV sector rather late should be given the opportunity to make a decent cross-media commitment so that it can catch up. But from a competition policy point of view, it is unacceptable that TVO and Radio Aktuell place the third most advertisements in SGT after Coop and Migros. After all, this is how they buy viewers and listeners.
What was the trigger for the study - the "advertising war" two years ago, when Radio Akuell placed an advertisement next to a Radio Top advertisement and also referred to it in terms of content?
Heuberger: That was certainly a key experience. If you can no longer place an advertisement in the regional monopoly newspaper without the publishing house placing an advertisement for your own radio station next to it, then part of free competition and democracy is broken. The second reason, however, was last year's Publicom study on Radio Tropic. It showed that a newcomer without a large marketing budget has no chance of penetrating an existing market. That gave me the clue back then, which has now been confirmed by our study: If some of the marketing opportunities are systematically blocked for us, this is a disadvantage that is difficult to compensate for.
Publicom is now proposing to increase the marketing budget for future media newcomers in the start-up phase. What do you think of this?
Heuberger: As the diversity of opinion in Switzerland is at risk, every proposal that could lead to fairer competition should be seriously examined.
Publicom also proposes that fee-splitting funds should only be distributed to non-monopoly program providers.
Heuberger: This proposal is being hotly debated at the moment anyway. After all, you don't want to support well-profitable publishers with license fee money. But I am an advocate of the dual system. With fair competition and cooperation between private broadcasters, it should be possible to do without fees anyway.
And what do you think about obliging multimedia groups to have advertising for their own media reported and publicized by Mediafocus in their own media and to have it included in future fee-splitting calculations?
Heuberger: An interesting proposal. But, as I said, I am against fee splitting.
In January, negotiations between SGT and Top Group about a joint TV project were broken off. Are you still thinking about new negotiations after this study?
Heuberger: I had demanded that the top group should be able to participate in at least 50% of the joint project and take over the operational management. When I saw the results of the study at the end of December, I was vindicated in this demand. Because the way SGT is managing the competition, we can only cooperate with it if we have the say in terms of capital and publishing.
So it was not least because of this study that you stuck to your demand, which you criticized as "excessive" and which then led to the conversation being broken off?
Heuberger: Yes, we took this risk because we didn't want to be tied in by the SGT. But perhaps the study will also lead to people in Zurich saying: Stop, not like that, this is not the NZZ style!
Although you don't have a print medium at your disposal, how does cross-media work at the Top Group - are there reports about Tele Top on Radio Top and vice versa?
Heuberger: No. We only reported on the concession decisions, and only in the news.
Does Radio Top advertise programs on Tele Top and vice versa?
Heuberger: This happened a few times in 2000, but not since then. We don't make trailers either.
And how do the top media report on the SCT media?
Heuberger: When Radio Herzschlag went on air in St. Gallen, we reported it in the news. That will also be the case when Radio Aktuell goes on air in Wil.
Are you already considering a second Publicom study - for example, to find out what effect the study and interventions have in St.Gallen?
Heuberger: I rather hope that there will be a national follow-up study. Because if media politicians want to know what they can do with the money from large publishers before handing out fee money to regional TVs. So let's wait and see. Interview: Markus Knöpfli
