Replay offers: TV providers appeal to the Federal Administrative Court
Swiss TV broadcasters are taking telecom companies such as Swisscom, Sunrise, and UPC to the Federal Administrative Court over their replay services. The Radio and Television Interest Group (IRF) writes that it is not the broadcasters but solely the TV distributors who are benefiting from the ever-increasing use of time-shifted television (replay).
The IRF is made up of the SRG, the private Swiss broadcasters, the TeleSuisse association and most foreign broadcasters whose programs can be received in Switzerland.
The Federal Arbitration Commission approved the new replay tariff in February without granting the TV broadcasters party rights, the IRF said on Wednesday, explaining its decision to take the matter to the Federal Administrative Court. According to the IRF, TV broadcasters could offer more than 50,000 hours of programming on a time-shifted basis in return for compensation to the collecting societies of just CHF 1.60 per subscriber per month (previously: CHF 1.50). In doing so, they could bypass the broadcasters' advertising.
Only in Switzerland would TV distributors not have to ask broadcasters whether and how they can take over and commercialize their programs for time-shifted television. As a result, broadcasters in Switzerland would be denied the usual refinancing options for TV content abroad.
According to the IRF, the existence of advertising-financed, free-to-air television is in question with the current tariff. The actual financial loss for the current year is estimated at CHF 140 million. According to the IRF, time-shifted television is on the rise. In the second half of 2017, around 22% of 15 to 59-year-old viewers in German-speaking Switzerland and French-speaking Switzerland watched programs with a time delay; in prime time in the evening, which is relevant for advertising, the figure is around 30%. (SDA)
