RTL9 makes big plans in French-speaking Switzerland
Successful French TV executive Claude Berda wants to shake up the TV market in French-speaking Switzerland
The successful French TV man Claude Berda wants to stir up the TV market in western SwitzerlandWhat has been suspected for some time has become a certainty: the French TV station RTL9 wants a Swiss program window. An application for a license has been submitted to the Federal Office of Communications - and it's not without a chance.When RTL9's application for a license was recently submitted, the big guesswork started in French-speaking Switzerland: RTL9 - who is that? It is no longer the Luxembourg RTL Group. Some time ago, it sold the majority of its shares to a French AB Groupe. But AB Groupe is the only service company listed in the Geneva telephone directory that is active in the agro-business - and RTL9 is not that nutritious.
Finally, WerbeWoche tracks down AB's main shareholder Claude Berda at his Geneva residence. But he is cagey: for the time being, there is not much to say about the concession application. WerbeWoche should wait another week, and then "I'll write you a nice article. And as a farewell: "Je vous rappellerai" (I'll call you back).
Because WerbeWoche does not want to wait, it has made inquiries elsewhere. Frenchman Claude Berda first made a name for himself as a TV producer, but in recent years he has also bought up large quantities of canned TV.
His AB Groupe, which he founded with a partner called Azulai, produced successful TV shows for children and adolescents with the French TV nurse on duty, Dorothée.
An entry point in western Switzerland that should not be underestimated
For some time now, Berda has been the owner of the French TV chain RTL9, which for a long time had a wallflower existence in France, but since Berda's entry has been in the black. The station mainly offers canned food, but also produces its own shows - such as with the somewhat faded French ex-football manager (Olympique Marseille), ex-parliamentarian and ex-minister Bernard Tapie.
Now RTL9 wants to offer French-speaking Switzerland a regional language program and advertising window, having already been present on cable networks in French-speaking Switzerland. Four editorial positions should suffice to helvetize the station and produce a daily, half-hour news magazine.
A broadcasting budget of around 600,000 francs is modest. Nevertheless, RTL9 is not to be underestimated. Berda has proven in France that he is a businessman who knows something about the TV business. What's more, French TV consumers are receptive to French fare.
In the executive suite of Télévision Suisse Romande (TSR), the offensive is therefore taken quite seriously - especially since TV program director Raymond Vouillamoz knows his new competitor well, as he maintains good business relations with AB Groupe, as is readily admitted in the TSR high-rise. "Good professionals," is the verdict on Berda and Co. at the TSR high-rise on Quai Ernest-Ansermet.
TSR Director General Guillaume Chenevière, who is still holding the TSR helm in anticipation of Ringier captain Gilles Marchand, had downright honeyed words for RTL9 in an interview with WerbeWoche.
Competition is always beneficial. TSR has no intention of opposing the concession application. The latter has good chances: "We have a very liberal TV law, and that's a good thing.
In response to our comment that we have seen Monsieur Chenevière more combative, the seasoned TSR boss says that the concession application is virtually a tribute to TSR: "We have made the French TV advertising market attractive. But he does not believe that RTL9 will be able to grab a big piece of the French TV advertising pie (around 100 million Swiss francs).
For the time being, however, the license for RTL9 is still pending. According to the Federal Office of Communications, it should take about six months for the Federal Council to decide on the application. If the decision is positive, TSR will have to reckon with more turbulent times. Especially since not only RTL9, but also Star-TV, which is affiliated with Edipresse, and other competitors are feeling the appetite for the French advertising pie.
Christophe Büchi
Finally, WerbeWoche tracks down AB's main shareholder Claude Berda at his Geneva residence. But he is cagey: for the time being, there is not much to say about the concession application. WerbeWoche should wait another week, and then "I'll write you a nice article. And as a farewell: "Je vous rappellerai" (I'll call you back).
Because WerbeWoche does not want to wait, it has made inquiries elsewhere. Frenchman Claude Berda first made a name for himself as a TV producer, but in recent years he has also bought up large quantities of canned TV.
His AB Groupe, which he founded with a partner called Azulai, produced successful TV shows for children and adolescents with the French TV nurse on duty, Dorothée.
An entry point in western Switzerland that should not be underestimated
For some time now, Berda has been the owner of the French TV chain RTL9, which for a long time had a wallflower existence in France, but since Berda's entry has been in the black. The station mainly offers canned food, but also produces its own shows - such as with the somewhat faded French ex-football manager (Olympique Marseille), ex-parliamentarian and ex-minister Bernard Tapie.
Now RTL9 wants to offer French-speaking Switzerland a regional language program and advertising window, having already been present on cable networks in French-speaking Switzerland. Four editorial positions should suffice to helvetize the station and produce a daily, half-hour news magazine.
A broadcasting budget of around 600,000 francs is modest. Nevertheless, RTL9 is not to be underestimated. Berda has proven in France that he is a businessman who knows something about the TV business. What's more, French TV consumers are receptive to French fare.
In the executive suite of Télévision Suisse Romande (TSR), the offensive is therefore taken quite seriously - especially since TV program director Raymond Vouillamoz knows his new competitor well, as he maintains good business relations with AB Groupe, as is readily admitted in the TSR high-rise. "Good professionals," is the verdict on Berda and Co. at the TSR high-rise on Quai Ernest-Ansermet.
TSR Director General Guillaume Chenevière, who is still holding the TSR helm in anticipation of Ringier captain Gilles Marchand, had downright honeyed words for RTL9 in an interview with WerbeWoche.
Competition is always beneficial. TSR has no intention of opposing the concession application. The latter has good chances: "We have a very liberal TV law, and that's a good thing.
In response to our comment that we have seen Monsieur Chenevière more combative, the seasoned TSR boss says that the concession application is virtually a tribute to TSR: "We have made the French TV advertising market attractive. But he does not believe that RTL9 will be able to grab a big piece of the French TV advertising pie (around 100 million Swiss francs).
For the time being, however, the license for RTL9 is still pending. According to the Federal Office of Communications, it should take about six months for the Federal Council to decide on the application. If the decision is positive, TSR will have to reckon with more turbulent times. Especially since not only RTL9, but also Star-TV, which is affiliated with Edipresse, and other competitors are feeling the appetite for the French advertising pie.
Christophe Büchi
