"Battle won"
For 20-Minuten CEO Sacha Wigdorovits, it's too early to celebrate
It's too early to rejoice for 20 Minuten CEO Sacha WigdorovitsBecause many free readers were double readers and consumed both Metropol and 20 Minuten, the readership legacy for 20 Minuten will be limited. Only in the classifieds market does Sacha Wigdorovits, member of the Board of Directors of 20 Minuten Schweiz, expect additional revenues in the short term.the green Metropol boxes are empty, 20 Minuten has lost its most important competitor. Are you satisfied?
Sacha Wigdorovits: I am partially satisfied. The market has decided which newspaper is the better one. But we have only won one battle, not the war. We know that we have to keep working hard.
What legacy do you expect for 20 Minuten in the reader market?
Wigdorovits: According to Wemf's latest readership figures, Metropol had 50,000 readers who were not double readers. We expect that at least some of them will read 20 Minuten in the future. In the short term, we will probably gain between 20,000 and 30,000 readers. If you compare this with our figures from last year - according to Mach Basic's special evaluation for the first half of 2001, 20 Minuten had 50,000 readers - then the growth is still very limited.
How many copies did you increase the circulation of 20 Minuten by?
Wigdorovits: Following the closure of Metropol, we increased our circulation by 30,000 to 40,000 copies. We normally reduce our circulation during the vacation season. We will now analyze whether the circulation increase will be enough when the vacations are over. We will certainly not print as many additional copies as Metropol had at the end, namely around 120000.
Are the prospects in the advertising market more productive?
Wigdorovits: We expect the situation in the classifieds market to improve. Metropol had destroyed this market with its dumping offers. That is now a thing of the past. In contrast, Metropol was no longer present in commercial advertising. So there will be nothing for us to inherit there either. At least not in the short term.
And in the long term?
Wigdorovits: In the long term, I also expect an upturn in commercial advertising. If reader numbers increase, this will also have a positive effect on the advertising side. Because, for example, you can increase advertising prices without negatively affecting the price per thousand readers. But an increase in readership only becomes visible in readership research after a long delay. For example, the Mach figures published next September will be based on a period that ended in March. The effect of the Metropol hiring will therefore only be visible in Mach Basic 2003. We are therefore reluctant to make any predictions about what the discontinuation of Metropol will bring us in the area of commercial advertising. We have no illusions about this.
But even 20 Minuten is still in the red.
Wigdorovits: If the first half of 2002 had not been so catastrophic, we would have had the chance to close the year in the black. I don't believe we will see a recovery until the second half of the year. That's why we will still miss the break-even point this year. It took Blick almost ten years and SonntagsZeitung eight years before they were in the black.
How certain is break-even in 2003?
Wigdorovits: If nothing dramatic happens with the economy in the second half of the year or in 2003, then we should be in the black in 2003.
According to media planner Wolfgang Mecklenburg, this will no longer happen. He predicted in the NZZ that 20 Minuten would also soon be discontinued.
Wigdorovits: Who is Wolfgang Mecklenburg? Interview: Daniel Schifferle
Sacha Wigdorovits: I am partially satisfied. The market has decided which newspaper is the better one. But we have only won one battle, not the war. We know that we have to keep working hard.
What legacy do you expect for 20 Minuten in the reader market?
Wigdorovits: According to Wemf's latest readership figures, Metropol had 50,000 readers who were not double readers. We expect that at least some of them will read 20 Minuten in the future. In the short term, we will probably gain between 20,000 and 30,000 readers. If you compare this with our figures from last year - according to Mach Basic's special evaluation for the first half of 2001, 20 Minuten had 50,000 readers - then the growth is still very limited.
How many copies did you increase the circulation of 20 Minuten by?
Wigdorovits: Following the closure of Metropol, we increased our circulation by 30,000 to 40,000 copies. We normally reduce our circulation during the vacation season. We will now analyze whether the circulation increase will be enough when the vacations are over. We will certainly not print as many additional copies as Metropol had at the end, namely around 120000.
Are the prospects in the advertising market more productive?
Wigdorovits: We expect the situation in the classifieds market to improve. Metropol had destroyed this market with its dumping offers. That is now a thing of the past. In contrast, Metropol was no longer present in commercial advertising. So there will be nothing for us to inherit there either. At least not in the short term.
And in the long term?
Wigdorovits: In the long term, I also expect an upturn in commercial advertising. If reader numbers increase, this will also have a positive effect on the advertising side. Because, for example, you can increase advertising prices without negatively affecting the price per thousand readers. But an increase in readership only becomes visible in readership research after a long delay. For example, the Mach figures published next September will be based on a period that ended in March. The effect of the Metropol hiring will therefore only be visible in Mach Basic 2003. We are therefore reluctant to make any predictions about what the discontinuation of Metropol will bring us in the area of commercial advertising. We have no illusions about this.
But even 20 Minuten is still in the red.
Wigdorovits: If the first half of 2002 had not been so catastrophic, we would have had the chance to close the year in the black. I don't believe we will see a recovery until the second half of the year. That's why we will still miss the break-even point this year. It took Blick almost ten years and SonntagsZeitung eight years before they were in the black.
How certain is break-even in 2003?
Wigdorovits: If nothing dramatic happens with the economy in the second half of the year or in 2003, then we should be in the black in 2003.
According to media planner Wolfgang Mecklenburg, this will no longer happen. He predicted in the NZZ that 20 Minuten would also soon be discontinued.
Wigdorovits: Who is Wolfgang Mecklenburg? Interview: Daniel Schifferle
