The Europe experiment
Supplements The New York Times wants to conquer the old world as a new tabloid supplement. The TA wants to get on board.
The 20 percent share in two half-page advertisements, each costing 80,000 euros, was apparently enough. The remaining four-fifths went in equal parts to the newspapers Le Monde, El Pais, La Repubblica and Daily Telegraph - the other European cooperation partners of the US paper.
Ever since the launch of the "SZ-Bibliothek", of which a remarkable 60,000 copies have been sold after ten weeks, Lutz, who was brought in from Unaxis in September 2002, has been known for his non-conformism in publishing strategy. His lack of industry experience seems to be more of an advantage than a disadvantage for the Swiss-born Bavarian.
Keenly observed innovationsNot only the German competition, but also local newspaper publishers are now keeping a wary eye on Lutz's innovations. The head of the Tages-Anzeiger publishing house, Maili Wolf, for example, said she had an evaluation carried out to see whether the book project could be translated to the Swiss market. However, the postal postage, which is twice as high for such parcels here in Switzerland, led to the premature termination of the exercise.
The signs seem more favorable for a local NYT supplement. Wolf considers this idea to be "very worth considering", especially as there is nothing to prevent Switzerland from being included in this pan-European experiment during the test phase, which runs until the beginning of August (see interview on the right). And even after that, SZ should have no objection to Tagi participating equally in the cross-border model - after all, the Munich-based company has been working with the Zurich-based company in the advertising and distribution sector for some time.
NZZ keeps a low profileIn addition, the two newspapers share some of their correspondents - something the NZZ does not do as a matter of principle. "Exclusive foreign reporting is one of our absolute core competencies," says its publishing director Tobias Trevisan. And adds: "Their expertise would be less complemented than called into question by such a supplement."
That's why the NZZ turned down the offer from its German sales and advertising partner Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
received an inquiry in 2000 regarding its "English Edition", which was still published daily at the time. Since mid-2002, the magazine enclosed with the International Herald Tribune has been called FAZ Weekly, but is reportedly still highly loss-making.
Currently one of five: The New York Times Weekly is also distributed via the SZ.
"We have agreed on risk sharing "The managing director of Süddeutsche Zeitung, Klaus Josef Lutz, on "his" New York Times.
WW Mr. Lutz, who took the initiative for the cooperation between SZ and NYT?
Klaus Josef Lutz The idea for a weekly supplement came from our American colleagues. In their search for congenial European publishers, they also inquired in Munich. As 2004 is all about new business ideas for the SZ, they found an open door.
The New York Times International Weekly is published by five newspapers in five countries and is financed by advertisements. Does the publisher
necessary pan-European advertising market at all?
This is exactly what we want to find out with the market test, which is limited to twelve weeks. Like all other SZ supplements, this one has to pay for itself. So if we can't nibble away at the budgets allocated in London or Paris, we won't have to fiddle about for long. But I assume that we will succeed together with our partners.
The first issue was ad-free ...
... because the acquisition was not yet working optimally. But we already had two bookings in the second issue. And things are looking even better for the next ones. In any case, the new offer has met with broad interest from readers. This is shown by the many positive responses we have received via the hotline set up especially for this purpose.
With a print run of around 500,000 copies, who pays for the not inconsiderable paper and printing costs?
Like all other participants in this experiment, we have also agreed a risk-sharing arrangement with the New York Times.
The supplement is published in tabloid format, which is unusual for both the NYT and SZ.
Yes, we also want to try something formally new. Our partner originally planned a broadsheet, but we are taking the opportunity for
another attempt. This is primarily in view of a new supplement strategy that we are currently discussing. However, this will not affect the main magazine.
Do the exclusive rights claimed in your press release also extend to Switzerland? No, Switzerland is not explicitly mentioned in the preliminary agreement. However, this should look different in a possible final agreement after the trial phase.
Interview: Oliver Classen
Oliver Classen
