The market demands more size
Local TV: RTVG and Radiotele, the German-speaking Swiss marketing agency, are shaking up the private TV scene in French-speaking Switzerland.
Local TV The RTVG and the Swiss-German marketer Radiotele are shaking up the private TV scene in French-speaking Switzerland, which is even more individual than in German-speaking Switzerland. This has historical roots. "In French-speaking Switzerland, the channels are not dependent on publishers, but usually have broad-based ownership with several hundred individual shareholders," explains Pierre André Léchot, Director of Canal Alpha. However, this anchoring in the population has also led to the stations primarily cultivating their own little garden and still working together very little. Although there are various TV pools, a cooperation such as the Tele-NewsCombi (TNC) has not yet materialized. The program grids are too different, many broadcasting areas are too small and most of Telecontrol's case numbers are too low.
But after years of stagnation, there is now movement in the scene - on several levels. The reasons are of a political and economic nature. Firstly, there is the RTVA, which, according to the current state of consultation, only provides for around a dozen local stations throughout Switzerland that are entitled to receive fees. It is already clear that in the canton of Vaud, for example, where there are currently a total of five stations, only one station will participate in fee splitting. Cooperation talks have therefore been underway for some time between Lausanne-based TVRL, Ici TV (Vevey) and Canal Nord Vaudois (Yverdon), which, according to TVRL Director Jean-Pierre Pastori, could well lead to a merger.
However, no license application has yet been submitted for the project. "We are waiting until the RTVA has been definitively adopted by Parliament. Because we want to align the project as closely as possible to the new law."
Disappointed with Force PromotionSomething else has brought movement to the scene: According to reports, several broadcasters are dissatisfied with the performance of TV marketer Force Promotion in Lausanne, which works for various broadcasters and combos and has exclusive contracts with Léman Bleu and TVRL. "We are dissatisfied with the
The turnover that FP brought us last year was very disappointing," says TVRL boss Pastori, whose exclusive contract with FP runs for another three years.
Léman Bleu's contract expires at the end of the year. It is questionable whether the contract will be renewed. According to reports, Léman Bleu has even decided to change agencies. Director Antoni Mayer could not be reached, and Daniel Berset, the only FP board member, merely confirmed that contract negotiations had not yet been concluded.
The question arises as to which agency Léman Bleu could switch to. To Radiotele, for example? Managing Director Bruno Oetterli doesn't hesitate: "Of course we have applied. We know that Léman Bleu is not entirely satisfied. And because they know that their main turnover comes from us, they are naturally considering whether they could have this more directly."
Radiotele is also shaking up the French-speaking Swiss market in other respects: After several failed attempts, the marketer presented the concept for a Romandie News Combi (RNC) to the assembled private TVs last year. This time, however, a broader discussion was initiated, as several TV representatives confirm. "They also saw that it actually works in German-speaking Switzerland," says Oetterli.
Nevertheless, establishing an RNC will not be easy, as it requires broadcasting areas that provide sufficiently high case numbers for telecontrol. And uniform program grids.
But we are a long way from either. Some stations have one-hour program loops, others have two-hour loops. Oetterli is under no illusions. "The broadcasters are challenged. A lot is in motion. And we'll just wait and see." After all, a merged Vaud TV would bring things a big step closer to the goal.
Last but not least, there is the influence of foreign broadcasters. This has been kept artificially low by the fact that the cable networks in Geneva and Lausanne have refused to switch on the M6 advertising window for years. However, this resistance now seems to be crumbling bit by bit.
It is not possible to find out more details, only hints. For example, those of Raoul Gerber, who markets M6 for IP Multimedia, among other things. "Everything is the same with the cable networks. But we are continuing to work. And we are confident that we will find a way for M6," says Gerber. Then he laughs and adds: "Western Switzerland is on the move. A lot will change in the next six months." He is also very satisfied with M6, having increased turnover by 28 percent last year.
40 percent turnover thanks to Léman BleuForce Promotion (FP), which has one sales outlet in Geneva and one in Lausanne, generates 40 percent of its turnover through the marketing contract with Léman Bleu, according to Daniel Berset, while 30 percent comes from its ties with TVRL. As these are exclusive contracts, FP also earns money from orders that come via Radiotele, for example. Accordingly, the broadcasters themselves receive less. Incidentally, FP generates the remaining 30 percent of its revenue through the non-exclusive marketing of other stations and station wagons and through outdoor advertising. In Geneva, FP has a network of billboards in parking garages.
What would happen to FP if it were to lose its contract with Léman Bleu? Berset has a simple answer: "Then we would have to manage without Léman Bleu and concentrate on TVRL." (mk)
Small-scale conditions: 13 private TV stations are active in the triangle between Geneva, La Chaux-de-Fonds and Sierre.
Markus Knöpfli
But after years of stagnation, there is now movement in the scene - on several levels. The reasons are of a political and economic nature. Firstly, there is the RTVA, which, according to the current state of consultation, only provides for around a dozen local stations throughout Switzerland that are entitled to receive fees. It is already clear that in the canton of Vaud, for example, where there are currently a total of five stations, only one station will participate in fee splitting. Cooperation talks have therefore been underway for some time between Lausanne-based TVRL, Ici TV (Vevey) and Canal Nord Vaudois (Yverdon), which, according to TVRL Director Jean-Pierre Pastori, could well lead to a merger.
However, no license application has yet been submitted for the project. "We are waiting until the RTVA has been definitively adopted by Parliament. Because we want to align the project as closely as possible to the new law."
Disappointed with Force PromotionSomething else has brought movement to the scene: According to reports, several broadcasters are dissatisfied with the performance of TV marketer Force Promotion in Lausanne, which works for various broadcasters and combos and has exclusive contracts with Léman Bleu and TVRL. "We are dissatisfied with the
The turnover that FP brought us last year was very disappointing," says TVRL boss Pastori, whose exclusive contract with FP runs for another three years.
Léman Bleu's contract expires at the end of the year. It is questionable whether the contract will be renewed. According to reports, Léman Bleu has even decided to change agencies. Director Antoni Mayer could not be reached, and Daniel Berset, the only FP board member, merely confirmed that contract negotiations had not yet been concluded.
The question arises as to which agency Léman Bleu could switch to. To Radiotele, for example? Managing Director Bruno Oetterli doesn't hesitate: "Of course we have applied. We know that Léman Bleu is not entirely satisfied. And because they know that their main turnover comes from us, they are naturally considering whether they could have this more directly."
Radiotele is also shaking up the French-speaking Swiss market in other respects: After several failed attempts, the marketer presented the concept for a Romandie News Combi (RNC) to the assembled private TVs last year. This time, however, a broader discussion was initiated, as several TV representatives confirm. "They also saw that it actually works in German-speaking Switzerland," says Oetterli.
Nevertheless, establishing an RNC will not be easy, as it requires broadcasting areas that provide sufficiently high case numbers for telecontrol. And uniform program grids.
But we are a long way from either. Some stations have one-hour program loops, others have two-hour loops. Oetterli is under no illusions. "The broadcasters are challenged. A lot is in motion. And we'll just wait and see." After all, a merged Vaud TV would bring things a big step closer to the goal.
Last but not least, there is the influence of foreign broadcasters. This has been kept artificially low by the fact that the cable networks in Geneva and Lausanne have refused to switch on the M6 advertising window for years. However, this resistance now seems to be crumbling bit by bit.
It is not possible to find out more details, only hints. For example, those of Raoul Gerber, who markets M6 for IP Multimedia, among other things. "Everything is the same with the cable networks. But we are continuing to work. And we are confident that we will find a way for M6," says Gerber. Then he laughs and adds: "Western Switzerland is on the move. A lot will change in the next six months." He is also very satisfied with M6, having increased turnover by 28 percent last year.
40 percent turnover thanks to Léman BleuForce Promotion (FP), which has one sales outlet in Geneva and one in Lausanne, generates 40 percent of its turnover through the marketing contract with Léman Bleu, according to Daniel Berset, while 30 percent comes from its ties with TVRL. As these are exclusive contracts, FP also earns money from orders that come via Radiotele, for example. Accordingly, the broadcasters themselves receive less. Incidentally, FP generates the remaining 30 percent of its revenue through the non-exclusive marketing of other stations and station wagons and through outdoor advertising. In Geneva, FP has a network of billboards in parking garages.
What would happen to FP if it were to lose its contract with Léman Bleu? Berset has a simple answer: "Then we would have to manage without Léman Bleu and concentrate on TVRL." (mk)
Small-scale conditions: 13 private TV stations are active in the triangle between Geneva, La Chaux-de-Fonds and Sierre.
Markus Knöpfli
