Hurry up
Radio: The licensing decision for the Zurich youth radio station is imminent. Objections are likely to delay the launch until 2006.
Radio The licensing decision for Zurich's youth radio station is imminent. Never before has a new private radio station been as controversial as Zurich's youth radio station. According to the original timetable, the licensing procedure should have been completed in winter 2003/2004. Now the applicants are becoming impatient because the decision is still pending.
The Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM), which is preparing the basis for the decision for DETEC, is not making things easy for itself. The clarifications and discussions with the applicants are taking considerably longer than planned. The decision should now be made in the coming weeks. However, it is unlikely that the youth radio station will actually be able to launch at the beginning of 2005 as expected, as appeals against the decision are almost as certain as the Amen in church (see "Pre-programmed delay").
The fact is that the wishes and requirements for the new youth radio station differ widely. In the consultation process, the government council of the canton of Zurich complained that there was too little education and too much music on all stations, applicants are already talking about a broadcasting area that is too small, and for advertisers, only a national youth radio station would really make sense.
No new framework conditionsHowever, the basic conditions cannot be changed. These include the size of the broadcasting area, which only covers around half of the
of the audience potential of Radio 24 or Energy Zurich. "Too little for long-term success", Suzanne Speich had already complained in advance. Nevertheless, she does not want to withdraw her Groove FM project. "We would start with what we get, but soon after receiving our license we would look to expand our territory.
to apply," says Speich.
Bakom is putting a spoke in the wheel of such hopes. A rapid expansion of the broadcasting area is not possible simply because it would overturn the entire licensing procedure, explains Roland Zbinden, responsible for youth radio at Bakom. The new station would first have to operate within the prescribed framework. "Only if it turns out after a longer period of time that the size of the area is a real problem would it be necessary to go back over the books as part of a global restructuring of the local radio landscape. However, this is not likely to happen for several years," says Zbinden.
A further obstacle is the question of financing. This must be based on very solid foundations, as subsidies from the licence fee pot are ruled out from the outset for the new youth station.
However, a strong financial basis is essential for any station that wants to assert itself in the highly competitive Zurich radio market. We know from past experience that newcomers regularly underestimate the time and resources required to gain a foothold in the audience and advertising market. "If we get the license, it won't be a walk in the park, even for an organization as experienced as ours," explains Giuseppe Scaglione, initiator of Music First.
Another stumbling block concerns the demand that the youth wave should not take away any noticeable market share from the established radio stations in the greater Zurich area, neither in the audience nor in the advertising market. This is an illusion. After all, a new station enters into competition on the very first day on which it wants to sell advertising spots. That is the market.
Objections are certainTherefore, objections to the forthcoming licensing decision are to be expected not only from rejected applicants, but also from the established broadcasters. Radio 24 and Energy are carefully considering which competition will be the least painful for them. "It is possible that the two top dogs in Zurich will appeal against the licensing decision in order to keep the new competition at bay for at least a little while longer," says RadioMax initiator Mike Gut.
Radio 24 and Energy's fear of losing too many young listeners to the new youth station is understandable. This would push up the already high average age of their audiences - 39.9 years for Radio 24 and 39.1 years for Energy Zurich. But that is certainly not in their interest.
Competing for the favor of young people: Radio 24 and Energy fear competition from Zurich's youth radio station.
Three favorites Among the five applicants for the Zurich youth frequency, there are three favorites: Music First, backed by Giuseppe Scaglione (Radio 105), was given preference by Zurich City Council in the consultation process. For the cantonal government, the project was still the 2nd choice.
DJRadio is also well in the running. Egon Blatter's Internet radio station, which has been broadcasting online since the fall of 2000, is the preferred candidate of the Zurich government council.
RadioMax is also at the top of the list of favorites. The project by Mike Gut, the former marketing manager of Hitradio Z, has made it to second place among the projects favored by the Zurich City Council.
The chances of the other two candidates, who are not favored by the city or canton of Zurich, are considered to be lower.
were awarded: Groove FM by Suzanne Speich, which had already criticized the broadcasting area as too small in the run-up to the event, and
The youth radio station 3Fach, which has been broadcasting in Lucerne for six years, is considered to have too narrow a funding base.
Pre-programmed delayWith DETEC's decision on the license expected soon, the trembling is not over. This is because the decision made by the department can be challenged by means of an administrative appeal to the Federal Council. This will take time.
Roland Zbinden, responsible for the youth radio dossier at Bakom, reckons it will take "around a year" until
an appeal decision from the higher instance would be available. Nevertheless, even if all four rejected projects respond with appeals, this timeframe is realistic, "because the appeal proceedings would be
run in parallel," says Zbinden.
Most unpleasant are the
expected appeals against the Zurich youth radio station, in particular for
the one of the five projects that is awarded the license. This is because it would not be able to go on air until the matter has been legally settled. (dse)
Daniel Schifferle
The Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM), which is preparing the basis for the decision for DETEC, is not making things easy for itself. The clarifications and discussions with the applicants are taking considerably longer than planned. The decision should now be made in the coming weeks. However, it is unlikely that the youth radio station will actually be able to launch at the beginning of 2005 as expected, as appeals against the decision are almost as certain as the Amen in church (see "Pre-programmed delay").
The fact is that the wishes and requirements for the new youth radio station differ widely. In the consultation process, the government council of the canton of Zurich complained that there was too little education and too much music on all stations, applicants are already talking about a broadcasting area that is too small, and for advertisers, only a national youth radio station would really make sense.
No new framework conditionsHowever, the basic conditions cannot be changed. These include the size of the broadcasting area, which only covers around half of the
of the audience potential of Radio 24 or Energy Zurich. "Too little for long-term success", Suzanne Speich had already complained in advance. Nevertheless, she does not want to withdraw her Groove FM project. "We would start with what we get, but soon after receiving our license we would look to expand our territory.
to apply," says Speich.
Bakom is putting a spoke in the wheel of such hopes. A rapid expansion of the broadcasting area is not possible simply because it would overturn the entire licensing procedure, explains Roland Zbinden, responsible for youth radio at Bakom. The new station would first have to operate within the prescribed framework. "Only if it turns out after a longer period of time that the size of the area is a real problem would it be necessary to go back over the books as part of a global restructuring of the local radio landscape. However, this is not likely to happen for several years," says Zbinden.
A further obstacle is the question of financing. This must be based on very solid foundations, as subsidies from the licence fee pot are ruled out from the outset for the new youth station.
However, a strong financial basis is essential for any station that wants to assert itself in the highly competitive Zurich radio market. We know from past experience that newcomers regularly underestimate the time and resources required to gain a foothold in the audience and advertising market. "If we get the license, it won't be a walk in the park, even for an organization as experienced as ours," explains Giuseppe Scaglione, initiator of Music First.
Another stumbling block concerns the demand that the youth wave should not take away any noticeable market share from the established radio stations in the greater Zurich area, neither in the audience nor in the advertising market. This is an illusion. After all, a new station enters into competition on the very first day on which it wants to sell advertising spots. That is the market.
Objections are certainTherefore, objections to the forthcoming licensing decision are to be expected not only from rejected applicants, but also from the established broadcasters. Radio 24 and Energy are carefully considering which competition will be the least painful for them. "It is possible that the two top dogs in Zurich will appeal against the licensing decision in order to keep the new competition at bay for at least a little while longer," says RadioMax initiator Mike Gut.
Radio 24 and Energy's fear of losing too many young listeners to the new youth station is understandable. This would push up the already high average age of their audiences - 39.9 years for Radio 24 and 39.1 years for Energy Zurich. But that is certainly not in their interest.
Competing for the favor of young people: Radio 24 and Energy fear competition from Zurich's youth radio station.
Three favorites Among the five applicants for the Zurich youth frequency, there are three favorites: Music First, backed by Giuseppe Scaglione (Radio 105), was given preference by Zurich City Council in the consultation process. For the cantonal government, the project was still the 2nd choice.
DJRadio is also well in the running. Egon Blatter's Internet radio station, which has been broadcasting online since the fall of 2000, is the preferred candidate of the Zurich government council.
RadioMax is also at the top of the list of favorites. The project by Mike Gut, the former marketing manager of Hitradio Z, has made it to second place among the projects favored by the Zurich City Council.
The chances of the other two candidates, who are not favored by the city or canton of Zurich, are considered to be lower.
were awarded: Groove FM by Suzanne Speich, which had already criticized the broadcasting area as too small in the run-up to the event, and
The youth radio station 3Fach, which has been broadcasting in Lucerne for six years, is considered to have too narrow a funding base.
Pre-programmed delayWith DETEC's decision on the license expected soon, the trembling is not over. This is because the decision made by the department can be challenged by means of an administrative appeal to the Federal Council. This will take time.
Roland Zbinden, responsible for the youth radio dossier at Bakom, reckons it will take "around a year" until
an appeal decision from the higher instance would be available. Nevertheless, even if all four rejected projects respond with appeals, this timeframe is realistic, "because the appeal proceedings would be
run in parallel," says Zbinden.
Most unpleasant are the
expected appeals against the Zurich youth radio station, in particular for
the one of the five projects that is awarded the license. This is because it would not be able to go on air until the matter has been legally settled. (dse)
Daniel Schifferle
