Green light for Léman bleu

Television Hersant has been awarded the contract for the
Geneva's city broadcaster Léman bleu gets it, Edipresse comes away empty-handed. Now
The only thing missing is the approval of the Leuenberger department.
The shareholders of Geneva's Léman bleu television company
French publisher Philippe Hersant. One question remains
open: Will the Leuenberger department approve the new composition
of Léman bleu AG?
"We have saved the station's local roots and are retaining the
full control over the advertising direction," says Olivier-Georges Burri. The
legal advisor to the City of Geneva is satisfied. No wonder: the
In the struggle for the future of the local television station Léman bleu, the city has
ideas were fully implemented. While Philippe Hersant and
his Geneva-based partner Stéphane Barbier-Mueller each hold around 20 percent of the
shares, the city and the company it controls retain the shares.
cable network Naxoo holds the majority of voting rights.
With publisher Philippe Hersant and real estate agent Stéphane
Barbier-Mueller is joining the Board of Directors in a tandem that will
Hersant has to be the first to save the broadcaster from bankruptcy.
promised 1.2 million francs has already been deposited in the bank, is
from an informal source. Subsequently, it is likely to be mainly
be dependent on his plans, in which direction and with which
synergies Léman bleu is developing, Hersant is the only
Media professional on the Board of Directors.
His group has won the concession for private television in the
Grenoble in France and friendly neighborly relations with the
bordering High Savoy station TV8 Mont-Blanc; it has three
Western Swiss daily newspapers on Lake Geneva and in the canton of Neuchâtel,
plans to launch a commuter newspaper in the region.
Geneva-Lausanne is rumored. The city of Geneva wants to ensure that
The station's local focus and proximity to the public should not be betrayed: "We
will ensure that both the program and the production
remain Geneva-based," says Burri. For questions about the final distribution
of the share capital and to a publishing line that has yet to be
must be designed, it is too early.
The decisive factor for Hersant was the latest offer from the recently
Geneva-based heirs to the press empire of "newspaper eater" Robert
Hersant. Son Philippe Hersant allows the broadcaster to use his own
and will take over all advertising activities for five years.
Deficits.

Edipresse withdrew its offer
Competitor Edipresse did not have as much money to put on the table
the publisher also saw a cooperation with the advertising department of the
Geneva's private radio station Radio Lac. Edipresse withdrew its offer in
back at the last minute - and the Lausanne publishing house is wondering something
gloatingly, why the left-wing city government would want to
real estate agent and a press magnate,
There is a chronic housing shortage in Geneva, and people are falling
French press products not exactly characterized by social commitment
on.
From the looks of things, Hersant and Edipresse are therefore likely to be involved in
one of the two most lucrative private television projects in French-speaking Switzerland
participate. For Hersant Léman bleu in Geneva, for Edipresse Vaud TV, a
Merger of three or four local television stations in the canton
Vaud, in which Edipresse will hold a stake of around one third. For
Vaud TV has only issued a letter of intent, the license application will be
only submitted after the new RTVA came into force.
But Léman bleu AG will also be a talking point for a few more months.
Because while the takeover battle was still raging, the Federal Office for
Kommunikation (Bakom) with a letter to the organizer: The
The majority of shares were in the hands of a state-owned community,
could pose a problem, because both the federal constitution
as well as the Radio and Television Act guarantee the independence
of radio and television. This also includes independence from
state influence.
What does the constitution say? "The independence of radio and
Television and autonomy in program design are
Article 93 of the RTVA states that "Article 5 of the RTVA does not say
much more: "Unless otherwise provided for by federal law, the
Organizers are not bound by the instructions of federal, cantonal or
municipal authorities." The interpretation of the Bakom meets with
Geneva meets with little understanding; here the view is that the constitution
only prohibits influencing the editorial content. According to
Lawyer Burri resolved the differences at a meeting in Biel
"We convinced the office that we had fair intentions and that we
and don't want to make state television," he ironizes. To the
To safeguard their independence, the new owners are implementing a strict
and establish an editorial board that is independent of the Board of Directors.
editorial committee on its feet.

Skepticism at Bakom
But Marcel Regnotto, the responsible Bakom section head, is not ready,
to lay down their arms so quickly. Léman bleu must submit a request
which will be submitted for consultation, after which the Federal Office will
for the Environment, Transport and Communications (DETEC) to decide whether to approve the
economic transition - all of this takes three to four years.
five months. "We will examine whether the promised
accompanying measures are sufficient to safeguard journalistic freedom and
independence in the structural and organizational area.
preserve." For Bakom, this is a precedent-setting case: "Léman
bleu is the only regional organizer of significance with a
such a shareholder structure," says Regnotto.
Does the Office at least understand that the City of Geneva, which is located in
the nineties with La Suisse and Le Journal de Genève two
newspapers, holds her hand over her transmitter? "Yes, I do."
says Regnotto, but the organizers have been made aware of this.
that with the new RTVA, Bakom will also be responsible for the local reference
guard. "If an organizer wants to claim fee money, they must
fulfill a regional public service. And", is the rhetorical
Question, "Do you know of a single broadcaster that does not receive license fee money?
wants?"
Meanwhile, trust is good, says Geneva, but control is not.
better. "We may be able to work with Bakom on a small
have a legal problem to solve," says Patrice Mugny, member of the
City government. He does not understand why a city or a
Municipality must not be the majority shareholder in a radio or television station
could. "If necessary, we'll go all the way to the federal court - and why not
all the way to Strasbourg?"

Helen Brügger