Conflicts of interest on SF 2
Television The programming strategy of SF director Ingrid Deltenre is putting a strain on Press TV: publishers' television is rapidly losing viewers, especially on Sunday evenings.
Television The programming strategy of SF Director Ingrid Deltenre is putting Presse-TV under pressure: publishers' television is rapidly losing viewers, especially on Sunday evenings. "Gesundheit Sprechstunde" (GES), "Konsum-TV" and "Café Bâle", previously the most-watched programs on Press TV, have been given new concepts and relaunched in the last two years. Nevertheless, viewers are running away. In 2006, "Café Bâle" and "Konsum-TV" had an average audience of 30 and 22 percent less than in 2005, while GES lost 8 percent of its viewers. This has been the case for some time. GES is now 28 percent below the 2003 level, "Konsum-TV" now has 34 percent fewer viewers than in 2004 - and "Café Bâle" even has 40 percent fewer viewers.Most other PTV programs fared no better: 10 out of 13 programs showed declining ratings in 2006. Positive developments are marginal, but "NZZ Format" is still the third most popular PTV program.
The fact that the SF 2 channel, which broadcasts all PTV programs, was nevertheless able to increase its market share to 9.7% last year is all the more thought-provoking. The PTV programs have therefore contributed nothing to this increase, on the contrary: only GES is still slightly above the SF 2 average.
The publishers involved in PTV (including NZZ, Ringier and Basler Zeitung Medien) are not unaffected by this either. At their Annual General Meeting on March 19, they will therefore decide on some changes, but PTV Managing Director Hans Jürg (Fibo) Deutsch does not want to say anything about them yet. However, the losses come as no surprise to Deutsch: "It is mainly our Sunday evening programs that are showing losses. This has to do with the more aggressive programming on SF 1." He had already pointed this out earlier. Even back then, when Ingrid Deltenre brought popular programs such as "Musicstar", "Pisa" or "Traumjob" into the SF 1 program on Sunday evenings after taking office as SF Director. Previously, the PTV competition there consisted of cultural programs or crime thrillers with half the audience.
Since then, the situation has become increasingly difficult for PTV. "We sense that Ms. Deltenre sees PTV as a nuisance. She shows us this wherever she can," says Deutsch. He knows plenty of examples: Deltenre's strategy of rejuvenating SF 2 made PTV programs, which deliberately appeal to a more mature audience, look downright old. More recent decisions by Deltenre are also affecting PTV: from April, it will broadcast a business program on Monday evenings on SF 1 - parallel to PTV's "Cash-TV". Deltenre is moving the previous talk show "Vis-à-vis" with publicist Frank A. Meyer to early Sunday evenings on SF 2 - just before PTV's talk show Standpunkte. Two talks in a row - and both partly hosted by Meyer - does that make sense? SF spokesperson Urs Durrer explains: "We deliberately set the programming so that Meyer is never on twice in a row. We have therefore taken PTV into consideration as far as this point is concerned." He does not comment on the other points.
Deutsch sees it differently: "Ms. Deltenre has no consideration for us, we are the unloved louse in her fur," he says. He is neither against competition nor against changes to the program. However, the latter have so far only been made unilaterally and without prior information. Deutsch would therefore like to see a different approach. "It would be more collegial to talk to us before making such decisions," he says. However, the main problem remains and, according to Deutsch, is of a strategic nature: "It is the conflict of interest between the PTV program and SF 2 as a youth channel."
Markus Knöpfli
The fact that the SF 2 channel, which broadcasts all PTV programs, was nevertheless able to increase its market share to 9.7% last year is all the more thought-provoking. The PTV programs have therefore contributed nothing to this increase, on the contrary: only GES is still slightly above the SF 2 average.
The publishers involved in PTV (including NZZ, Ringier and Basler Zeitung Medien) are not unaffected by this either. At their Annual General Meeting on March 19, they will therefore decide on some changes, but PTV Managing Director Hans Jürg (Fibo) Deutsch does not want to say anything about them yet. However, the losses come as no surprise to Deutsch: "It is mainly our Sunday evening programs that are showing losses. This has to do with the more aggressive programming on SF 1." He had already pointed this out earlier. Even back then, when Ingrid Deltenre brought popular programs such as "Musicstar", "Pisa" or "Traumjob" into the SF 1 program on Sunday evenings after taking office as SF Director. Previously, the PTV competition there consisted of cultural programs or crime thrillers with half the audience.
Since then, the situation has become increasingly difficult for PTV. "We sense that Ms. Deltenre sees PTV as a nuisance. She shows us this wherever she can," says Deutsch. He knows plenty of examples: Deltenre's strategy of rejuvenating SF 2 made PTV programs, which deliberately appeal to a more mature audience, look downright old. More recent decisions by Deltenre are also affecting PTV: from April, it will broadcast a business program on Monday evenings on SF 1 - parallel to PTV's "Cash-TV". Deltenre is moving the previous talk show "Vis-à-vis" with publicist Frank A. Meyer to early Sunday evenings on SF 2 - just before PTV's talk show Standpunkte. Two talks in a row - and both partly hosted by Meyer - does that make sense? SF spokesperson Urs Durrer explains: "We deliberately set the programming so that Meyer is never on twice in a row. We have therefore taken PTV into consideration as far as this point is concerned." He does not comment on the other points.
Deutsch sees it differently: "Ms. Deltenre has no consideration for us, we are the unloved louse in her fur," he says. He is neither against competition nor against changes to the program. However, the latter have so far only been made unilaterally and without prior information. Deutsch would therefore like to see a different approach. "It would be more collegial to talk to us before making such decisions," he says. However, the main problem remains and, according to Deutsch, is of a strategic nature: "It is the conflict of interest between the PTV program and SF 2 as a youth channel."
Markus Knöpfli
