No takeover of the online portal Barfi.ch by Telebasel

Before a relaunch with a stronger Internet presence, the idea had arisen at Telebasel that instead of setting up something of its own, it would be better to cooperate with the Barfi.ch portal launched in mid-2015 - or to take it over straight away. Telebasel had assessed Barfi as a successful project, explained Telebasel Foundation Board President Roger Thiriet on Tuesday, according to a report by the Basler Zeitung (BaZ).

Barfi.ch founder Christian Heeb - who had once co-founded Basilisk, the first local radio station in Basel - then learned of the cooperation idea through a lawyer working for both companies, as Heeb and Thiriet say when asked. However, their statements differ as to who subsequently took the initiative.

Telebasel cancelled twice

According to Thiriet, Barfi.ch contacted Telebasel. However, after taking a look at the portal's business figures, the broadcaster declined for the first time in June 2017. In January 2018, Heeb again sought contact with Telebasel, according to Thiriet. The broadcaster did reconsider the takeover, but only without a purchase price, i.e. free of charge - in 2017, there had been talk of a cumulative investment of six million francs in the portal to date.

On January 29, however, Telebasel Heeb cancelled again. The reason was the portal's still unpleasant economic situation, Thiriet said. Before the No Billag vote - the adoption of which would also present Telebasel with problems - the local station, which is co-financed by fees, could not spend money like that.

Barfi.ch is urgently looking for partners

Heeb, on the other hand, emphasizes that he "never knocked on Telebasel's door, not at any time. The broadcaster had put out feelers - probably to find out how successful the young portal was in terms of reach. Negotiations began in January, and the very low price was "never an obstacle. They had actually agreed to go together, but then he received a rejection.

With 12 permanent employees and an annual budget of 2.4 million francs, Barfi is on the brink of collapse; Heeb also considered short-time work. The high reach, for example, makes the news agency expensive, but revenues flow insufficiently. "It's hell," says Heeb. - It would be better to merge before "everyone goes bust." Heeb sees one of the main causes of the earnings crisis in the local online market precisely in Telebasel's Internet offensive, which he has denounced since the beginning as an improper use of fee money. He had warned of the consequences that were now occurring. However, the cards will soon be reshuffled nationwide with a new media law.

Heeb launched the portal, including its own app, at the end of July 2015 as a pure network medium fully focused on mobile communication devices. This does not require a concession. "Barfi" is the dialect name for Barfüsserplatz, the heart of Basel. (SDA)