Matthias against Mathis

Press Price war, termination of
Job combination and a large BaZ circulation in the Basel region? How does
BaZ publisher Matthias Hagemann on the cheating of bz publisher
Mathis Lüdin?one week after the affront of the
Basellandschaft- liche Zeitung (bz) to the Basler Zeitung (BaZ)
the new situation in northwestern Switzerland can be more soberly
consider. The package of measures that the Basler Zeitung Medien
(BZM) has announced in an initial statement, will receive more concrete
Contours. The focus of the BZM reaction is probably on two
The main thrust: to isolate the bz in the regional advertising market. And
a more aggressive approach by BaZ in the Upper Basel region.

In the display area, BZM has a handle on the two station wagons, in
which the bz is integrated: the job combination in the joint
Saturday supplement Stellefant and the hat trick, the combo from bz,
Volksstimme and Neuer Fricktaler Zeitung (NFZ). The latter has
bz publisher Mathis Lüdin himself last December at the end of 2006
as a precautionary measure - in order to be able to make its cooperation decision freely.
can. Another new feature of Stellefant is that a termination is not only
possible, but is also already a fact. "The Stellefant have
We have already been taking the precaution of canceling our contract for some time, with effect from fall 2006.
It remains to be seen whether this will become definitive," says BaZ publisher Matthias
Hagemann on request.

One thing is certain: Lüdin would like to stick with both combinations. "I see
no need to give up the hat-trick," he says today. And also
Stellefant has brought him "a plus on the bottom line". He emphasizes
however, that the profit for BaZ is much higher. It will
should therefore think twice about giving up the station wagon.

Searching for solutions would be good
Hagemann sees things a little differently. "The station wagon was primarily a
support measure for the bz, but one that benefited both sides," says
er. This shows that the Northwestern Switzerland region is a closed
advertising space and that it would have made sense to continue looking for common
solutions.

Hagemann is cautious when it comes to the hat-trick, because the BZM is there
not a direct partner, but it does hold a 21 percent stake in NFZ
and represented on the Board of Directors. Hagemann therefore also
that he would not be unhappy if Volksstimme and NFZ
would turn down the bz. "From an objective point of view, NFZ
and Volksstimme, the general weather situation has changed. They too are now facing a
new intruder," he says. Like the two leaves
will react is unclear. This question will be discussed "in the next
days", according to the Volksstimme newspaper, for example.

Restraint in marketing
Looking at the scattering densities of the two newspapers in WG 31, then
Hagemann's next move is easy to guess: In the Oberbasel dispute
a large BaZ edition is probably on the cards. "An interesting idea!" laughs
Hagemann, but refrains from commenting further. The fact is: The
BaZ is only available in Basel, the Unterbaselbiet (Arlesheim district) and the
Dorneck in the canton of Solothurn to a reasonably respectable
Household coverage of 29 to 34 percent. In Liestal and the
In the Upper Basel region, it is - in some cases significantly - below 25 percent. The bz
In terms of paid circulation, only two districts (Liestal,
Waldenburg) is in a better position, but with its large circulation on Wednesdays it covers
four of the five Basel districts and the Schwarzbubenland to over
95 percent. In order not to jeopardize a possible cooperation with the bz
BaZ has so far been marketing itself in the bz domains.
withheld. Conversely, the bz had refrained from publishing its
large circulation in Basel and the Arlesheim district. This "almost
The "already reservation-like situation" (Hagemann) has now been terminated:
"The relationship will certainly become more competitive," says the BaZ publisher.

The fact that Lüdin is advancing to Basel with the bz large edition is rather
to be ruled out. "We have already decided not to do this in the past.
do. That's where it stays," he says. With good reason: the name alone
of his newspaper is slightly alienating in the city of Basel.

It would be rather unlikely that Hagemann would give the bz the early distribution
by the BZM subsidiary Prevag. Because Hagemann knows that the pre
Early delivery, which was introduced three years ago, is central to the bz.
a major contribution to the stabilization of the bz circulation, which is why Lüdin does not
more than ever before. Both he and his new partner Peter
Wanner have made it clear that, if necessary, they will carry out their own early delivery
would realize. So why should Hagemann look for the new
competition in the publishing sector and additional competition in the
impose distribution?

Of course, the BaZ could also still be in the tariff area of the bz
hurt. Hagemann is tight-lipped on this point: "This is a
It's a sensitive topic. I don't comment on that," he says. The reason: the
PubliGroupe, which is responsible for both the BaZ and the Mittelland Zeitung
has a lease, would find himself in a conflict of interest and would be
defend themselves. Also at the level of the BZM Board of Directors, where, thanks to the
37 percent shareholding is represented with two seats and has a say
can.    

Skepticism
Does the bz connection to the Mittelland Zeitung make sense from a media planning perspective?
view make sense? Only two media planners who also know Northwestern Switzerland very well
were ready for a statement: Riccarda Mecklenburg from
of the media agency m&m previously worked for both BZM and
at AZ Medien, Zaugg was at P Aarau and now heads the BZM
advertising agency KeyMedia.

Mecklenburg's opinion is clear: an orientation of the bz towards Aarau
"makes no sense in terms of media planning". The bz reach now feeds
Mittelland Zeitung, but "Lüdin's publishing empire" will
not strengthened, she says. Zaugg takes the same line: "New customers
I don't see this as a necessity for the bz," he says. Because the reach of the
BaZ already covers the needs of many advertisers and will also be
today is hardly complemented by other titles in Northwestern Switzerland.
 
Markus Knöpfli