Only individual subscriptions receive delivery discount
OFCOM is not required to grant a price reduction for postal delivery for group subscriptions arranged by a municipality. This is the conclusion reached by the Federal Administrative Court in the case involving the newspapers *Arena Alva* and *Pöschtli*.
In 2013, the newspapers published by the Somedia media group only received the delivery discount provided for press subsidies for newspapers obtained by individual subscriptions. Following an appeal by Somedia, the Federal Administrative Court still had to deal with the question of whether those copies that are delivered to all residents of a municipality on the basis of a municipal assembly resolution should also receive a price reduction for postal delivery.
For the title Arena Alva, the question only arose for 2013 because it was merged with the Rhiiblatt from the same publishing house at the beginning of 2014. The application for press funding for the newly created product Ruinaulta was approved.
In its ruling published on Wednesday, the Federal Administrative Court came to the conclusion that collective subscriptions do not fall under the "subscribed daily and weekly newspapers of the regional and local press" described in the Postal Act, which should benefit from a delivery discount.
The collective subscription is dependent on the political will of the majority of the respective municipal assembly. This means that there is a lack of "voluntary demand" on the part of recipients, as established by the Federal Office of Communications and now confirmed by the Federal Administrative Court.
In addition, collective subscriptions do not guarantee the financial and journalistic independence of a publishing house to the required extent. According to the St. Gallen judges, a large number of individual, self-paying subscribers guarantees a certain continuity.
The termination of individual subscriptions does not have a serious impact on the economic situation of a newspaper. (SDA)
