Is Tamedia planning its own goal?
Press: With the planned split of the *Tagi* newspaper, Tamedia is creating a problem for itself.
further regional editions of the Tages-Anzeiger and a layout change
agreed. From fall 2006, the Tagi will therefore not only be published on
left, but also on the right bank of Lake Zurich, in the Zurich Oberland, in the
Unterland and in the city of Zurich with regional editions - all in the
Newspaper format.
However, the Zurich city split raises questions, as it will become the
Tagblatt der Stadt Zürich into direct competition - especially in the
advertising market. The matter is not without comedy, because the
Free newspaper (circulation: 137,000 copies) is 60 percent owned by Tamedia
and 40 percent of NZZ. In addition, Tagi publishing director Rolf Bollmann
also Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tagblatt der Stadt Zürich AG. Further
the representatives of the City of Zurich have a weighty say in the matter, because
the Tagblatt is the official organ of publication. In addition, the
Tagblatt-Verlag of the city a fixed annual minimum concession
must pay. If the income exceeds a certain amount, the
tax depends on turnover. In this respect, the municipal authorities can
on urban territory.
This is also confirmed by Urs Neuenschwander, media spokesman for the city of Zurich.
But: "The current Tagblatt contract applies to us," he says. This
requires, in addition to the submission, a weekly appearance five times a week, a
Delivery to all households in Zurich as well as editorial
Own services. Neuenschwander also confirms that the contract was concluded as of
The contract could have been terminated at the end of 2005. However, this was not the case.
It is therefore automatically valid for a further ten years.
On the NZZ side, Beat Lauber sits on the Tagblatt Board of Directors as Vice Chairman.
"Depending on the tariff policy, the Tagi split will certainly make the Tagblatt
influence," he says. This is why scenarios are also being discussed in the BoD
has been made. He does not want to say any more about this. "We are only
minority shareholder," says Lauber.
Markus Knöpfli
