Swiss media: Satisfied with the SRG decision

With its decision of 14 September 2012, the Federal Council is sending a clear signal in favor of private media providers and against further distortions of competition, the association said in a press release on Friday. In 2010, the SRG requested that the ban on online advertising be lifted on the grounds that advertising on websites would compensate for falling fee income. The Swiss Media Association succeeded in demonstrating that this necessity does not exist, as more and more money is flowing into the coffers of fee-financed television due to population growth on the one hand and more television advertising, sponsorship and product placement on the other.

Schweizer Medien welcomes in principle the Federal Council's intention to revise the radio/TV license. SRG must also fulfill its mandate as a provider of audio-visual content via the new distribution channels. TV channels should therefore also be accessible via the Internet, the press release continues. However, it must be clearly defined that SRG's mandate lies in the audio-visual sector and not in independent text-based content. With the largest online editorial team in Switzerland, the SRG has secretly created a basis that massively competes with the private media houses in their online presence. In the view of Schweizer Medien, the text-based offering on the internet and on mobile channels is definitely not part of SRG's legal mandate and must therefore be clearly restricted. The SRG should not be allowed to compete with the online paid offerings of private media providers with free offerings outside the public service.

This is the only way to maintain a diverse and high-quality Swiss media landscape in the medium and long term, writes Schweizer Medien. As a radio and TV provider that is financed by state-imposed fees, the SRG must accept certain restrictions in its appearance. Understood in this way, the revision of the license makes perfect sense from the point of view of private media providers, as it is unacceptable that SRG itself is constantly and insidiously expanding its offering. The supervisory authority must set clear limits here.