SF anno 2011
Television II Politics is the biggest risk factor for the future of SF.
Television Politics is the biggest risk factor for the future of SF. This is the conclusion reached by the authors Alexander Rödiger and Stefan Rüesch. As part of their Executive MBA course at the University of St. Gallen, they have examined the future prospects of Swiss television SF for the next five years and developed corresponding strategies. The authors describe a greatly changed Swiss television landscape in 2011: the currently predominant distribution of self-produced and edited broadcast content according to a fixed schedule (broadcasting) will increasingly come under pressure from Internet TV and digital TV, on-demand offerings and a growing selection of programs from special interest channels. In addition, mobile applications will establish themselves on a broad front. Scarce frequencies and insufficient bandwidths will no longer play a regulatory role. Only those who know how to attract attention with a recognizable brand profile will be able to compete with this new diversity.
The authors also consulted five exponents of the Swiss media world: media entrepreneur Peter Weigelt, publisher president Hanspeter Lebrument, SF director Ingrid Deltenre, Swisscom chief strategist Christoph Brand and Bakom director Martin Dumermuth. They all agree that the world of television will change fundamentally within five to ten years. It is still largely unclear which types of TV will prevail, but everyone is convinced that mobile TV will make a breakthrough.
The transformation to SF MultimediaAccording to the authors, SF must transform itself from a broadcasting to a multimedia company within the next five years and serve all channels demanded by the audience - regardless of the traditional program, which will most likely remain the predominant model. High-quality content with a Swiss connection will also be in demand on these new channels. As it is to be expected that the telecommunications industry will strongly develop new business areas (e.g. IPTV), cooperations are conceivable for SF.
Fees will continue to be the main source of income in the future. However, SF's path to the future could be blocked by political means - an unpredictable danger. Dialogue with politicians is therefore crucial and the concept of public service must be clarified in order to guarantee political support.
The author duo were prompted to work on the project by the publishers' protest against SF's online expansion last fall.
René Worni
The authors also consulted five exponents of the Swiss media world: media entrepreneur Peter Weigelt, publisher president Hanspeter Lebrument, SF director Ingrid Deltenre, Swisscom chief strategist Christoph Brand and Bakom director Martin Dumermuth. They all agree that the world of television will change fundamentally within five to ten years. It is still largely unclear which types of TV will prevail, but everyone is convinced that mobile TV will make a breakthrough.
The transformation to SF MultimediaAccording to the authors, SF must transform itself from a broadcasting to a multimedia company within the next five years and serve all channels demanded by the audience - regardless of the traditional program, which will most likely remain the predominant model. High-quality content with a Swiss connection will also be in demand on these new channels. As it is to be expected that the telecommunications industry will strongly develop new business areas (e.g. IPTV), cooperations are conceivable for SF.
Fees will continue to be the main source of income in the future. However, SF's path to the future could be blocked by political means - an unpredictable danger. Dialogue with politicians is therefore crucial and the concept of public service must be clarified in order to guarantee political support.
The author duo were prompted to work on the project by the publishers' protest against SF's online expansion last fall.
René Worni
