Tele Top launches into the licensed future

Tele Top, the local television station that emerged victorious from the licensing procedure, presented its program and new presenters in Winterthur on Monday. It also announced its relocation from Frauenfeld to Winterthur. According to program director Stefan Nägeli, the newly licensed Tele Top will be a rural television station that can also be seen in the city. The gradual expansion of the program is to be completed by 1 November for the time being. Tele Top Managing Director Günter Heuberger also provided information on the status of the pending appeal in the licensing decision for the Eastern Switzerland coverage area, where Tele Säntis, which also belongs to Tele Top AG, was left empty-handed.

New to the moderation team: Hönegger, Stotz and Fritschi

Kathrin Hönegger, Bernhard Stotz and Nicole Fritschi will join the existing team of presenters until August 1. Hönegger, who is currently still a presenter at Radio Energy, and Stotz, who is best known from Wohntraum TV, have many years of experience in presenting radio and television programs. Fritschi previously worked as an editor and producer at U1 TV. Stotz will primarily present the daily talk, Hönegger will be seen in talk and news and Fritschi will initially concentrate on presenting news. As far as content is concerned, program director Nägeli said that the main focus will be on news from politics, business and culture, with tabloid content only on the fringes. The regional public service will be at the center of reporting. Vis-à-vis Tele Züri, the aim is to offer supplementary rather than competing programs. In addition to news and talk, further programs are being planned.

Regional and local advertising windows

From November 1, the program structure, which will continue over the next few months, will be completed for the time being. This includes a 7-day program, a talk show broadcast four times a week instead of twice, a Sunday talk show (Top am Sonntag) and the program windows tailored to the three cantons of Zurich, Schaffhausen and Thurgau, which are part of the broadcasting area. The news program will begin at 6 p.m. with a quarter of an hour of national news, rounded off by a short national advertising block. This will be followed by a further quarter of an hour of local news (program window) produced and broadcast in the three areas, rounded off by a local advertising block.

Three studios, 20 new jobs

Tele Top, which previously broadcast from Frauenfeld, will move to Winterthur, although the studio in Frauenfeld will continue to produce the program window for the canton of Thurgau. The Schaffhausen program window will either be produced in collaboration with Schaffhauser Fernsehen or a new studio will be set up. By November, a further 20 positions will be added to the existing 20, a total of nine for the studios in Frauenfeld and Schaffhausen alone. Tele Top receives CHF 1.48 million per year from the Swiss Confederation on the basis of the ten-year concession granted on October 31, 2008.

"A political, not a legal decision"

Tele Top AG had also applied with Tele Säntis for the broadcasting area of Eastern Switzerland, but the license was awarded to Tele Ostschweiz from the St. Galler Tagblatt. Tele Top AG lodged an appeal against this. At the media conference, Tele Top Managing Director Günter Heuberger was clear about this: DETEC's decision was politically, not legally motivated - as it should have been. In addition, the DETEC's evaluation catalog, which he had seen in the course of the complaints procedure, did not correspond to the criteria catalog of the tender. "I am shocked, this is an abuse of discretion by the authority," said Heuberger. Heuberger did not want to say anything binding about how long the procedure will take. It would depend on the will of the Federal Administrative Court. The court's decision is final. (elk)
www.toponline.ch