TV of small steps
Interview: Despite all the naysayers, Dominik Kaiser and his team are writing a success story with the TV channel 3+. In an interview with *Werbewoche*, 3+ founder Dominik Kaiser offers a behind-the-scenes look at television production.
Despite all the prophecies of doom, Dominik Kaiser and his team are writing a success story with the TV channel 3+, which is already attracting more attention abroad than in Switzerland. In an interview with Werbewoche, 3+ initiator Dominik Kaiser talks about the ins and outs of making television.3+ went on air for the first time on August 31, 2006. Right from the start, the latest TV offshoot was ridiculed in the industry. However, Dominik Kaiser's business model of small steps has proved its worth, the company is showing stable growth, is in excellent health and is increasingly producing its own programs by buying series and films at low prices. Apparently, the concept also appeals to the audience. 3+ has overtaken earlier projects such as Tele 24 or TV 3 and has achieved the reach of Kabel 1 or RTL 2. WW: Your channel 3+ is just one year old. What comes to mind spontaneously? Dominik Kaiser: This year went by extremely quickly. Looking back, of course a lot has happened. We have tried out many programs in many different slots.
As expected, shows such as the series "CSI", "Superstar", "Knowledge of the World", "Bones", "NCIS" and "Criminal Minds" performed very well. However, "Ugly Betty" disappointed in primetime, contrary to our expectations. We had high hopes for this series. We also moved the start of primetime by a quarter of an hour from 20:00 to 20:15. This has led to a better audience flow. We have canceled the short news and the weather report because viewers were zapping away. The Swiss-German announcements, even with celebrities such as Beat Schlatter, were not well received by the audience despite positive reactions. German crime series didn't work either. "Tatort" went very badly. On the other hand, we bought numerous top American series. With "Criminal Minds", we now also have the first broadcast before Sat1, as with "Rome". Otherwise, we are very satisfied with the market shares.
A year ago, you were expecting an average market share of 1.4%. With an average of 3.4% in the last three months, we are more than twice as strong as planned. Of course we are pleased about that. In retrospect, we were accused of having underplayed our hand, but before the start of broadcasting we were told we had no chance. That's kind of amusing. For comparison: Tele 24 had 0.8 percent and newly launched German channels such as Das Vierte, Tele 5 or DMax were stuck between 0.5 and 0.8 percent. In this respect, we were realistic. It was important for us not to promise too much.
Is it the mixture of low-cost purchases and a vigilant response to the competition that is driving up market shares in the long term? there are many aspects to this. The cost structure is very important here in Germany. You shouldn't pay too much for series and feature films. The structure of the channel and the number of employees are also crucial. Right from the start, we opted for a fully digital system, which allows us to work efficiently. Of course, programming is important. We react very quickly, move broadcasting slots and try things out until we have found the optimal slot for a program. If they don't run, we quickly take programs off the air again.
The audience appreciates these quick changes?yes. We have already made changes to the program at such short notice that they were no longer included in any of the program newspapers. Nevertheless, it worked. That's probably because viewers keep zapping until they find a program they like. It's amazing how quickly popular programs work.
What about the journalistic orientation of 3+? We see ourselves as a classic entertainment channel, as is the case in many countries around the world. In the news sector, there are already very good offerings from SF for national and international news, or from Tele Züri, Tele Bern, Tele Basel, etc. in the local sector. There is no room in between. That's why it doesn't make sense for us in the short term. In the medium term, perhaps the time will come to set up a well-equipped news program.
Roger Schawinski said that your channel is not a competitor for SRG, so it shouldn't be taken seriously. However, SF2 has also been living strongly from series and feature films for some time now. That's why we are certainly also competition here. The same applies to all German channels. At the moment, US series are very popular with audiences.
Briefly describe your strategy for 3+: We want to continue to grow step by step and expand our program. In our eleventh and twelfth months, our market share is now higher than that of TV3 in comparable months for the first time. In contrast to Tele 24, we invest the money for our own productions in individual major programs, be it "Superstar" or "Supermodel" with a budget of more than one and a half million francs. It is very important to us to lay a solid foundation with series and feature films alongside the large and expensive in-house event productions. We also have smaller in-house productions such as "Supernanny" and "Wissen der Welt". With programs such as "Supermodel", we are also testing how much potential the channel already has.
You currently have five in-house productions. In two years' time, it could look completely different. Above all, we want us to still be around in four or five years' time. That's why we want to grow in a stable, healthy and controlled way and not become overconfident just because things have gone so well so far.
Their recipe for success of small steps did not go unnoticed abroad. The European TV industry is watching us very closely. Thanks to our contacts with German broadcasters, we know that they are familiar with our program and know exactly how it works. So far, we have received much more recognition in neighboring countries than in Switzerland. They find it remarkable that we have managed to get a station above 3 percent in such a short time. . Hence the purchase offer from Germany.
...that you have rejected. It would not benefit us in any way. We are liquid and can finance a feature film or series package or an idea for an in-house production from scratch at any time. Growing faster with more money makes no sense, because viewers have to get used to the channel and that takes time. We wouldn't get any better films either. We're already getting as good material as possible. It's also much more fun to work in a small team of 30 people now. You can make very uncomplicated decisions without having to ask anyone for permission.
How serious are you about plans to expand abroad? Our success to date has led to inquiries from various markets from local station operators or those who wanted to launch a new station. Perhaps our concept would also work abroad. We are currently looking into this in two or three markets.
In which countries? I don't want to say anything about this at the moment so as not to provoke any reactions. But they are all European countries.
In the German-speaking world? Or from the Wild East? The Wild East is too tough a place. There are a lot of private stations there, even those that don't make programs for commercial or other sensible reasons. That's a world in which I personally wouldn't want to make television.
How are things going for 3+ in the advertising market? good, it's now picking up strongly in the second half of the year, which is great.
What explanation do you have for this? Many people wanted to watch first and find out whether we would still be around after three months. They didn't want to invest in another TV station that would quickly disappear again. Now the trust is slowly there, people have realized that we have stable values, are growing, offer excellent conditions, have short advertising blocks and are now reaching the level of Kabel 1 and RTL 2.
You usually hear private broadcasters complaining about Switzerland's close ties with the overly strong SRG. How do you see the Swiss television landscape? You've hardly heard me complain so far. (laughs) I always try to make the best of a situation and I definitely believe that our channel can continue to grow. Of course, it would be nice if, for example, there was a must-carry rule for all Swiss channels and not just the SRG channels. Then the Schaffhausen cable network would also have to switch us on. So far they just don't want us, but there's nothing we can do about it and I don't have any nightmares about it. We try to make our program as good as possible for as wide an audience as possible. That's much more important in my job than constantly complaining about legislation or the market being too small. Switzerland isn't getting any bigger because of it. But it's a great country to live and make TV in.
Conversely, was the SRG's lawsuit of over half a million francs against your claim "Young Swiss Television" an expression of resentment? The issue is closed anyway. I didn't really understand the process, because the lawsuit had no chance from the outset and you can't have the term "Swiss television" protected.
How far away is 3+ from breaking even? At the start, we talked about three years. I don't want to say anything new about that. We shouldn't be judged on the basis of budget figures, but on the basis of our program. However, you can assume that we are a very healthy company.
Interview: René Worni
As expected, shows such as the series "CSI", "Superstar", "Knowledge of the World", "Bones", "NCIS" and "Criminal Minds" performed very well. However, "Ugly Betty" disappointed in primetime, contrary to our expectations. We had high hopes for this series. We also moved the start of primetime by a quarter of an hour from 20:00 to 20:15. This has led to a better audience flow. We have canceled the short news and the weather report because viewers were zapping away. The Swiss-German announcements, even with celebrities such as Beat Schlatter, were not well received by the audience despite positive reactions. German crime series didn't work either. "Tatort" went very badly. On the other hand, we bought numerous top American series. With "Criminal Minds", we now also have the first broadcast before Sat1, as with "Rome". Otherwise, we are very satisfied with the market shares.
A year ago, you were expecting an average market share of 1.4%. With an average of 3.4% in the last three months, we are more than twice as strong as planned. Of course we are pleased about that. In retrospect, we were accused of having underplayed our hand, but before the start of broadcasting we were told we had no chance. That's kind of amusing. For comparison: Tele 24 had 0.8 percent and newly launched German channels such as Das Vierte, Tele 5 or DMax were stuck between 0.5 and 0.8 percent. In this respect, we were realistic. It was important for us not to promise too much.
Is it the mixture of low-cost purchases and a vigilant response to the competition that is driving up market shares in the long term? there are many aspects to this. The cost structure is very important here in Germany. You shouldn't pay too much for series and feature films. The structure of the channel and the number of employees are also crucial. Right from the start, we opted for a fully digital system, which allows us to work efficiently. Of course, programming is important. We react very quickly, move broadcasting slots and try things out until we have found the optimal slot for a program. If they don't run, we quickly take programs off the air again.
The audience appreciates these quick changes?yes. We have already made changes to the program at such short notice that they were no longer included in any of the program newspapers. Nevertheless, it worked. That's probably because viewers keep zapping until they find a program they like. It's amazing how quickly popular programs work.
What about the journalistic orientation of 3+? We see ourselves as a classic entertainment channel, as is the case in many countries around the world. In the news sector, there are already very good offerings from SF for national and international news, or from Tele Züri, Tele Bern, Tele Basel, etc. in the local sector. There is no room in between. That's why it doesn't make sense for us in the short term. In the medium term, perhaps the time will come to set up a well-equipped news program.
Roger Schawinski said that your channel is not a competitor for SRG, so it shouldn't be taken seriously. However, SF2 has also been living strongly from series and feature films for some time now. That's why we are certainly also competition here. The same applies to all German channels. At the moment, US series are very popular with audiences.
Briefly describe your strategy for 3+: We want to continue to grow step by step and expand our program. In our eleventh and twelfth months, our market share is now higher than that of TV3 in comparable months for the first time. In contrast to Tele 24, we invest the money for our own productions in individual major programs, be it "Superstar" or "Supermodel" with a budget of more than one and a half million francs. It is very important to us to lay a solid foundation with series and feature films alongside the large and expensive in-house event productions. We also have smaller in-house productions such as "Supernanny" and "Wissen der Welt". With programs such as "Supermodel", we are also testing how much potential the channel already has.
You currently have five in-house productions. In two years' time, it could look completely different. Above all, we want us to still be around in four or five years' time. That's why we want to grow in a stable, healthy and controlled way and not become overconfident just because things have gone so well so far.
Their recipe for success of small steps did not go unnoticed abroad. The European TV industry is watching us very closely. Thanks to our contacts with German broadcasters, we know that they are familiar with our program and know exactly how it works. So far, we have received much more recognition in neighboring countries than in Switzerland. They find it remarkable that we have managed to get a station above 3 percent in such a short time. . Hence the purchase offer from Germany.
...that you have rejected. It would not benefit us in any way. We are liquid and can finance a feature film or series package or an idea for an in-house production from scratch at any time. Growing faster with more money makes no sense, because viewers have to get used to the channel and that takes time. We wouldn't get any better films either. We're already getting as good material as possible. It's also much more fun to work in a small team of 30 people now. You can make very uncomplicated decisions without having to ask anyone for permission.
How serious are you about plans to expand abroad? Our success to date has led to inquiries from various markets from local station operators or those who wanted to launch a new station. Perhaps our concept would also work abroad. We are currently looking into this in two or three markets.
In which countries? I don't want to say anything about this at the moment so as not to provoke any reactions. But they are all European countries.
In the German-speaking world? Or from the Wild East? The Wild East is too tough a place. There are a lot of private stations there, even those that don't make programs for commercial or other sensible reasons. That's a world in which I personally wouldn't want to make television.
How are things going for 3+ in the advertising market? good, it's now picking up strongly in the second half of the year, which is great.
What explanation do you have for this? Many people wanted to watch first and find out whether we would still be around after three months. They didn't want to invest in another TV station that would quickly disappear again. Now the trust is slowly there, people have realized that we have stable values, are growing, offer excellent conditions, have short advertising blocks and are now reaching the level of Kabel 1 and RTL 2.
You usually hear private broadcasters complaining about Switzerland's close ties with the overly strong SRG. How do you see the Swiss television landscape? You've hardly heard me complain so far. (laughs) I always try to make the best of a situation and I definitely believe that our channel can continue to grow. Of course, it would be nice if, for example, there was a must-carry rule for all Swiss channels and not just the SRG channels. Then the Schaffhausen cable network would also have to switch us on. So far they just don't want us, but there's nothing we can do about it and I don't have any nightmares about it. We try to make our program as good as possible for as wide an audience as possible. That's much more important in my job than constantly complaining about legislation or the market being too small. Switzerland isn't getting any bigger because of it. But it's a great country to live and make TV in.
Conversely, was the SRG's lawsuit of over half a million francs against your claim "Young Swiss Television" an expression of resentment? The issue is closed anyway. I didn't really understand the process, because the lawsuit had no chance from the outset and you can't have the term "Swiss television" protected.
How far away is 3+ from breaking even? At the start, we talked about three years. I don't want to say anything new about that. We shouldn't be judged on the basis of budget figures, but on the basis of our program. However, you can assume that we are a very healthy company.
Interview: René Worni
