TV regional stations fulfilled mission in elections, according to study
According to a study by Publicom, regional TV stations fulfilled their mandate in terms of both quantity and quality with their coverage of the 2019 elections. Their association, Telesuisse, which commissioned the study, is calling for more funding from the license fee pool. The SRG has reservations about the study.
In line with the concession mandate, the regional broadcasters would have covered regional aspects, Telesuisse and consulting firm Publicom announced Wednesday.
A survey showed that 48 percent of respondents used content from regional TV stations to find out about the elections. SRG TV stations were accessed by 84 percent. On election day, 1,765,000 people consumed the programs of regional stations. The study was already a topic in the Sunday press (Werbewoche.ch reported).
Important platform
In 60 percent of their election campaign coverage, regional stations focused on their regions, according to Publicom's program analysis - nominations and personal campaigns took place primarily at the cantonal level. At the SRG TV stations, 78 percent of the reports on the election campaign focused on the national level.
In terms of the quality of reporting, there were no significant differences between the regional TV stations and the SRG TV stations. While the audience rated SRG coverage as slightly better than that of the regional stations, political actors as a whole did not perceive any differences in terms of quality.
Representative voter survey
Online survey of political actors
The party staff surveyed considered the regional TV stations to be more important platforms in the election campaign. When it came to the actual election decision, however, newspapers were also the most important medium last year, according to the Publicom study. The national SRG stations were also very important, especially in Ticino.
Online survey of political actors
"Six percent massively too low"
The regional TV stations, on the other hand, would have had a similar importance in the election decision as the SRG radio stations or social media. Telesuisse called the study result "gratifying" in the release. The stations could provide a service for the region that the SRG could not, they argue.
The association recalls that all private broadcasters together received six percent of the revenue from radio and television reception fees, while 94 percent went to the SRG. "In view of the increasing importance of regional reporting and the crisis in the classic media, this six percent is massively too little," Telesuisse President André Moesch was quoted as saying.
Reservations about the study
The SRG expressed major reservations about the Telesuisse study, especially since it was non-transparent and questionable in terms of methodology. The SRG stations, together with the regional television stations, fulfill an important public service mission for this country, especially in elections, the SRG wrote in a statement.
Bakom also expressed reservations about the study on Twitter, among other things with regard to the presentation and in particular the contextualization of the results. It financed part of the study and thus enabled the inclusion of Italian-speaking Switzerland.
For the study presented in Bern on Wednesday, Publicom analyzed 22 broadcasters on six key dates. In addition, there was a survey of 748 voters, which Publicom describes as "representative of the population", and an online survey of party secretariats. Of 184 secretariats contacted, 73 answered the questions. (SDA/swi)
