Radio 105: Team backs Schawinski
Roger Schawinski was outbid in the battle for Radio 105 - possibly by Joiz. However, he has managed a coup with the early engagement of the presenters.
As the Sonntagszeitung reports, eleven 105 people - the entire moderation team and almost the entire staff - have already signed their employment contracts with Roger Schawinski on Thursday. These will become valid as soon as the awarding of the concession is completed. Among the signatories are head of programming Jan Müller and head of music Dani König. According to Müller, they backed Schawinski because he had taken the clearest position for the 105 brand and was a "true radio man." According to the Sonntagszeitung, the studio is ready in the premises of Radio 1 in Zurich-Hottingen, and another is to be put into operation in a week's time.
Schawinski is enthusiastic about the idea of using synergies: Radio 105 should be able to benefit from the "demonstrably best newsroom," while Radio 1 should be enriched by the strengths of youth radio in the areas of celebrity events and music, among others. Synergies can also be exploited in rentals, technology, sales and cross-promotion.
Joiz TV as an unknown third party?
A less definitive picture is painted by Switzerland on Sunday. The newspaper knows that Schawinski's 784'000 francs were outbid - by whom is unknown. It is suspected that it is not Radio Energy, but the social TV station Joiz. Joiz CEO Alexander Mazzara did not want to comment on this. However, a higher bid will follow from Energy with "fairly high certainty," managing director Dani Büchi told the newspaper. Energy would operate Radio 105 only on DAB and cable and sell or return the FM license for legal reasons. According to Büchi, this would allow the company to occupy the strategically important but economically uninteresting target group of very young listeners.
Büchi does not dispute that Radio Energy would presumably become number one in Zurich with the disappearance of Radio 105 from the FM range. Schawinski's accusation that with this "maneuver" they deliberately wanted to get rid of their only direct competitor (Interview Tagesanzeiger/Newsnet), however, he vehemently disagrees. Büchi, who is considered a promoter of DAB+, even believes that Radio 105, which is only broadcast digitally, will be more successful than Schawinski's FM version, because without a concession, many circulations would also disappear. (SoZ/SaS/hae)
Teaser image (Roger Schawinski): Keystone
