SRG submits eleven proposals for cooperation to publishers

Today, Switzerland's media center is even more globalized than the financial center, writes Roger de Weck in an Letter to the publisherswhich NZZ Online made public on Friday evening. Big players like Google and Facebook are putting SRG and publishers under pressure. Against this background, cooperation is the order of the day. The new advertising platform of Ringier, Swisscom and SRG, which has been heavily criticized by many publishers, is open to all interested parties, de Weck emphasized again in his letter. In addition, SRG is making eleven offers to publishers for cooperation in journalism and technology.

Video and sports offer

SRG is prepared to make current videos available to publishers, either in the publisher's Internet player or embedded in the publisher's websites and playable in the SRG player. SRG participates in the advertising revenue that the publisher generates with the videos. A pilot project of this kind has been promising. In sports, SRG is prepared to cooperate with publishers in Formula 1, athletics, indoor sports and tennis. For example, SRG is offering private TV channels to broadcast half of the twenty Formula 1 races if SRG is awarded the contract again. Regional broadcasters could also get involved in cup and championship games of major indoor sports such as basketball or floorball, which are to be broadcast live on the web.

Cooperation in training

SRG sees another field for cooperation in education, interactive television and SwissTXT. Furthermore, private broadcasters are to be given the opportunity to distribute content on SRG's web player. This would increase the presence, as 20 million contributions per month are accessed via "Play SRF" on the Internet. Joint apps, a jointly usable multilingual Swiss Channel on YouTube, easier use of digital broadcasting (DAB+), SRG news bulletins for regional radio stations and supraregional windows for regional television are other areas in which SRG is open to cooperation. With its cooperation offers, SRG wants to do its part to strengthen the four-language Swiss media center in international competition. It has shown in existing cooperations in the film and music industry that solutions are possible in which it is right for all partners.

Publishers react cautiously

Why should this not also be possible with interested publishers, says de Weck. The publishers, for their part, reacted cautiously to de Weck's proposals. They contain little that is new, said publisher president Hanspeter Lebrument in response to an inquiry from the SDA news agency. The proposals are very vague. Lebrument described SRG Director General de Weck's approach as strange and peculiar. The move comes just days before the Epiphany meeting of the Swiss Media Association, the lobby group for Swiss publishers. (SDA)

Roger de Weck could offer publishers a lifetime supply of St. Honoré cakes, they would only recognize it as an attempt at poisoning.

- Daniel Menna (@MadMenNa) January 8, 2016

Accurate analysis and concrete initiative by de Weck. Not all eleven equally relevant, but good ideas included. https://t.co/Muz5tozZMn

- Peter Hogenkamp (@phogenkamp) January 8, 2016

Anyone who does not react with interest to this coopetition offer from SRG to the publishers is a hypocrite. @WakeR https://t.co/1CVj6aq8q3

- Vinzenz Wyss (@VinzenzWyss) January 8, 2016

Let the peace pipe circle: @SRF GD deWeck. An offer you can't refuse? https://t.co/bJnGT47uTm @NZZSwitzerland

- Jean-Marc Hensch (@sosicles) January 9, 2016