Joiz Switzerland closes - 75 employees affected

Joiz CEO and co-founder Alexander Mazzara and the management of Joiz IP were looking for solutions to continue the operation and sale of the Joiz Global digital platform, the broadcaster announced Monday evening. The platform has been successfully licensed to Germany, the Netherlands, Russia and the U.S. in recent months. The German offshoot of the youth channel will continue. For Joiz Germany the offer of a new majority shareholder is present, which wants to continue the transmission enterprise. As the deal is not yet ready to be finalized, Joiz is not yet disclosing the source of the offer. The German broadcast signal will now also be broadcast in Switzerland. According to the information, 75 employees are affected by the closure in Switzerland, sharing 57 full-time positions. They are employed in the TV station Joiz Switzerland and in the marketing company of Joiz IP. For some of the employees, there is hope that they will be hired elsewhere. The video team of Ringier Publishing and Blick WebTV have already expressed interest. Initial talks about possible commitments have already taken place.

Takeover talks fail

The decision to discontinue the activity in Switzerland was difficult for the board of directors, according to reports. "Joiz was at the forefront of interactive, multimedia communication and developed many new products with its very dedicated employees," the board's chairman, Gaudenz Trapp, is quoted as saying in the statement. But the new round of financing, which would have been necessary to further develop the company, did not materialize. "Talks with Swiss media houses about a possible takeover of Joiz Switzerland were not successful," Trapp said. Editorial operations are expected to cease in the coming days, spokesman Jürg Wildberger said on request. However, that decision will be up to the bankruptcy trustee appointed by the Zurich bankruptcy court. Joiz was founded in Zurich in 2011. The company currently operates two HD TV channels in Switzerland and Germany. These produce "interactive, cross-media entertainment programs for a young generation," according to the statement. In particular, Joiz combined classic television with online content, such as on social media. (SDA)