Private radio stations are important
To show how important private radio stations are for the public service, the Association of Swiss Private Radio Stations (VSP) commissioned a study. The results underscore the strong position among listeners.
It is true that the performance of licensed commercial Swiss private radio stations is regularly analyzed and evaluated on behalf of the Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM). But these surveys have always suffered from restrictions imposed by Bakom, for example the limitation of the evaluation period to the so-called prime time. According to the statement, this makes it impossible from the outset to determine the real contributions of private radio stations to the comprehensive regional public service throughout the day.
In the upcoming public service discussion, the distorted perception of the commercially licensed private radio stations now threatens to cause tangible political disadvantages for their future from 2019, it continues. The VSP has therefore commissioned René Grossenbacher and his Publicom Institute to determine the position of Swiss private radio stations, particularly in the regional media environment.
Publicom has fulfilled this mandate by conducting a secondary analysis of the MediaBrands study. With 4,800 interviews, MediaBrands is the largest qualitative media study in Switzerland and offers a highly representative and meaningful database. Three groups of private regional media, namely commercial private radio, regional television and regional daily newspapers, are distinguished and compared with the average values of all surveyed media brands.
The VSP summarizes the most important results of the Stuide:
The private radio stations reach more people together than the SRG's first and third radio channels and more than twice as many as the regional television channels.
Private radio stations are not only more likeable, younger and more entertaining than all other regional media, but also especially above average credibility and competent.
Private radio stations are more competent and more useful as a regional television station. They are more distinctive and closer to the public than the regional subscription newspapers.
In addition to the other regional media, private radio stations contribute significantly to a diverse and functioning media landscape with their services, which meet the expectations of the audience to a high degree. With this study, VSP wants to contribute to an objective perception of the licensed commercial private radio stations. They create jobs for young people in the media industry and are a significant factor within the framework of the service public régional.
