In the stranglehold of EU rules
SWA presents 1999 performance report and discusses requirements for new radio and television law
SWA presents 1999 performance record and discusses requirements for new radio and television lawBy Daniel Schifferle The new radio and television law will be outdated before it enters into force, feared participants in a panel discussion held by the Swiss Association of Advertisers (SWA). The path to more liberal Swiss advertising rules is being thwarted by the EU, which is currently pursuing a very restrictive policy.
The fight for more liberal framework conditions for advertising is one of the main tasks that the Swiss Advertisers Association (SWA) has taken up. "What can and must the current revision of the Radio and Television Act (RTVA) contribute to this?" was the question discussed at this year's SWA event, chaired by Zurich publicist Alex Bänninger. The panel included Michael Ringier, SRG CEO Armin Walpen, SW President Carlo Schmid and Sabena CEO Paul Reutlinger.
In his introduction, Bänninger basically criticized the Federal Council's strategy paper, which on the one hand accentuates the SRG's fee monopoly even more, while on the other hand granting private companies a release from previous advertising restrictions.
"This separates the SRG, which supports the state in terms of journalism, above the belt from the entertainment of the private sector below the belt," Bänninger said. Media policy would be transformed into a welfare policy "with a privileged réduit for the SRG and a slippery slope without security for the private companies." According to Bänninger, the revision plans lack a radical departure that takes into account the radical nature of technological development.
"The law does not create plurality"
Bänninger also expressed particular concern about the "snail's pace" at which the revision is proceeding. By the time the law is scheduled to go into effect in early 2004, the subtle distinctions between program broadcasting, access services and the Internet could already have vanished into thin air, he said. To prevent this, he said, lawmakers will have to grasp and interpret the future much more pointedly than "E. future."
According to Bänninger, plurality and quality are the qualities that a successful media system in the audience and advertising market must have. Michael Ringier denied that legislation has any influence at all here. "It's the viewers who decide," Ringier said, "that's the painful experience of everyone who tried it with new TV programs." With almost thirty receivable German-language programs, the local TV market is saturated, he said, and the law can be shaped however one wants.
SRG CEO Armin Walpen identified saturation above all in Swiss content, as demonstrated by the discontinuation of the RTL/Pro 7 program window. Walpen: "When RTL/Pro 7 started, Pro 7's market shares really plummeted; after the cancellation of the window, they are growing again." For Michael Ringier, it's clear: "A program was made there that already exists on the domestic stations and that people therefore don't want to watch at all." Those who choose the German stations do so because of the series that are on there, and not because of the Swiss programs, the Group CEO said.
The participants in the discussion were concerned about the restrictive course that the EU states have taken with regard to advertising bans. Not only tobacco and alcohol advertising are threatened, but also advertising for children's toys and textiles is under discussion.
Warning against anticipatory obedience to the EU
And this, of all things, at a time when Switzerland wants to liberalize. If developments in the EU continue as they are, the revised RTVG will give Switzerland much more liberal advertising rights than the surrounding countries. Sabena CEO Paul Reutlinger warned against the proverbial "anticipatory obedience" to the EU and pleaded for our country to go its own way. "Why can't we stand to run our own train anymore and possibly suffer repression for it?" asked Reutlinger.
However, various participants in the discussion questioned whether the question of "making one's own move" would arise at all. "You don't think a tobacco company is producing expensive commercials especially for Switzerland," said Michael Ringier, "if Brussels decides something, then what's in our own law is no longer relevant."
Hoping for the lobbying strength of German publishers
But will the looming soup of advertising bans really be eaten as hot as it is currently being cooked? "The strong lobby of German publishers will provide a counterweight and prevent the worst-case scenario," Ringier is convinced. Should the unexpected nevertheless occur, Paul Reutlinger believes in the creativity of the advertising industry: "Advertising will then open up new channels, such as the Internet, where these restrictions do not exist."
In addition to the impending avalanche of advertising bans, the EU's critical attitude toward TV and radio fees was also a topic of discussion. In our country, this is hardly an issue, the panelists agreed. "Abolishing fees would mean no more television for our country, it's as simple as that," said Armin Walpen. Michael Ringier even attributed to SRG a similarly important integrative task as the army used to have, saying: "Whoever wants this Switzerland must also say yes to the financing of SRG."
Plea for a lean law with few regulations
At the end of the discussion, the panelists pleaded for the legislature to slow down its regulatory zeal. Carlo Schmid demanded: "Prejudice as little as possible, formulate laws in such a way that they can be reacted to at the administrative level, hands off the regulation of the Internet under broadcasting law". This is the only way to ensure the necessary openness for dynamic developments in the communications sector.
The fight for more liberal framework conditions for advertising is one of the main tasks that the Swiss Advertisers Association (SWA) has taken up. "What can and must the current revision of the Radio and Television Act (RTVA) contribute to this?" was the question discussed at this year's SWA event, chaired by Zurich publicist Alex Bänninger. The panel included Michael Ringier, SRG CEO Armin Walpen, SW President Carlo Schmid and Sabena CEO Paul Reutlinger.
In his introduction, Bänninger basically criticized the Federal Council's strategy paper, which on the one hand accentuates the SRG's fee monopoly even more, while on the other hand granting private companies a release from previous advertising restrictions.
"This separates the SRG, which supports the state in terms of journalism, above the belt from the entertainment of the private sector below the belt," Bänninger said. Media policy would be transformed into a welfare policy "with a privileged réduit for the SRG and a slippery slope without security for the private companies." According to Bänninger, the revision plans lack a radical departure that takes into account the radical nature of technological development.
"The law does not create plurality"
Bänninger also expressed particular concern about the "snail's pace" at which the revision is proceeding. By the time the law is scheduled to go into effect in early 2004, the subtle distinctions between program broadcasting, access services and the Internet could already have vanished into thin air, he said. To prevent this, he said, lawmakers will have to grasp and interpret the future much more pointedly than "E. future."
According to Bänninger, plurality and quality are the qualities that a successful media system in the audience and advertising market must have. Michael Ringier denied that legislation has any influence at all here. "It's the viewers who decide," Ringier said, "that's the painful experience of everyone who tried it with new TV programs." With almost thirty receivable German-language programs, the local TV market is saturated, he said, and the law can be shaped however one wants.
SRG CEO Armin Walpen identified saturation above all in Swiss content, as demonstrated by the discontinuation of the RTL/Pro 7 program window. Walpen: "When RTL/Pro 7 started, Pro 7's market shares really plummeted; after the cancellation of the window, they are growing again." For Michael Ringier, it's clear: "A program was made there that already exists on the domestic stations and that people therefore don't want to watch at all." Those who choose the German stations do so because of the series that are on there, and not because of the Swiss programs, the Group CEO said.
The participants in the discussion were concerned about the restrictive course that the EU states have taken with regard to advertising bans. Not only tobacco and alcohol advertising are threatened, but also advertising for children's toys and textiles is under discussion.
Warning against anticipatory obedience to the EU
And this, of all things, at a time when Switzerland wants to liberalize. If developments in the EU continue as they are, the revised RTVG will give Switzerland much more liberal advertising rights than the surrounding countries. Sabena CEO Paul Reutlinger warned against the proverbial "anticipatory obedience" to the EU and pleaded for our country to go its own way. "Why can't we stand to run our own train anymore and possibly suffer repression for it?" asked Reutlinger.
However, various participants in the discussion questioned whether the question of "making one's own move" would arise at all. "You don't think a tobacco company is producing expensive commercials especially for Switzerland," said Michael Ringier, "if Brussels decides something, then what's in our own law is no longer relevant."
Hoping for the lobbying strength of German publishers
But will the looming soup of advertising bans really be eaten as hot as it is currently being cooked? "The strong lobby of German publishers will provide a counterweight and prevent the worst-case scenario," Ringier is convinced. Should the unexpected nevertheless occur, Paul Reutlinger believes in the creativity of the advertising industry: "Advertising will then open up new channels, such as the Internet, where these restrictions do not exist."
In addition to the impending avalanche of advertising bans, the EU's critical attitude toward TV and radio fees was also a topic of discussion. In our country, this is hardly an issue, the panelists agreed. "Abolishing fees would mean no more television for our country, it's as simple as that," said Armin Walpen. Michael Ringier even attributed to SRG a similarly important integrative task as the army used to have, saying: "Whoever wants this Switzerland must also say yes to the financing of SRG."
Plea for a lean law with few regulations
At the end of the discussion, the panelists pleaded for the legislature to slow down its regulatory zeal. Carlo Schmid demanded: "Prejudice as little as possible, formulate laws in such a way that they can be reacted to at the administrative level, hands off the regulation of the Internet under broadcasting law". This is the only way to ensure the necessary openness for dynamic developments in the communications sector.
