Unusually early flights of fancy
TV 3 looks at a dawn coming up in the advertising market and believes in continuity
TV 3 looks to a rising dawn in the advertising market and believes in continuityBy Daniel Schifferle TV 3 is experiencing ratings peaks that are unusual for a young station. Thanks to new and successful international program formats. But not everything works around "Big Brother." The print magazine is of no interest to readers or advertisers and is discontinued.
Remo grumbles because someone has again drunk more beer and wine than he is entitled to. And things don't get much friendlier at dinner. This time it's the menu planning that pulls the corners of the "Big Brother" residents' mouths down. Actually, it is neither unusual nor particularly exciting what the viewers are presented with six times a week from the "Big Brother" house. But it's obviously very interesting, because the audience likes it. And TV 3's ratings just keep going up and up.
In August, the station was still languishing in prime time with a 2.5 percent market share among 15- to 49-year-olds. But with the start of "Big Brother," things quickly got better. Already in September, the first full month with "Big Brother," the market share jumped to 8.7 percent - more than a threefold increase over August.
But that's not all: In October, TV 3 even passed the ten percent mark for the first time, albeit only just. All in all, a quadrupled prime-time market share in just sixty days. Not bad. In any case, I don't know of any other private station that has achieved such extraordinary growth rates in such an early age.
Record figures among very young viewers
But the station was also helped by extraordinary and successful new program formats that appeared in the programming market along with the launch of TV 3. The strongest so far is the container spectacle, which brings more viewers to TV 3 than ever before. Between 250,000 and 300,000 people regularly watch the weekday and Sunday summaries, and over 350,000 people regularly watch the "Big Brother" talk show.
And particularly advantageous: It is a very young audience with whom "Big Brother" achieves record ratings. For example, the format achieves a market share of over 30 percent among 15- to 24-year-olds, as well as among 15- to 34-year-olds.
Target groups in which German private stations in particular have been strong up to now. TV-3 boss Jürg Wildberger feels vindicated by his station's recent wave of success: "Despite criticism that we were tipping programs too early, we have consistently moved towards where we want to go: Making shows for young people who are looking for something new."
But TV 3 has also been able to attract audiences with its usual formats in recent months. For example, some of the series in the early-evening slot made significant gains.
Foreign broadcasters looked down the tube
Most of these gains came at the expense of foreign stations. Among them, TV 3's ratings increase primarily picked up viewers. Once again, SF 1 was virtually unaffected, losing only half a percentage point of market share in September. SF 2 even improved strongly, but this was mainly due to the Olympics.
By contrast, hardly any of the foreign stations escaped unscathed, with the public broadcasters losing the most hair. The Austrians suffered a record loss, with ORF 1 dropping from 5.9 percent to 3.6 percent in September alone. But ARD and ZDF also both lost more than one percentage point. Only the private stations got off lightly. Sat 1, in particular, lost nothing. But RTL, RTL 2 and Pro 7 also lost only half a percentage point, hardly worth mentioning.
A development that can only be good for the Swiss TV advertising market. "Because the audience has mainly migrated from stations where we can't reach them with Swiss TV advertising: ORF, ZDF and ARD," says Optimedia boss Andy Lehmann.
No one knows the shelf life of the new successful formats
But despite optimism, one must not completely forget what TV 3's current success is based on. Virtually exclusively on the three formats "Big Brother," "Millionaire" and "Robinson. And how long these will be successful is anyone's guess. The fact that they will soon be broadcast on all available channels is unlikely to help them last.
But Wildberger is optimistic, and is again relying heavily on his previous ratings hit next year: "Big Brother" will continue after only a short break, "Millionaire" will return twice a week, and "Robinson" is about to enter its third run. However, it won't have its preferred partner ORF, which has unceremoniously canceled the format due to budget cuts.
But these are secondary problems for TV 3 at the moment. The private TV producers are currently most concerned with the question of what comes after "Big Brother. "There's a huge brainstorming session going on right now," Wildberger emphasizes, "how do we continue with these new reality formats? Do we combine them with fiction in the future?" Ideas are bubbling up at the moment, the TV boss knows. TV 3 is keeping a close eye on what's happening on the international producer markets. That's why Wildberger doesn't fear any bottlenecks in the future, especially since various interesting formats are ready for production.
But the TV 3 boss would prefer to spend even longer with "Big Brother. For example, later as a fixed weekly soap. "It's actually very similar to "Good Times, Bad Times" - except that one is a reality soap and the other a fiction soap," says Wildberger. Decisions on major new programming projects are not ready to be made at the moment, however.
Multiplatforms are booming, because success whets the appetite
But the upcoming broadcast formats will have one thing in common: the combination of television with other platforms. In this future-oriented sector, "Big Brother" has been able to develop important know-how with its Internet offering and telephone services. And, of course, it intends to continue cultivating this expertise in new program developments.
With good reason, because even the first experiences with true multiplatforms have shown remarkable success. At least in part. For example, the "Big Brother" site had been viewed more than 20 million times by the end of November alone; the broadcaster had forecast 19 million views for the entire duration of the first season. According to Wildberger, the telephone services were also very well used and, in some cases, profitable. Figures on this are not available, however.
But there are also things in the multi-platform system that work less well. The print magazine on "Big Brother," for example, which was only in low demand, is disappearing from the concept for the second season. Of all things, the element in which Tamedia demonstrates core competence? "It has been shown that the other channels are stronger for the special brand, so there is no need for a magazine," says René Gehrig, Tamedia's Head of Publishing Marketing, explaining the decision. Even the most recent issues only just managed to sell around 10,000 copies, and that only because new subscribers received all the previous issues as well.
Initial bookings for 2001 point to a fat year
Although not everything is working yet, the multi-platform area is already contributing its share financially as well. "It could already be twenty percent," Wildberger estimates. He still has to generate the large remainder from the on-air area. Here, the prospects have improved significantly after a season with strong ratings but still weak advertising. According to Wildberger, bookings for the start of 2001 are already several times higher than in previous months.
Nevertheless, TV 3 is not throwing money at the budget for next year. According to Wildberger, the station should have seventy million francs at its disposal. Exactly the same as in the first year, but now the same amount already promises significantly more impact on the revenue side as well. That's assuming the new successful formats don't run out of steam unexpectedly.
Broadcast averages3. September to November 21, 2000
Pers 3+ 15-24 years 15-49 years 15-34 years
Date Start Broadcast AgeØ R-T MA MA MA MA
ø Mon 21:00 Who wants to be a millionaire? 45.1 289.3 16.0 17.0 18.8 20.5
ø Mon-Fri 20:00 Big Brother 32.9 231.2 12.9 32.4 23.2 29.8
ø Sun 20:00 Big Brother - The Week 33.6 281.0 13.4 31.1 22.5 29.6
ø Sun 21:00 Big Brother live 35.5 358.6 18.1 34.0 25.5 32.5
ø Wed 21:00 Cinderella 38.5 81.7 4.9 7.2 7.3 9.0
ø Mon-Fri 19:55 News 37.4 57.0 3.5 7.9 6.3 7.8
ø Mon-Fri 17:40 The Simpsons 22.5 46.8 6.8 20.2 11.9 15.1
ø Mon 21:50 Crazy Camera 40.1 85.6 5.8 9.4 7.9 10.1
ø Thu 21:00 The most incredible... 37.2 88.5 5.4 11.6 8.6 11.0
ø Sat 20:00 Adventure CH 37.4 69.3 3.8 5.3 5.9 6.3
ø Wed 21:50 Discovery: Sex Files 42.5 71.8 4.8 6.3 6.1 6.4
Source: Telecontrol / TC2000 Reporter (D-CH)
Remo grumbles because someone has again drunk more beer and wine than he is entitled to. And things don't get much friendlier at dinner. This time it's the menu planning that pulls the corners of the "Big Brother" residents' mouths down. Actually, it is neither unusual nor particularly exciting what the viewers are presented with six times a week from the "Big Brother" house. But it's obviously very interesting, because the audience likes it. And TV 3's ratings just keep going up and up.
In August, the station was still languishing in prime time with a 2.5 percent market share among 15- to 49-year-olds. But with the start of "Big Brother," things quickly got better. Already in September, the first full month with "Big Brother," the market share jumped to 8.7 percent - more than a threefold increase over August.
But that's not all: In October, TV 3 even passed the ten percent mark for the first time, albeit only just. All in all, a quadrupled prime-time market share in just sixty days. Not bad. In any case, I don't know of any other private station that has achieved such extraordinary growth rates in such an early age.
Record figures among very young viewers
But the station was also helped by extraordinary and successful new program formats that appeared in the programming market along with the launch of TV 3. The strongest so far is the container spectacle, which brings more viewers to TV 3 than ever before. Between 250,000 and 300,000 people regularly watch the weekday and Sunday summaries, and over 350,000 people regularly watch the "Big Brother" talk show.
And particularly advantageous: It is a very young audience with whom "Big Brother" achieves record ratings. For example, the format achieves a market share of over 30 percent among 15- to 24-year-olds, as well as among 15- to 34-year-olds.
Target groups in which German private stations in particular have been strong up to now. TV-3 boss Jürg Wildberger feels vindicated by his station's recent wave of success: "Despite criticism that we were tipping programs too early, we have consistently moved towards where we want to go: Making shows for young people who are looking for something new."
But TV 3 has also been able to attract audiences with its usual formats in recent months. For example, some of the series in the early-evening slot made significant gains.
Foreign broadcasters looked down the tube
Most of these gains came at the expense of foreign stations. Among them, TV 3's ratings increase primarily picked up viewers. Once again, SF 1 was virtually unaffected, losing only half a percentage point of market share in September. SF 2 even improved strongly, but this was mainly due to the Olympics.
By contrast, hardly any of the foreign stations escaped unscathed, with the public broadcasters losing the most hair. The Austrians suffered a record loss, with ORF 1 dropping from 5.9 percent to 3.6 percent in September alone. But ARD and ZDF also both lost more than one percentage point. Only the private stations got off lightly. Sat 1, in particular, lost nothing. But RTL, RTL 2 and Pro 7 also lost only half a percentage point, hardly worth mentioning.
A development that can only be good for the Swiss TV advertising market. "Because the audience has mainly migrated from stations where we can't reach them with Swiss TV advertising: ORF, ZDF and ARD," says Optimedia boss Andy Lehmann.
No one knows the shelf life of the new successful formats
But despite optimism, one must not completely forget what TV 3's current success is based on. Virtually exclusively on the three formats "Big Brother," "Millionaire" and "Robinson. And how long these will be successful is anyone's guess. The fact that they will soon be broadcast on all available channels is unlikely to help them last.
But Wildberger is optimistic, and is again relying heavily on his previous ratings hit next year: "Big Brother" will continue after only a short break, "Millionaire" will return twice a week, and "Robinson" is about to enter its third run. However, it won't have its preferred partner ORF, which has unceremoniously canceled the format due to budget cuts.
But these are secondary problems for TV 3 at the moment. The private TV producers are currently most concerned with the question of what comes after "Big Brother. "There's a huge brainstorming session going on right now," Wildberger emphasizes, "how do we continue with these new reality formats? Do we combine them with fiction in the future?" Ideas are bubbling up at the moment, the TV boss knows. TV 3 is keeping a close eye on what's happening on the international producer markets. That's why Wildberger doesn't fear any bottlenecks in the future, especially since various interesting formats are ready for production.
But the TV 3 boss would prefer to spend even longer with "Big Brother. For example, later as a fixed weekly soap. "It's actually very similar to "Good Times, Bad Times" - except that one is a reality soap and the other a fiction soap," says Wildberger. Decisions on major new programming projects are not ready to be made at the moment, however.
Multiplatforms are booming, because success whets the appetite
But the upcoming broadcast formats will have one thing in common: the combination of television with other platforms. In this future-oriented sector, "Big Brother" has been able to develop important know-how with its Internet offering and telephone services. And, of course, it intends to continue cultivating this expertise in new program developments.
With good reason, because even the first experiences with true multiplatforms have shown remarkable success. At least in part. For example, the "Big Brother" site had been viewed more than 20 million times by the end of November alone; the broadcaster had forecast 19 million views for the entire duration of the first season. According to Wildberger, the telephone services were also very well used and, in some cases, profitable. Figures on this are not available, however.
But there are also things in the multi-platform system that work less well. The print magazine on "Big Brother," for example, which was only in low demand, is disappearing from the concept for the second season. Of all things, the element in which Tamedia demonstrates core competence? "It has been shown that the other channels are stronger for the special brand, so there is no need for a magazine," says René Gehrig, Tamedia's Head of Publishing Marketing, explaining the decision. Even the most recent issues only just managed to sell around 10,000 copies, and that only because new subscribers received all the previous issues as well.
Initial bookings for 2001 point to a fat year
Although not everything is working yet, the multi-platform area is already contributing its share financially as well. "It could already be twenty percent," Wildberger estimates. He still has to generate the large remainder from the on-air area. Here, the prospects have improved significantly after a season with strong ratings but still weak advertising. According to Wildberger, bookings for the start of 2001 are already several times higher than in previous months.
Nevertheless, TV 3 is not throwing money at the budget for next year. According to Wildberger, the station should have seventy million francs at its disposal. Exactly the same as in the first year, but now the same amount already promises significantly more impact on the revenue side as well. That's assuming the new successful formats don't run out of steam unexpectedly.
Broadcast averages3. September to November 21, 2000
Pers 3+ 15-24 years 15-49 years 15-34 years
Date Start Broadcast AgeØ R-T MA MA MA MA
ø Mon 21:00 Who wants to be a millionaire? 45.1 289.3 16.0 17.0 18.8 20.5
ø Mon-Fri 20:00 Big Brother 32.9 231.2 12.9 32.4 23.2 29.8
ø Sun 20:00 Big Brother - The Week 33.6 281.0 13.4 31.1 22.5 29.6
ø Sun 21:00 Big Brother live 35.5 358.6 18.1 34.0 25.5 32.5
ø Wed 21:00 Cinderella 38.5 81.7 4.9 7.2 7.3 9.0
ø Mon-Fri 19:55 News 37.4 57.0 3.5 7.9 6.3 7.8
ø Mon-Fri 17:40 The Simpsons 22.5 46.8 6.8 20.2 11.9 15.1
ø Mon 21:50 Crazy Camera 40.1 85.6 5.8 9.4 7.9 10.1
ø Thu 21:00 The most incredible... 37.2 88.5 5.4 11.6 8.6 11.0
ø Sat 20:00 Adventure CH 37.4 69.3 3.8 5.3 5.9 6.3
ø Wed 21:50 Discovery: Sex Files 42.5 71.8 4.8 6.3 6.1 6.4
Source: Telecontrol / TC2000 Reporter (D-CH)
