Private TV rebellion on its own
Telesuisse is "astonished" about the fee proposal of the three big companies
Telesuisse is "astonished" by the fee proposal of the three big playersBy Markus KnöpfliThe proposal by Tele 24, Tele Züri, Tele Bärn, Tele M1 and Tele Tell to fork out fees to SRG in favor of private TVs once again threatens to split the private TV scene.
What Roger Schawinski, Albert P. Stäheli and Peter Wanner cooked up last week, accompanied by self-orchestrated media bluster, went down the wrong way with Claude-Alain Stettler, president of the 18-member private TV association Telesuisse. In any case, he finds it "astonishing that we all supported the position on the revision of the Radio and Television Act (RTVA) and now three members are single-handedly taking a different stance."
However, he does not want to say more about this circumstance, because the association, which has not yet commented on the initiative of the three TV broadcasters, will discuss the topic at next week's board meeting. In any case, Stettler says, he has not been pre-informed by the three initiators.
He also denies a statement by Stäheli, delegate to the board of Berner Tagblatt Medien. He had told WerbeWoche that an internal distribution proposal had already been agreed with other broadcasters for the hoped-for fee share of CHF 100 million. "We have never discussed a distribution key. If there is a model, it is only with the three initiators," says Stettler.
Even the private radio association shakes its head
The Association of Swiss Private Radio Stations (VSP), which is chaired by Günter Heuberger, Managing Director of the St.Gallen-based Top Group, is also astonished. "By announcing that they would suspend the existing RTVG and the applicable licenses, the three private broadcasters have done a disservice to the concerns of private broadcasters in the media policy debates," writes Heuberger. If, in addition, the demands of Tele 24/Tele Züri, Tele Bärn and Tele M1/Tele Tell for fee money were considered, all television broadcasters and also the 45 radio broadcasters would have to receive fee money, he further points out.
Small organizers fear being put at a disadvantage
The fact that the demand for fee-splitting can lead to a dispute at Telesuisse is not new. Back in 1997, when Roger Schawinski called for fees for the first time, the association almost broke up because Schawinski wanted to give the money to the big broadcasters first. This fear that the small stations could be disadvantaged again is also addressed by Heuberger in his statement.
The three initiators should be less cheeky, since they are anyway "active in the large conurbations favored by the advertising industry," he writes. Moreover, they have achieved a near monopoly in the electronic media in recent years.
What Roger Schawinski, Albert P. Stäheli and Peter Wanner cooked up last week, accompanied by self-orchestrated media bluster, went down the wrong way with Claude-Alain Stettler, president of the 18-member private TV association Telesuisse. In any case, he finds it "astonishing that we all supported the position on the revision of the Radio and Television Act (RTVA) and now three members are single-handedly taking a different stance."
However, he does not want to say more about this circumstance, because the association, which has not yet commented on the initiative of the three TV broadcasters, will discuss the topic at next week's board meeting. In any case, Stettler says, he has not been pre-informed by the three initiators.
He also denies a statement by Stäheli, delegate to the board of Berner Tagblatt Medien. He had told WerbeWoche that an internal distribution proposal had already been agreed with other broadcasters for the hoped-for fee share of CHF 100 million. "We have never discussed a distribution key. If there is a model, it is only with the three initiators," says Stettler.
Even the private radio association shakes its head
The Association of Swiss Private Radio Stations (VSP), which is chaired by Günter Heuberger, Managing Director of the St.Gallen-based Top Group, is also astonished. "By announcing that they would suspend the existing RTVG and the applicable licenses, the three private broadcasters have done a disservice to the concerns of private broadcasters in the media policy debates," writes Heuberger. If, in addition, the demands of Tele 24/Tele Züri, Tele Bärn and Tele M1/Tele Tell for fee money were considered, all television broadcasters and also the 45 radio broadcasters would have to receive fee money, he further points out.
Small organizers fear being put at a disadvantage
The fact that the demand for fee-splitting can lead to a dispute at Telesuisse is not new. Back in 1997, when Roger Schawinski called for fees for the first time, the association almost broke up because Schawinski wanted to give the money to the big broadcasters first. This fear that the small stations could be disadvantaged again is also addressed by Heuberger in his statement.
The three initiators should be less cheeky, since they are anyway "active in the large conurbations favored by the advertising industry," he writes. Moreover, they have achieved a near monopoly in the electronic media in recent years.
