Like in a good marriage
The City Pool now has to feed a member with poor Radiocontrol figures
The City Pool now has to feed a member with poor Radiocontrol figuresThe City Pool no longer fulfills its own claim to unite the largest radio stations in the cities of Berne, Basel and Lucerne. Nevertheless, it does not want to change (yet). Pool 2000 is currently benefiting from this, but whether it will still exist in its current constellation in 2002 remains to be seen.The Radiocontrol data for the second half of 2001 brought bad news to City Pool members Basilisk, Pilatus and ExtraBern (WW 3/02). Although the pool was able to gain a total of 7100 listeners, this was only in Basel and Lucerne. In Berne, on the other hand, ExtraBern not only lost 8800 listeners, it also dropped from 14th to 17th place. But that's not all: competitor BE1, previously in 19th place, gained 14,600 listeners and is now in 13th place with 90,200 listeners, which is better than ExtraBern's previous position.
"In May 2001, Förderband changed its name to BE1 at the right moment and launched a new radio station," acknowledges Marcel Geissbühler, Managing Director of ExtraBern. But ExtraBern also relaunched on November 1. "We have changed a lot. And we want to become number 1 in Bern again." ExtraBern will take further measures and develop the market, he said. But what is the USP of the pool, which no longer unites the three largest stations in the three largest German-speaking Swiss cities outside Zurich? "We are still very strong as a pool," answers Geissbühler.
Seven new members want to join Pool 2000
However, Basel and Lucerne are unwilling to comment on the new situation. Pilatus Managing Director Joachim Freiberg only denies that the city pool is shaky. Last fall, the pool members decided not to terminate or otherwise change the pool this year, which means it will remain in place until at least the end of 2003 due to the notice period, he says. The reason: they first wanted to go through two years with the new survey method. In addition, a member would not simply be dropped because of a momentary weakness. "We stick together like in a marriage - in good times and bad," says Freiberg.
BE1 Managing Director Martin Freiburghaus, who had already held talks with members of the City Pool last fall when his success began to become apparent, also received this decision. However, Freiburghaus points out that a change is not a priority for him. On the one hand, because Pool 2000 had always supported the former Radio Förderband in its weak years, and on the other hand, because the current Pool 2000 is still the largest and cheapest, despite losses at Z and BeO. In addition, BE1 would benefit from the new situation in any case: anyone wanting to occupy Bern, Basel and Lucerne would still fare better and cheaper with the Pool 2000 module Basel (Edelweiss and Regenbogen) and with the individual occupancies Pilatus and BE1 than with the city pool.
This is also confirmed by other industry insiders. The City Pool is in a difficult situation, they say, partly because the relaunch at ExtraBern has not (yet) taken effect, but also because the radio station did not want to make any price corrections.
As long as this remains the case, Martin Muerner, Head of Broadcasting at Radio BeO and
He will be a little quieter as Managing Director of Pool 2000 (Hitradio Z, Argovia, BE1, BeO, Edelweiss, Regenbogen, Sunshine, Canal 3). His pool can be terminated at the end of this year, but after that it is fixed for three years. But if the City Pool members really want to keep to themselves, Muerner at least doesn't have to worry about BE1 jumping ship.
However, the situation in Zurich is unclear. Now that Pool 2000 founder Christian Stärkle is at the helm of Radio 24, some things could change, for example to the detriment of Pool 2000 member Z, which has been left behind. An expansion of the pool could also be considered: there have been seven requests for pool membership. However, according to Muerner, this will not be discussed until the summer. Markus Knöpfli
"In May 2001, Förderband changed its name to BE1 at the right moment and launched a new radio station," acknowledges Marcel Geissbühler, Managing Director of ExtraBern. But ExtraBern also relaunched on November 1. "We have changed a lot. And we want to become number 1 in Bern again." ExtraBern will take further measures and develop the market, he said. But what is the USP of the pool, which no longer unites the three largest stations in the three largest German-speaking Swiss cities outside Zurich? "We are still very strong as a pool," answers Geissbühler.
Seven new members want to join Pool 2000
However, Basel and Lucerne are unwilling to comment on the new situation. Pilatus Managing Director Joachim Freiberg only denies that the city pool is shaky. Last fall, the pool members decided not to terminate or otherwise change the pool this year, which means it will remain in place until at least the end of 2003 due to the notice period, he says. The reason: they first wanted to go through two years with the new survey method. In addition, a member would not simply be dropped because of a momentary weakness. "We stick together like in a marriage - in good times and bad," says Freiberg.
BE1 Managing Director Martin Freiburghaus, who had already held talks with members of the City Pool last fall when his success began to become apparent, also received this decision. However, Freiburghaus points out that a change is not a priority for him. On the one hand, because Pool 2000 had always supported the former Radio Förderband in its weak years, and on the other hand, because the current Pool 2000 is still the largest and cheapest, despite losses at Z and BeO. In addition, BE1 would benefit from the new situation in any case: anyone wanting to occupy Bern, Basel and Lucerne would still fare better and cheaper with the Pool 2000 module Basel (Edelweiss and Regenbogen) and with the individual occupancies Pilatus and BE1 than with the city pool.
This is also confirmed by other industry insiders. The City Pool is in a difficult situation, they say, partly because the relaunch at ExtraBern has not (yet) taken effect, but also because the radio station did not want to make any price corrections.
As long as this remains the case, Martin Muerner, Head of Broadcasting at Radio BeO and
He will be a little quieter as Managing Director of Pool 2000 (Hitradio Z, Argovia, BE1, BeO, Edelweiss, Regenbogen, Sunshine, Canal 3). His pool can be terminated at the end of this year, but after that it is fixed for three years. But if the City Pool members really want to keep to themselves, Muerner at least doesn't have to worry about BE1 jumping ship.
However, the situation in Zurich is unclear. Now that Pool 2000 founder Christian Stärkle is at the helm of Radio 24, some things could change, for example to the detriment of Pool 2000 member Z, which has been left behind. An expansion of the pool could also be considered: there have been seven requests for pool membership. However, according to Muerner, this will not be discussed until the summer. Markus Knöpfli
