Sunday paper with explosive potential

So far, only advertising customers have found out about this: The new Ostschweiz am Sonntag (OaS), which launches on March 3 with a circulation of around 100,000 copies, will be delivered not only to subscribers of the St. Galler Tagblatt (SGT), but also to those of the Werdenberger & Obertoggenburger (W&O) and the Rheintalische Volkszeitung (RVZ) - and that's another 13,700 potentially interested parties. All three publishers confirmed this on request. The fact that the two local daily newspapers from Buchs Medien and Rheintal Verlag AG are getting involved with OaS on Sundays is remarkable, given that on weekdays they are already closely allied with Südostschweiz (SOCH) from publisher president Hanspeter Lebrument: both are part of the SOCH advertising network, W&O also takes over editorial SOCH pages, and both each hold a stake in Südostschweiz Partner AG, the joint printing center in Haag.

Although W&O and RVZ are tied to Chur on weekdays, the Sunday shift to St. Gallen is nothing unusual in itself. "We were already dancing on two high tides," admits Max Müller, Managing Director of Buchs Medien. For example, the W&O takes over the supra-regional cover section of the SOCH and at the same time maintains a lively exchange of articles with the SGT in the regional section. The situation is similar at RVZ, as publishing director René Wuffli explains: The one-page newspaper receives advertisements from the SOCH advertising combination, but is otherwise editorially and advertising-wise identical with the regional section of the "Rheintaler", which, like RVZ, is published by Rheintal Verlag AG, but is integrated into the SGT header paper system.

Südostschweiz: Termination date approaching

However, the fact that the two newspapers are now leaning more closely on the SCT and its Sunday edition makes one sit up and take notice. Lebrument's media association is approaching an important termination date: The SOCH contract can be terminated by June 30 at the end of 2013 (but not the contract with the printing center, which lasts longer). Intensive negotiations are therefore underway behind the scenes among the twelve SOCH partners. Lebrument is naturally endeavoring to continue the existing alliance. However, it seems doubtful whether he will succeed in doing so to the same extent as before: the fact that RVZ and W&O have opted for the OaS on Sundays suggests that they will also join the SCT system on weekdays. All the more so because the W&O belongs to 57 % of the St. Galler Tagblatt AG and thus to the NZZ Group. Lebrument is also aware of this. What's more: "It is already certain that the W&O will leave the SOCH group and switch to the SGT system on January 1, 2014," he says. "And this step is also possible at RVZ." To be sure, he would find that regrettable. "But I'm not losing any sleep over it," he says.

Vague answers from the Rhine Valley and Zurich

RVZ publishing director Wuffli, on the other hand, does not want the move to OaS to be understood as a signal that he will say goodbye to the weekday SOCH network. The decisive factor is where RVZ profits more commercially. He is currently in talks with SGT and SOCH about this and is making the corresponding calculations, he says. The W&O and the NZZ, on the other hand, have been put off until later: whether the cooperation of the W&O will be continued as an affiliated SOCH partner "will be communicated in due course," says Müller. The answer from Zurich was similarly noncommittal. But regardless of whether OaS will break up the SOCH alliance or not - why does a small newspaper like the W&O care about the Sunday market at all? "Sunday has become an important reading day, so it's a matter of already occupying a place in this market with a well-made newspaper," says Müller. The managing director of Buchs Medien then also points to Liewo, a free Sunday paper from Liechtensteiner Vaterland, which has been distributed to all households in Liechtenstein and the W&O region for years. "In terms of content, Liewo leaves a lot to be desired, but in the advertising market it is definitely a competitor," he says. An explosive fact: Liechtensteiner Vaterland is also part of Südostschweiz-Verbund on weekdays.

No need for a separate Sunday editorial office thanks to OaS

But if Müller wants to mark a presence on Sundays, why didn't he do this earlier together with Südostschweiz am Sonntag (SOSo)? "Because until recently there was no Sunday early delivery in our area - and setting one up would have been too expensive," he says. That changed only a year ago, he says, when the W&O had to introduce weekday early delivery because of Swiss Post's service cutbacks. "An expansion to seven days is now easier for the W&O to manage," Müller explains. As an aside, he hired Liechtenstein Post for the early delivery. And why does he prefer the OaS to the SOSo? Müller cites three reasons: First, the geographical and political proximity to the paper from St. Gallen, and thus its content. In addition, the OaS is a newspaper for the whole of eastern Switzerland - without regional splits. This saves the W&O from having to set up its own Sunday editorial department. The situation is different with SOSo and its successor product "Schweiz am Sonntag": Here, a separate local editorial office would be compulsory in terms of the concept. And thirdly, Müller points out "that the St. Galler Tagblatt AG calls the shots for us.

Markus Knöpfli