Biel-based broadcaster Telebielingue defends itself against loss of license
Published: Tuesday, Jan 16th 2024, 10:00
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The Biel media group Gassmann intends to lodge an appeal with the Federal Administrative Court against the loss of the license for its regional broadcaster Telebielingue. The owners of the publishing house are prepared to take the case to the Federal Supreme Court, as they said in an interview with the in-house newspaper "Bieler Tagblatt".
Last week, the Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM) awarded a total of 13 regional television licenses for the period from 2025 to 2034. The TV project Canal B from Cortaillod NE was awarded the contract for the Biel area. Telebieligue currently holds a license for this area until the end of 2024.
The owners of the Gassmann Group, Valais entrepreneur Fredy Bayard and Bernese entrepreneur Stefan Niedermaier, said in an interview published on Tuesday that they had taken the weekend to carry out an initial analysis. They are now taking legal action and expect to have at least a 50 percent chance of winning, Niedermaier said.
"Castles in the air" built
Bakom valued castles in the air more highly than 25 years of experience of an operator, said Bayard. Telebielingue has been broadcasting from Biel since 1999. Bayard added that it was incomprehensible that Telebielingue was ranked lower than Canal B in the bilingual program award. However, the Valais native also sees mistakes in his own dossier and believes it should have been "a little more offensive".
Telebielingue will continue to operate in German and French anyway, Bayard continued. Depending on whether the group receives a license or not, television and its structure will look slightly different in the future.
In addition to Telebielingue, the Gassmann Group also owns the local radio station Canal 3, which has been awarded a new license for the next ten years. The Group also publishes the daily newspapers "Bieler Tagblatt" and "Journal du Jura" and operates the news portal ajour.ch.
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