Three established regional and local broadcasters lose their license
Published: Thursday, Jan 11th 2024, 15:10
Updated At: Thursday, Jan 11th 2024, 15:11
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Three established local or regional television stations are losing their license. They will no longer receive any money from the federal government from 2025. This affects Radio Südostschweiz in Graubünden, Telebielingue in the Biel area and Radio Cité in Geneva.
On Thursday, the Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM) awarded a total of 38 licences for local radio stations and regional television for the period from 2025 to 2034. This was preceded by a complex procedure. A total of 51 broadcasters had applied for the licenses. There was competition in eleven areas.
Speaking to the media in Bern, Bakom Director Bernard Maissen spoke of an "impressive number of applicants". This shows that the regional public service works. All applications had met the quality criteria.
Close decision in favor of Schawinski
Probably the most important finding is that three existing license holders will not receive a new license. In the Graubünden-Glarus-St. Galler Oberland broadcasting area, publisher Silvio Lebrument's Radio Südostschweiz will be affected.
Instead, a group led by media entrepreneur Roger Schawinski wants to set up a radio station in south-eastern Switzerland under the name Radio Alpin. Schawinski is thus cracking the "de facto media monopoly" of the Südostschweiz Group in the region, which he criticizes. At the beginning of the 2010s, he had failed in his attempt to do so, although he did succeed in taking his case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg.
In this case, Maissen spoke of a "close decision" in favor of the new application. Radio Alpin, for example, was more convincing than Radio Südostschweiz in fulfilling the information mandate in the dossier.
Legal cases not excluded
Canal Alpha, based in Cortaillod NE, has been awarded the regional TV license in the Biel area under the name Canal B. This license was previously held by Telebielingue of the Groupe Gassmann publishing house. According to earlier information, Canal B intends to produce a bilingual program. Canal Alpha already operates a TV station in the Jura Arc region.
In Geneva, Radio Vostok has been granted a new license, while Radio Cité has lost it. Maissen noted that Radio Vostok's dossier, for example, contained "a broader understanding of complementarity".
Providers who lose their license can continue to broadcast, but will no longer receive any money from the federal government. In many cases, this threatens the existence of the broadcasters.
Appeals against the decisions of OFCOM can be lodged with the Federal Administrative Court within thirty days in cases of competition. If the court does not reach a final decision by the end of 2024, the Confederation will grant transitional licenses.
Lebrument has already announced in a press release that he will take legal action against the decision in favor of Schawinski's Radio Alpin. Biel is also disappointed about the withdrawal of the license for Telebielingue and is considering legal action.
Tele Bärn remains top dog
In several areas, there was more than one application for a license. According to the legislation, preference must be given to the one that most enriches the diversity of opinions and offerings.
In the Bern area, publisher Peter Wanner's Tele Bärn retains its license. The established provider prevailed against Telebasel and the publisher of the free newspaper "Bernerbär".
For the coverage area in the cantons of Zurich, Schaffhausen and Thurgau, the previous license holder Tele Top can count on fee money. The Tele Züri dossier fared better. However, because Wanner already has a TV license in two other regions, Tele Top retained the upper hand.
New providers of local radio stations and regional television stations were also unsuccessful in winning licenses from the local heroes in other areas.
Performance mandate for broadcasters
From 2025, licensed broadcasters will have to fulfill a regional public service mandate and will receive a share of the revenue from the radio and television licence fee in return. According to the performance mandate, they must provide the public with comprehensive regional information.
For commercial television stations, for example, this means that they must broadcast at least 150 minutes of "relevant regional information" per week during prime time. At the same time, they are obliged to offer ten minutes of "relevant regional information in news programs" during prime time on weekdays.
Complementary, non-profit radio stations in conurbations have a mandate to take particular account of the linguistic and cultural minorities in their broadcasting area. In return, they receive a right of access: operators of DAB+ platforms and cable networks must broadcast their programs.
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