Tamedia in the year 2010
As of 11 January, search.ch provides its own iPone app with a wide range of amenities. Users find names, telephone numbers and addresses of companies as well as private persons in the directories application. Nearby public transportation stops are displayed with current departure times, and detailed weather forecast is available for over 3’000 cities and villages throughout Switzerland as well. The app is available in German, French, Italian and English.
search.ch started its new price and product comparison service on 18 January. product.search.ch offers its users an overview of consumer electronics and IT products and their prices at any time of the day. Information about a specific product is provided by some 1’300 retailers and distributors, including prices and sales conditions, and can be compared accordingly. User have also access to detailed product information, test reports and specification sheets.
TeleZüri is receivable in the greater Lucerne area as of 26 January. The Cablecom cable network, together with affiliated partner networks, allow now broadcasting to some 107’500 households in the area.
20 minutes was published on 8 March 2006 for the first time. 28 September 2009, the commuter newspaper was merged with Le Matin bleu of Edipresse, and the merged editorial team worked on a new layout and editorial concept which was presented to the public in November 2009. Readership of 20 minutes was going up from 276’000 to 526’000 within just four years. Some 68,5 jobs are provided within the print and online editorial teams. On 23 February, 20 minutes celebrates its 1000th edition.
TeleBärn celebrates its 15th anniversary on 1 March. To commemorate this jubilee, the second largest private television station in Switzerland looks back in history, and behind the scenes of present time daily radio broadcasting. The new programming director, Patrik Teuscher, will have his first working day at TeleBärn the same day.
The Board of Directors of Tamedia appoints on 2 March Martin Spieler to become new Editor-in-Chief of SonntagsZeitung. The present Editor-in-Chief of Handelszeitung and TV moderator will take over his new duty succeeding Andreas Durisch in the course of this summer.
TeleZüri announces on 2 March that the show Swissdate will be discontinued by mid July because of increasing difficulties to find candidates for the show. A further reason was constantly decreasing viewer figures.
Tamedia announces on 2 March that Dominique von Albertini, publishing manager of 20 Minuten Friday, decided to leave the company by May. Annina Flückiger, presently marketing manager of 20 Minuten, will take over his duty by the beginning of June.
It is announced on 4 March that Berner Bär will be published weekly, instead of twice weekly, as of Summer 2010, being distributed each Tuesday in a optimized circulation of 100’000 copies. At the same time, a new layout will be presented to the public.
The new four bundles concept of Tages-Anzeiger enables a quicker print flow during night. Tamedia announces therefore on 10 March that the organisation and work flow within the printing facility Bubenberg will be adjusted accordingly, and 14 job positions cut. The Tages-Anzeiger social plan applies. By these job cutting measures, all internal work flow adjustments due to the new four bundle concept are completed.
Ursula Fraefel, Editor-in-Chief of the Thurgauer Zeitung, leaves the newspapers by the end of March to become head of communications and member of the executive management of Economiesuisse. Peter Hartmeier, being publisher of Huber & Co. AG, will take over the lead of the editorial team as well.
By 1 April, Freiburger Nachrichten AG takes over the local newspapers Der Murtenbieter and Anzeiger von Kerzers. All staff members of the editorial and the sales teams are offered further employment, the business locations in Kerzers and Murten will remain as well.
Tamedia shows a significant decrease in turnover in 2009 as a consequence of the economic crisis. The decrease is almost entirely a result of the lower advertising income. Thanks to the positive development of the magazines and the online media, and various cost reduction measures, Tamedia achieved a satisfactory result in the past year. The reported net profit for 2009 of CHF 46.7 million is 55.8 per cent or CHF 59.1 million below that of the previous year of CHF 105.7 million.
NZZ-Mediengruppe, Zürichsee Medien AG and Tamedia announce on 15 April that Thurgauer Zeitung is being transferred from Tamedia to FPH Freie Presse Holding AG, a subsidiary of NZZ-Mediengruppe. Thurgauer Zeitung will extend St. Galler Tagblatt’s newspaper group. For the canton of Thurgau, this cooperation will result in a strong voice on an economically sustainable basis. At the same time, Tamedia takes over the stakes in the Zurich regional papers Zürcher Unterländer, Zürichsee Zeitung und Zürcher Oberländer from FPH Freie Presse Holding. The Gut Family of publishers is selling its majority stake in Zürichsee Zeitung to Tamedia. Tamedia wants to continue Zürcher Landzeitungen as independent regional newspapers.
Edipresse Switzerland and Tamedia finalised the first step in their merger road map. As of 23 April, Tamedia holds 49.9 per cent of Presse Publications S.A. (PPSR), which itself incorporates all major media activities of Edipresse within Switzerland. Furthermore, the two companies initiated an integration committee with representatives from both sides. Already 64 integration projects have yet been identified, they are on the agenda for the upcoming months and years.
At the occasion of a festive ceremony at the Zurich Opera House on 24 April, Schweizer Familie and Unicef Switzerland honour a large number of children, schools, and families. Within the Sternenwoche project, they participated in fundraising money for development projects in Mauretania, Africa.
The Swiss sports channel Schweizer Sportfernsehen SSF and TeleZüri announced a comprehensive co-operation agreement on 5 May. The sports channel will transfer the editorial office, broadcasting operations and studio productions to the TeleZüri facilities, and is about to broadcast from the Heinrichstrasse location already in August. The units studio productions, talk, outside productions, and technical infrastructure will be operated by TeleZüri to a large extend as well.
The Basler Zeitung Medien, Espace Media and Tamedia announce on 1 Juni that the three firms agreed on continuing their partnership. The three media companies co-operate within their joint sales organisation Metropool, as well as the internet news platform Newsnetz. Furthermore the three publish together the weekly magazine Das Magazin, and they offer a joint Basler Zeitung and SonntagsZeitung subscription combo.
The Board of Directors, the Management Board and editorial and sales staff members came together on 22 June to bid farewell to Andreas Durisch. After twenty years of working with Tamedia, he left the company. He was editor-in-chief of Schweizer Familie from 1993 until 1997. That same year he was appointed editor-in-chief of SonntagsZeitung, and he headed the weekly news magazine Facts as editor-in-chief from November 2005 until June 2007 as well.
Tamedia announces on 7 June that the Board of Directors appointed Olaf Kuhlmann editor-in-chief of Automobil Revue as well as Revue Automobile in French. He still works with German Bauer-Verlag as executive editor of Auto Zeitung, but is planned to take over his new position not later than January 2011.
Radio 24 further strengthened its market position as number 1 in the Greater Zurich Area in the first half year of 2010, and has even more listener as the stately owned radio channel DRS3. Also within the target group of the 15 to 49 years old – specially interesting for the advertising industry – Radio 24 is again holding the leading position. On 19 July, Radio 24 announces as well that it is further enhancing its program features with the help of the musical director of American singer Pink, Paul Mirkovich.
Der Landbote, the regional split editions of Tages-Anzeiger, Zürcher Unterländer, as well as Zürichsee-Zeitung announce on 21 July to handle sales activities on their own as of 2011. The respective contracts with Publicitas will expire by the end of the year. The four regional newspapers will establish a joint sales organisation in which Zürcher Oberländer will participate for its national sales activities as well.