domenica 28 giugno 2009

SRG will close down 765 kHz, too

SRG, Switzerland's public broadcaster, will close down also its last remaining mediumwave outlet on 765 kHz as of 2011.
 
Abandoning mediumwave is part of a program of cost-saving measures, approved by SRG's administrational council on 22 June. Under this program there will also be no increases of salaries for SRG staff members in 2010. Real estates not directly needed for programming purposes will be sold, others will not see any further investments, besides necessary repairs. The budgets for promoting HDTV and DAB will be decreased.
 
This program results from an expected increase of SRG's debts from 200 millions CHF to 790 millions CHF in 2014. It does not solve SRG's financial problems but still leaves a deficit of 40 millions CHF per year. This could be eased by increasing the incomes, here SRG suggests not only to raise the licence fees but also to remove certain limits for advertisements, especially the bans to put them on their online services and to disrupt TV shows for spots. Swissinfo (the remains of Swiss Radio International) will be "optimized", which could possibly mean that it will be eliminated as unit on its own and the website be produced by SRG's existing Bern (German) or Geneve (Rumanian) studios.
 
As other way to solve the financial problems SRG already suggests other possible cost saving measures. This scenario includes closing down DRS Virus and World Radio Switzerland, cutting costs at the Italian radio stations, limiting the HDTV output and abandoning the Euronews project. A next step, if this is not enough, would be closing down also one of the Italian radios, Option Musique and DRS Musikwelle, cancelling all HDTV activities and leaving the 3sat (together with Germany's ZDF and Austria's ORF) as well as TV5 (together with France, Belgium's RTBF and Canada's CBC) networks.
 
 
 
 
(Kai Ludwig via dxld ml)