New Youth Station Licensed to Zürich

Michael Hedges April 1, 2005

After 18 months of proposals, counter-proposals, discussions and more discussions the Swiss government approved a license for a new radio station for young people in Zürich.

The successful applicant, DJRADIO, has operated as an Internet radio station for four years.

Founder and managing director Egon Blatter called the favorable decision by the Federal Department for Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC) for his “innovative” proposal “simply ingenious.”

Swiss regulator BAKOM recommended the DJRADIO proposal for its contrast to the two dominant commercial stations in Zürich, Radio 24 and Energy Zürich, which attract a large portion of young listeners. Energy Zürich is owned and operated by French broadcaster NRJ Groupe. Radio 24 is owned by Swiss publishing company Tamedia. BAKOM said the new station will be able to respond to the new trends of young people because it will be “by young people, for young people.” BAKOM also recommended the award because the new ownership is independent of other media groups and financed by a single independent consortium.

DETEC granted the concession December 14, 2004, including BAKOMs recommendations as specific conditions. DETEC is the parliamentary agency that licenses Swiss public services. BAKOM is the telecommunications regulator.

DETEC was swayed by DJRADIO’s association with the Institute for Applied Media at the University of Zürich at Winterthur. Students will fill the airwaves as well as take practical courses in broadcasting at the stations yet to be built facilities.

Calls for a Zürich youth-oriented radio station have been raised for several years. Only five stations are licensed to metropolitan Zürich, with a population of just over 1 million (2000). Public broadcaster Schweizer Radio (SR DRS) provides three channels on FM and one on MW specific to the Swiss German speaking cantons but not specific to Zürich. The audience for SR DRS3, nominally the public FM channel for younger people, has migrated to “young” people 30 years and older. SR DRS created another channel for even younger listeners, called Virus, in 1999. It was originally a cable-caster and now heard, as well, on DAB throughout Swiss German speaking eastern Switzerland.

One of the five, non-commercial community Radio LoRa, launched a program hosted by two teenagers called “Youth Radio” in May 2003.

During the process of selecting a licensee, the whole range of civic and political interests were voiced. Entering the debate after BAKOM asked for proposals, the Zürich city council asked that the new station emphasize education more and music less and generally preferred the DJRADIO proposal.

The Association of Swiss Private Radio (VSP – Verband Schweizer Privatradios) strongly opposed BAKOM’s decision to create a youth station in Zürich. VSP spokesperson Frederik Stucki said, “This has been, is and will continue to be a problematic issue for commercial broadcasters.”

Commercial broadcasters fear any new commercial competitor might negatively affect their revenues. Swiss radio ad revenues continue to increase, modestly, but have not recovered from the Europe-wide slump since 2001. Swiss radio ad revenue for 2003 was CHF 127m (€80m). Zürich radio ad revenue is estimated at between CHF 35-40m.

FM frequency allocations for new and existing stations has been highly contentious. BAKOM has maintained that new frequencies are not available while applicants for new stations, conducting independent technical studies, reveal otherwise. Says Stucki, “Before awarding new FM-frequencies to new competitors, additional frequencies should be granted for existing stations which still have "black-holes" in their transmission area.”

BAKOM has attempted several corrections in response private broadcasters signal coverage complaints, typically granting low-power adjacent frequencies.  Commercial broadcasters say BAKOM has allowed the public broadcaster SRG-SSR to “hoard” FM frequencies in advance of revisions of the Swiss radio and television law (RTVL) which would limit SRG-SSR to 60% of available spectrum.

Of the losing applicants for the youth station concession, one has promised to take the fight to the Upper House of the Swiss Parliament. Basel cable-broadcaster Radio 105 has long, and unsuccessfully, searched for an FM concession. Manager Giuseppe Scaglione called the decision approving the DJRADIO proposal a “scandal.”

Egon Blatter
DJRADIO Managing Director

Commercial broadcasters also suggest BAKOM proposed a “youth” station for Zürich to quiet Scaglione’s demands for an FM frequency. DETEC, in approving DJRADIO’s proposal, noted that the station would be independent, meaning without financial ties to other media companies, foreign or Swiss. Radio 105 is partly owned by an Italian company. Another losing applicant is a former employee of the German television channel VIVA. DETEC also required DJRADIO to guarantee its financial ability to operate for ten years.

The last new station licensed for the Zürich area was Radio Tropic in 1998. DJRADIO’s coverage area will be roughly the same. Blatter said the facilities should be completed and the station on the air by autumn 2005. The license is valid for five years after the proposed new radio and TV law comes into effect or 10 years, until the end of 2014. The station will be ad supported and Blatter is still negotiating for an arrangement with a Swiss media sales-house.

Previously published in Radio World International, March 2005, in a slightly different form.