SRF is showing movie advertising again and is breaking a promise

SRF returns to show advertising in movies and series and therefore breaks a promise

stefan ehrbar / ch media

To differentiate itself from private television networks, the SRG promised after the “No Billag” vote that it would refrain from making commercial breaks. This promise had a short half-life.

Sunday was that moment again: Swiss television broadcast the Christmas classic “Love Actually”. But in the midst of the romance, the station decided to cut him off with some commercials. This is no exception: “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” on RTS deux or “Every Year Again” on SRF two have also been interrupted with advertising in recent days. With this, the SRG is breaking a promise.

After the No-Billag initiative was rejected at the polls, SRG CEO Gilles Marchand announced in September 2018 that he would no longer interrupt ad-supported movies and series. The SRG wants “to differentiate itself even more strongly from the television offerings of private stations in the future.” Marchand responded to allegations in the voting campaign that the SRG had sided with very private offers.

“Voluntary resignation canceled”

As of January 1, 2019, SRG implemented this promise. But now she has quietly said goodbye. On September 1 he reintroduced so-called interruption advertising on linear television shows. This is the first time that fee-funded broadcasters can enjoy ad-free enjoyment of movies and series.

SRG spokesperson Edi Estermann confirms the information. “The SRG has canceled the voluntary waiver of the interruption of films and series in prime time,” he says. “Since September we have been interrupting films and series with a duration of at least 90 minutes in prime time and without limiting ourselves to individual channels.” Swiss films are excluded. There’s also no commercial break “where it doesn’t fit from the show’s perspective.”

The SRG has to save

The law allows the SRG to interrupt programs lasting at least 90 minutes on all channels between 6 pm and 11 pm with advertising. The SRG canceled the exemption for financial reasons. “In SRG’s current financial situation, it is no longer sustainable,” says Estermann. The SRG is currently implementing a savings program worth 150 million francs. Additionally, advertising revenue fell due to increasing usage fragmentation and changes in usage behavior. For example, many users skip commercials on TV replay.

According to Estermann, there are also effects of the crisis of the crown and the transformation measures of the SRG. All of this no longer allows you to “voluntarily give up income.” SRG expects the exemption and the additional ad space to generate revenue of more than 5 million francs a year.

Private have no restrictions

The SRG can still meet the targets that were formulated in 2018 when there was no disruption in advertising. Private commercial broadcasters have no restrictions on commercial breaks, says Estermann. The SRG, on the other hand, can only schedule one commercial for each longer show, and it is generally shorter.

In fact, private TV channels like RTL or Sat.1 are in a different league when it comes to the number of commercials. Here, for example, is an analysis of the final show of “The Voice of Germany”, which aired on Saturday 1 Sunday night. A Twitter user started the timer. Of the total 242 minutes that the program lasted, more than an hour was full of advertising. Seven advertising blocks were played for the spectators who wanted to see live how the Swiss Paula dalla Corte won.

According to figures from the Swiss Foundation for Advertising Statistics, 704 million Swiss francs were delivered with television advertising last year. This corresponds to a decrease of 8.1 percent compared to the previous year. Last year, SRG posted business revenue of CHF 267 million, more than CHF 20 million less than the previous year. The rest of the television advertising is intended for the stations of private media companies such as CH Media con 3+ or TV24, to which this medium also belongs. Foreign players such as the RTL media group or the Pro7Sat1 group also maintain their own advertising windows for Switzerland.

The crisis in the crown has again accelerated the negative development of television advertising. At the end of September, for example, the SRG announced that this year it would take 65 million less in advertising and sponsorship than last year, which would further increase the pressure to save.

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