CH Media

CH Media Holding AG
legal form	Corporation
founding	1st October 2018
Seat	Aarau , Switzerland
management	Peter Wanner (Chairman of the Board of Directors) Axel Wüstmann ( CEO )
Number of employees	over 2000
sales	approx. 450 million francs
Branch	media
Website	www.chmedia.ch

CH Media is a Swiss media company that was founded in 2018 as a joint venture between the NZZ media group and AZ Medien . With around 2000 employees, it is expected to generate sales of almost CHF 500 million. According to the top management of the partner companies involved, job cuts should be achieved through natural departures and layoffs.

history

On December 7, 2017, AZ Medien and the NZZ-Mediengruppe announced the establishment of the joint venture, which is owned equally by both groups. The two media companies brought their regional newspapers and the associated online portals as well as their radio and TV stations into the new company CH Media . AZ Medien magazines were also introduced into the network . The NZZ media group contributed its entire regional media business. The printing companies such as Mittelland Zeitungsdruck , NZZ Media Services (formerly LZ Print and Tagblatt Print) and Vogt-Schild as well as all employees and executives of the mentioned areas of both media groups were transferred to the new company. The NZZ Medien and Business Medien divisions of the NZZ media group are not part of the merger, including the Neue Zürcher Zeitung and the NZZ am Sonntag .

AZ Medien has the option to acquire the majority of CH Media after ten years . For its part, the NZZ media group has the option of selling its stake to AZ Medien under certain conditions.

The merger was approved by the Competition Commission on August 16, 2018. Operations started on October 1, 2018.

Until 2020 200 points are removed . The planned newspaper cover will be produced in Aarau, TV and radio in Zurich.

Since January 2019, the company Audienzz , which is 15% owned by Admeira , has been responsible for the exclusive marketing of all digital products from CH Media.

media

The reach of all media in the joint venture is over 2 million people.

Newspapers

The following parts of this section seem since July 2019 out of date to be : Telebasel: Basler "CH Media» -Newspapers appear together.
Please help to research and insert the missing information .

CH Media publishes six regional newspapers from AZ Medien and two from the NZZ media group. Including their headers, there are around 20 paid newspapers in 15 German-speaking cantons with a circulation of almost 370,000 copies and a reach of around 1 million readers:

• az Aargauer Zeitung Aarau (with editions for Brugg , Freiamt and Fricktal as well as remote edition)
  • az Badener Tagblatt
  • az Limmattaler Zeitung
• az Solothurn Newspaper
• az Grenchner Tagblatt
• ot Oltner Tagblatt
• bz Basellandschaftliche Zeitung
• bz Basel

(These newspapers and regional editions, together with the cooperation partner Zofinger Tagblatt the az Northwestern Switzerland and appear as printed newspapers and online.)

• Luzerner Zeitung , until June 2019 with Central Switzerland on Sunday
  • Zug newspaper
  • Nidwalden newspaper
  • Obwalden newspaper
  • Uri newspaper
• St. Galler Tagblatt , with issues for the regions of St. Gallen and Gossau and for the Rorschach region ; until June 2019 with Eastern Switzerland on Sunday
  • Thurgau newspaper
  • Toggenburger Tagblatt
  • Appenzeller newspaper
  • Wiler newspaper
  • Werdenberger & Obertoggenburger
• Switzerland at the weekend : The Sunday newspaper launched in 2007, which was published from 2013 to 2017 together with Südostschweiz Medien with eight regional editions under the title Schweiz am Sonntag , was replaced from February 2017 by the Saturday newspaper Switzerland on the weekend . This cover part has also been used by the St. Galler Tagblatt and the Luzerner Zeitung since July 2019 as a replacement for their discontinued Sunday newspapers Ostschweiz on Sunday and Central Switzerland on Sunday .

TV

• Tele M1
• Tele Bear
• TeleZüri
• TV24
• TV25
• S1
• Tele 1
• TVO - TV in Eastern Switzerland
• Belcom AG (marketing company)

According to Article 4 (3) of the Federal Act on Radio and Television (RTVG), a company can acquire a maximum of two television licenses and two radio licenses. This affects the licensed broadcasters Tele M1 and Tele Bärn (previously AZ Medien) as well as Tele 1 and TVO (previously NZZ media group). In order not to violate this “2 + 2 rule”, the companies holding the licenses remain with AZ Medien or the NZZ media group for the time being. The “2 + 2 rule” is to be repealed as quickly as possible, according to the will of Parliament and the Federal Council.

As part of the strategic expansion of TV and moving image activities, CH Media will participate as majority shareholder in the Impuls Media Group (IMG), which is active in the film marketing business, from 2019.

In addition, CH Media took over the 3+ group in October 2019 . As of November 1, 2020, Nik Hartmann , together with Miriam Martino, will co-direct TV National's own productions.

radio

• Radio Argovia
• Radio 24
• Radio FM1
• Radio Pilate
• Radio Melody
• Virgin Radio Hits Switzerland
• Virgin Radio Rock Switzerland

On July 1, 2018, AZ Medien and the NZZ Mediengruppe returned the licenses of their four radio stations Radio Argovia and Radio 24 (AZ Medien) as well as Radio FM1 and Radio Pilatus (NZZ Mediengruppe), which means that they will be transferred to CH Media made possible.

On-line

All online portals of the newspapers concerned have also been integrated into the new company. The online newspaper Watson is an exception ; As a start-up company, this still needs entrepreneurial freedom, but later involvement is conceivable. In addition, around a dozen websites belong to this area. u. a. for job and apartment searches.

Other media

CH Media published a dozen indicators and weekly newspapers such as the Stadt Anzeiger Olten and around 20 special-interest and trade magazines including Annemarie Wild iron cooking and the Swiss music newspaper .

guide

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of CH Media is the President of AZ Medien, Peter Wanner (Vice-President Jörg Schnyder, Chief Financial Officer of the NZZ Media Group), the position of CEO is occupied by the CEO of AZ Medien, Axel Wüstmann (Deputy Jürg Weber, Head of the NZZ Regional Media ), and journalistic director and thus head of the eight involved editors-in-chief - including as primus inter pares the editor-in-chief of Aargauer Zeitung and Switzerland at the weekend Patrik Müller - the journalistic director of the NZZ regional media, Pascal Hollenstein.

partner

Still unclear is the role of external partners, so the currently on the shell of St. Galler Tagblatt involved The Rheintaler / Rheintalische Volkszeitung of galledia Group AG for the region Rhine Valley , the most mantle of AZ Medien, az Northwestern Switzerland , involved Zofinger Tagblatt and the jacket of the Luzerner Zeitung involved messengers from Urschweiz . The merger may also affect Somedia , whose daily newspaper Südostschweiz has been working closely with the Aargauer Zeitung in the supraregional part for years . Somedia must first analyze the new situation and clarify a lot, said the then CEO Andrea Masüger.

reception

It is controversial whether the merger would lead to a strengthening of the alleged “uniformity” in the Swiss media or, thanks to a powerful editorial staff that has the time and the financial means to inquire and research, on the contrary (Pascal Hollenstein at the Media conference). In reality, alliances strengthened critical journalism ( Kurt W. Zimmermann ).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Jürg Krebs: AZ Medien and NZZ declare their media wedding: "We write history, media history". In: Aargauer Zeitung . December 7, 2017 ( video on YouTube ).
2. ↑ ^{a b} Medienhaus CH Media is cutting 200 jobs. In: srf.ch. November 15, 2018, accessed November 16, 2018 . 
3. ↑ ^{a b c} Our brands. CH Media.
4. ↑ AZ Medien and NZZ-Mediengruppe found a joint media company. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . 7th December 2017.
5. ↑ Weko gives NZZ / AZ the green light. In: persoenlich.com . August 16, 2018.
6. ↑ New media company has started. In: persoenlich.com. 1st October 2018.
7. ↑ CH Media produces newspaper cover in Aarau - TV & radio go to Zurich. In: Medienwoche. December 11, 2018.
8. ↑ Admeira buys part of the NZZ marketing company Audienzz. In: nzz.ch . November 22, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2018 . 
9. ↑ CH Media and Audienzz expand strategic partnership. In: chmedia.ch. November 19, 2018, accessed December 3, 2018 . 
10. ↑ Are you mainly saving now? And five more questions for CEO Axel Wüstmann. In: Aargauer Zeitung. 7th December 2017.
11. ↑ AZ Medien replace “Switzerland on Sunday” with “Switzerland on weekends” . In: Aargauer Zeitung. 19th December 2016
12. ↑ Art. 44 RTVA.
13. ↑ The "2 + 2 rule" is to be repealed. In: persoenlich.com. April 15, 2017.
14. ^ CH Media. Majority acquired in Impuls Media Group. In: persoenlich.com. December 10, 2018.
15. ↑ Michèle Widmer: TV takeover: CH Media buys the 3+ group. In: persoenlich.com . October 18, 2019, accessed October 19, 2019 . 
16. ↑ SRF: Nik Hartmann changes to CH Media . In: persoenlich.com , April 2, 2020, accessed April 4, 2020.
17. ↑ AZ Medien launch “Virgin Radio Switzerland”. AZ media. November 6, 2017.
18. ↑ Christian Beck: Other radios forego the license. In: persoenlich.com. June 26, 2018.
19. ↑ AZ Medien and NZZ-Mediengruppe merge their regional titles. In: advertising week . 7th December 2017.
20. ↑ Christian Müller : One step closer to the Swiss media stew. In: Infosperber December 9, 2017.
21. ↑ Pascal Hollenstein: CH Media becomes one of the largest Swiss media houses - thoughts of the journalistic director. In: Aargauer Zeitung. August 16, 2018.
22. ↑ Kurt W. Zimmermann : The battle of the porridges. In: Weltwoche . August 30, 2017.