PORTRAIT
Tamedia’s brazen resistance Swiss media companies are suffering from the decline in print media and the collapse of the advertising market. But with a successful diversification strategy, particularly with classified ad sites, the Zurich-based company stands out from the rest. BY SOPHIE GAITZSCH
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amedia is no stranger to headlines. In 2018, the front pages were filled with stories about the company on what was not its best day. Editorial boards consolidated, employees laid off, the end of the paper version of the iconic French-language daily Le Matin, strikes, the departure of the editor-in-chief of the Tribune de Genève: massive restructuring at the Zurich-based newspaper giant sparked public debate about the future, diversity and quality of the press in Switzerland. Some believe the criticism is justified and Tamedia should have shown more consideration to its journalists and the sensitivities of the country’s regions. But from a financial perspective, most observers agree that these cost reductions are a logical decision.
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Tamedia’s Paid Media segment, which includes paid newspapers such as the Tages-Anzeiger and the Tribune de Genève, is by far the company’s most important segment, but its revenue and profitability keep falling. The rise of the internet has led to a decline in newspaper readership and a dramatic drop in advertising revenue. In less than a decade, profits from advert sales in Swiss newspapers are down by 50%, falling from 2.4 billion Swiss francs in 2009 to 1.1 billion Swiss francs in 2017, according to figures from the Swiss Foundation for Advertising Statistics.
Fierce
“In this context, Tamedia is the most durable media group,” says Philippe Amez-Droz, media economist at the University of Geneva. The company’s Chairman of the Board, Pietro Supino
SWISSQUOTE MAY 2019
