Schweizer Fernsehen

Swiss Television ( SF) was the public television of the German and the Romansch Switzerland. Swiss Television merged on 1 January 2011 with the Swiss Radio DRS for new companies Swiss Radio and Television ( SRF). On 16 December 2012, the SF brand was replaced by SRF on television.

SF was a business unit of SRG SSR ( Swiss Radio and Television Company ). By 1993, the program was called DRS TV or advertised Television of the German and Romansh-speaking Switzerland, then to 2005 SF DRS ( Swiss Television of the German and Romansh-speaking Switzerland ). In the population we often spoke simply of " The Swiss " ( dialect ) or the " SF " ( official abbreviation for Swiss television).

On 1 January 2011 Swiss television went (SF ) and Swiss Radio DRS in the merged entity Swiss Radio and Television ( SRF) on. On 16 December 2012, the Swiss Television and Swiss Radio DRS have also merged brand technically together.

Officially the Swiss television was a private company ( SRG represents a private-law association ), but had in the context of public service by a special concession of the Bundesrat the character of a public institution.

The company operated last three television program channels: SF 1 (2011: 20.6 % market share), SF two ( 6.5%) and SF info. RTL is with 7.3% market share in the second place.

The studios were located on Swiss television since the 1970s in the area at the Leutschenbach in the north of Zurich. The term " Leutschenbach " was used by the German Swiss often metonymic for the company.

History

After there had been in 1939 the first public television test demonstrations at the State Fair in 1939, sent the SRG from 1953 to five nights a week around a one-hour program as a kind of television trial operation from the studio Bellerive in Zurich's Seefeld district.

1963 was the first broadcast of Romansh television program. 1964 launched television advertising. 1968, color television was launched.

From the beginning the design of the TV program was often criticized. The criticism reached at the beginning of the 1970s, a climax, as members of the Swiss Television and Radio Association to the Bernese historian and politician Walther Hofer against the " political leaning to the left " of the reporting fought.

1974 was first aired the consumer magazine Kassensturz.

In 1984, the operated with the German ZDF and ORF Austrian culture channel 3sat broadcast. In the same year also launched the Swiss Teletext. 1990 was the start of " Program Scheme 90 ."

In 1997, the station went on the air SF2. In 1999 started SFi ( SFinfo ) in the Zurich area, since 2001, the station is broadcast throughout German Switzerland. 1998 there was a fraud in the program "risk": A candidate tricked 95,000 francs, as he already knew the questions to be answered.

End of January 2003 was launched in the Engadine DVB - T test operating, followed by the Ticino and the Lake Geneva region. In mid-May 2005, the production of PAL plus transmissions was discontinued. SF DRS received the new name SF Swiss television on 5 December 2005. The transmitter is now called SF2 SF two. The news broadcasts daily news and 10vor10 received a new decor. The program Meteo weather, the talk show The club as well as the information magazine Rundschau followed by the summer of 2006.

Since the summer of 2006 sporting events only in 16:9. Since 1 December 2007, the recorded programs in 16:9 anamorphic be fully broadcast in 16:9 and no longer converted to 4:3 letterbox. In October 2007, the structure of the DVB -T network in Switzerland was completed.

Since December 2007, the SRG SSR (SF, TSR, RSI) sent the HDTV program HD suisse. HD suisse has been sent in the format 720p50 and showed exclusively broadcasting in native HD ( movies, sports, opera, etc.). The program was broadcast via the Eutelsat Hot Bird 8 satellite news and could also be received on the cable network of Cablecom, Swisscom also on TV.

Since February 29, 2012 1 SRF and SRF are two broadcast in HDTV mode. The Community transmitter HD Suisse was thus superfluous and set on 31 January 2012.

Programs

Own transmitter

Swiss Television operated three television stations:

• SF 1
• SF zwei (formerly SF 2, Switzerland 4, SPlus )
• SF info (formerly SFinfo, in short: SFi )

PresseTV has its own broadcasting license for two programs on SF and SF info. The Radio and Television Rumantscha (RTR) currently broadcasts in Romansh as Telesguard ( evening news ), Cuntrasts and Istorgia from there buna notg ( bedtime story ) about SRF 1.

Cooperations

SF ran together with ARD, ZDF and ORF TV program 3sat. In the news and entertainment area SF worked closely with ARD and ZDF. SF also provided individual programs for the Franco-German cultural program ARTE.

SF participated in several Euro Visions program, especially in popular music: SF produced with ARD and ORF Musikantenstadl and the Open Air Wenn die Musi spielt; also Aiderbichl, A heart for animals and Christmas on Aiderbichl were co-productions. At the Grand Prix of folk music next to SF, ZDF and ORF also served the South Tyrolean Rai Sender Bozen with as a producer. 2012 SF got out of the hitherto produced in cooperation with ZDF and ORF TV show Wetten, dass. from. From the unsolved since 1968 with ZDF and ORF cooperative search consignment reference number XY rose ORF 2002, SF 2003.

Regular or important shows and magazines

Former shipments

• Al dente, cooking show ( with Sven Epiney )
• Benissimo, entertainment program ( with Beni Thurnheer )
• Deal or No Deal game show
• Tobias, sitcom
• Fascht e family, sitcom
• Hits a ' go go
• Carousel, Eve Magazine
• Konsum.tv
• Life live, weekly society magazine
• Lüthi und Blanc, soap about a dynasty of Swiss Chocolate Manufacturers
• Human engineering science, science magazine
• Cross ( SF), Info Magazine
• The playhouse, children's magazine
• Day and night, doctors Soap
• Cineman, entertainment show
• Time Out, sports broadcast
• Done Funny, sitcom
• Man rooms, sitcom

Online deals

• Extensive news platform of the daily news
• Numerous sports news
• Productions and partly also purchased productions as video-on -demand in the SRF- Video Portal
• Video podcasts to numerous programs
• Extensive television program that shows not only the program of SRF, but also the many other German-speaking TV channel

Quasi- monopoly and criticism

The SRG is an institution with a complex structure. It finances its radio and television programs primarily from license fees, which are collected by the collection agency. Although the Swiss law allows private television; However, the Radio and Television Act gives the SRG such a strong position that serious private competition to date could not be established. This quasi- monopoly of the SRG and its programs - regularly criticized - also because of the financing by ever-increasing fees. Especially media entrepreneur Roger Schawinski has distinguished himself as a critic. This led to a change in the law zusprach the competitors the right to a portion of the fee revenue.

Substantive criticism comes both from both left and right: while quite bourgeois circles of coverage of the SRF for a long time, " left tendencies " accuse the other side objected recently too strong a " commercialization " of the program content (eg, with shows like Deal Or No Deal or because of the relatively large proportion of television advertising ), what the so-called " public service " thoughts contrary.

Competitors

Various attempts to establish supra-regional or national private channels have failed, such as TV3 or Tele 24 by Roger Schawinski. The niche channel Star TV ( movie news) could hold. In 2004, the private station U1 TV (now Switzerland 5) nationally on the air, but little attention. Since September 2006, also send the private 3 Swiss German entertainment and purchased formats.