Since 2013, the Publicom study for OFCOM has examined the use and performance of qualitative communication of media brands in Switzerland. This annual cross-media study examines the influence on the opinion of 181 media brands and ten media groups from the national market, the three language-specific markets and 14 local regional markets, reporting on the entanglements of companies and economic balance of power on the Swiss media market. Five regional online brands were added to the study sample in 2023; no brand was withdrawn during the period under review.
To determine the influence on opinion, media consumers analyzed the performance of brands as news media in a representative survey of the population. This qualitative assessment is combined with the daily contact performance of the different offers which come from official Swiss studies on penetration rates for TV, radio and print media and through own surveys and extrapolations for online media and social networks. . We thus obtain an indicator of influence on opinion revealing the relative potential of media brands to deploy an opinion-forming force.
Drop in confidence
In 2023, the influence on cumulative opinion of all brands analyzed in Swiss Media Monitoring will decline for the third consecutive year. The two percentage point decline is somewhat smaller than that of the previous two years. The effect of this continued erosion of the Swiss population’s attention to the media as sources of information is reflected in the figures, which returned in 2023 to the level before the coronavirus pandemic.
In 2023, some changes can be observed in the most influential and widely distributed media brands, although these do not mark a clear trend. Instagram is gaining momentum, meaning that for the first time, two social media brands, YouTube and Instagram (behind 20 Minutes), are among the top three most thought-provoking offerings at scale. national. In addition to TikTok, whose rise has been significantly slowed down, the first TV channels of the SRG SSR group (SRF 1, RTS 1 and RSI LA 1) have grown relatively strongly. Conversely, a significant portion of the main media brands in the 18 areas under review are in decline. This is for example the case of Facebook, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, LaRegione, La 1ère, the Tages-Anzeiger, watson or SRF 2.
Low market concentration
Since the diversity of media brands alone does not guarantee diversity of opinions or content, examining concentration on the basis of individual offers is too limited. Indeed, the largest combinations of brands, which are generally organized in a central editorial office for supraregional content or in a similar structure, can, if they strongly exploit the combination potentials, mobilize a great influence on the opinion which far exceeds individual brands.
The Swiss media market includes 10 major media groups alongside many other providers. The greatest influence on opinion is clearly exerted by SRG SSR, with a share of 28%. TX Group, number 2, reached an indexed value half that (14%). The combined influence of the two largest media groups is therefore exactly the same as in 2022. Followed by the German-speaking Swiss media group CH Media with 10%, the American group Meta with 8% of the national opinion market and Ringier with 5%. %. The other groups (NZZ-Mediengruppe, AZ Medien, Gruppo Corriere del Ticino, Somedia and ESH Médias) still have significantly lower shares. The 10 largest companies together control 105 of the 181 brands analyzed in Media Monitoring Switzerland, the remaining 76 belong to various owners. Like branding systems, media companies can also undermine diversity of opinion. In addition to the centralized production of content, there is the risk that groups impose common editorial guidelines on the entire offering, in order to promote, for example, a particular orientation and tone in the reports.
Most of the time, the absolute degree of concentration does not cause concern, as 12 of the 18 spaces under review are low in concentration, even when it comes to groups. Since 2022, market concentration has decreased in half of the regions studied. In total, six media spaces exceed the limit of 1500 points and are therefore considered moderately concentrated, but marginally in most cases. Market concentration is highest in the Bern media space with 1611 points. Only Graubünden and Zentralschweiz cross this limit more markedly. In the Hochalpen, the situation was further softened after a further drop. In these regions, we see a greater concentration of influence of the two largest groups (SRG SSR and TX Group/CH Media). The share of independent media brands is low in comparison, which tends to favor market concentration.
Influence: the appeal of social networks is declining
For the first time since measurements began, the strongest type, namely online media, is experiencing a sharp decline in its influence on public opinion. In addition, social networks are stagnating in annual comparison and are losing ground, particularly in French-speaking Switzerland. TV, which is growing in almost all regions, can benefit from this situation. Even print media are slightly increasing their share of influence on opinion, a first in Media Monitoring. It would therefore appear that the long-standing trend of switching to newer digital media is losing some steam in 2023. When it comes to TV and social media, there are signs that the structure of the age pyramid is slightly less abrupt. In other words, the differences between generations are less marked in the trend. However, these trends are yet to be confirmed in the coming years. The observation that increasingly larger parts of the main opinion markets are moving away from the direct scope of Swiss media support has at best been toned down, not resolved.
