Milestones 2009

10 January -  SwissAwards
The SwissAwards are presented for the seventh time at a gala ceremony in Zurich.

19 – 25 January- Solothurn Film Festival
The Solothurn Film Festival is held for the 44th time in the final week of January. SRG SSR has supported the event for many years.

17 February - Extension of partnership with Schweizer Sportfernsehen
SRG SSR and Schweizer Sportfernsehen extend their cooperation agreement for another four years to the end of 2012. 

7 March - Swiss Film Prize QUARTZ 2009 awarded
The Swiss Film Prize QUARTZ 2009 is awarded for the first time in ten different categories to Swiss film-makers at a gala evening organised by SRG SSR at Lucerne’s KKL centre.

18 March - Media convergence
The SRG SSR Board of Directors decides that structural and organisational measures are to be put in place in the regions during 2009 to enable editorial teams to work towards convergence. In order to ensure systematic collaboration, the Enterprise Units in the French and German-speaking zones, still split between radio and television, are to be merged into a single Enterprise Unit for each language region – as with RSI and RTR. Regional convergence projects are not to be dominated by one medium.

19 March - SRG SSR annual media conference and 2008 financial statements
SRG SSR closes the 2008 financial year with a deficit of CHF 79.1 million (up from CHF 18.5 million in 2007). The budgeted deficit was CHF 57.0 million, due in part to fact that the cost of the major sporting events EURO 2008™ and the Beijing Olympics could not be fully refinanced. Operating income rises by 0.7% to CHF 1,580.7 million.

26 March - Formation of mxlab ag
SRG SSR forms the operator company mxlab ag to outsource its music platform Mx3.ch. The new company’s shareholders are Telvetia S.A., a wholly owned subsidiary of SRG SSR, as well as the Cooperative Society of Music Authors and Publishers in Switzerland (SUISA) and the Swiss Performing Rights Society (SIG).

22 April - Launch of national “Convergence & Efficiency” project
SRG SSR appoints Gérard Tschopp, Director of Radio Suisse Romande, as overall head of the national “Convergence & Efficiency” project. Structural and organisational measures are to be put in place during 2009 to enable editorial teams to work towards convergence.

23 – 29 April - Visions du Réel film festival
The Visions due Réel film festival is held in Nyon for the 15th time. SRG SSR has supported this festival for documentary films for many years.

24 April - Structural reform of SRG SSR
The SRG SSR Delegates’ Meeting votes in favour of revising the statutes and thus reforming the structure of SRG SSR. This means that, from 2010, SRG SSR will be under the sole strategic authority of the SRG SSR Board of Directors, with the Director General taking charge of operations for the entire Enterprise. The Delegates’ Meeting and the Regional Councils receive additional information and proposal rights, and the regional executives have co-determination rights for defined programme-relevant operations in line with the national guidelines.

24 April – 10 May - IIHF World Championship (ice hockey)
The IIHF World Championship is held in Berne and Zurich-Kloten. It is covered by 100 SRG SSR staff.

2 – 5 May - Rose d’Or festival
Lucerne hosts the 49th international Rose d’Or festival celebrating the television and entertainment industry. SRG SSR has supported the event for many years.

22 – 24 May -Solothurn Literary Days
SRG SSR supports the Solothurn Literary Days for the second time as part of a media partnership.

17 June - Amendment of Art. 24 of the SRG SSR Concession
The Federal Council amends Art. 24 of the Concession in line with the request made by SRG SSR on 26 February 2009. Specifically, the provision whereby anyone holding a management function within the SRG SSR association structure may not be elected to the SRG SSR Board of Directors is deleted. This provision would have barred the regional Chairmen from the Board of Directors.

22 June - Pay freeze, capital expenditure freeze and property sales
The SRG SSR Board of Directors passes a turnaround concept and decides on a further package of cost-saving measures to take effect in 2010. These measures, including a pay freeze in 2010, a freeze on capital expenditure and property sales, will reduce the annual deficit by an average of CHF 30 million a year in the period from 2010 to 2014 and reduce debts by CHF 366 million up to 2014.

23 June - Resignation of Armin Walpen effective end of 2010
Armin Walpen, current Director General of SRG SSR, announces his resignation effective at the end of 2010. The Nominations Committee of the Board of Directors begins the process of recruiting a successor and intends to propose two to three people to the Board of Directors for election to the post in early summer 2010. The SRG SSR Delegates’ Meeting must approve the election. Deputy Director General Daniel Eckmann also decided some time ago that he would step down at the end of January 2011 for personal reasons.

28 July – 1 August - Radio tour
“Vision Schweiz. Vision Suisse. Visione Svizzera. Visiun Svizra.” (Vision Switzerland) is the theme for this year’s radio tour, organised by the stations DRS 1, RSR La Première, RSI Rete Uno and Radio Rumantsch. Editorial teams covering all four languages search every part of the country for new ideas and innovations.

5 – 15 August - Locarno Film Festival
The Locarno Film Festival takes place for the 62nd time in Ticino. SRG SSR has supported this internationally renowned film festival for many years.

12 August - Approval of revised SRG SSR statues by DETEC
The Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC) approves the new SRG SSR statues as passed by the Delegates’ Meeting on 24 April. The structural reform demanded by the Federal Council in November 2007 can thus be put into practice starting on 1 January 2010.

14 – 16 August - Alpentöne
The Alpentöne (Alpine Sounds) international music festival has offered musicians from the Alpine region a forum to present their artistic impressions of their mountain home to compatriots and guests from around the world every two years since 1999.  

5 – 6 September - Schubertiade
RSR has organised the biennial Schubertiade since 1980. This major classical music festival takes place at a different location in French-speaking Switzerland every time – the venue this year is Payerne.

23 – 27 September - UCI Road World Championships (cycling) in Mendrisio
The UCI Road World Championships come to Mendrisio. SRG SSR is the host broadcaster, providing the global television signal. It uses 23 static cameras as well as mobile units with four motorcycle cameras and one helicopter camera for the production.

25 September - Representatives’ Meeting
Representatives of the regional associations meet in Berne for discussions under the heading “The parent organisation and its new role in society”. The meeting focuses on topics that will be of central importance to the parent organisation going forward, including “programme concept”, “internal and external relationships” and “media-critical programmes”.

1 October - New Director of SR DRS
Iso Rechsteiner, Deputy Director of Schweizer Radio DRS since 2008 and before that Head of Regional Studios, is appointed as the radio station’s new interim Director. Rechsteiner takes over from Walter Rüegg, who goes into retirement.

1 October - New Director of SF
Ueli Haldimann becomes the new interim Director of Schweizer Fernsehen. Haldimann, who was previously Editor-in-Chief at SF for seven years and headed up the News and Current Affairs Department, takes over from Ingrid Deltenre, who moves to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).

15 October - Digital radio: even more stations with crystal-clear sound quality
World Radio Switzerland (WRS) is now available on DAB+ digital radio in German-speaking Switzerland. DRS Musikwelle joins the digital line-up in French-speaking Switzerland. DAB+ listeners in Ticino, meanwhile, can now receive DRS 1 and La Première as well.

29 October - SRG SSR’s response to the draft Radio and Television Ordinance
SRG SSR welcomes the proposed revision of the Radio and Television Ordinance. It is important to create a level playing field for foreign and Swiss broadcasters to compete with each other. With this in mind, SRG SSR proposes certain changes regarding advertising options, commercial breaks and online content.

2 – 9 November - Cinéma Tous Écrans – Pacte Multimédia prize
The Cinéma Tous Écrans international film festival is held in Geneva for the 15th time. The festival is a get-together for the fields of film, television and new media. At the event, SRG SSR and its partners award the Pacte Multimédia prize, which is aimed at promoting innovation in the field of new communication technologies.

4 – 8 November - International Short Film Festival Winterthur
The International Short Film Festival Winterthur, which SRG SSR has supported for years, takes place for the 13th time.

9 November - Support for documentary films
SRG SSR and its television Enterprise Units award three grants for feature-length documentary films as part of the Pacte de l'audiovisuel. The pact provides for a grant of CHF 80,000 per year for up to seven projects.

10 November - SRG SSR Quality Symposium
SRG SSR attaches a great deal of importance to continually addressing aspects of quality and quality standards in terms of both form and content – not only with regard to the day-to-day work done by its staff, but also in its dialogue with the general public. At the first SRG SSR Quality Symposium in Lucerne, more than 150 media experts discuss quality and relevance in the context of the public service remit.

20 November - HD suisse wins gold as best HD satellite channel
At a gala event in Venice, HD suisse is presented with the HOT BIRD™ TV Award as best HDTV satellite channel in the Eutelsat family. SRG SSR’s eighth television channel beat some highly illustrious international rivals to take the award.

24 November - Media convergence in French-speaking Switzerland
As part of the national convergence project, the SRG SSR Board of Directors decides to merge the Enterprise Units Radio Suisse Romande and Télévision Suisse Romande in January 2010. Gilles Marchand, hitherto Director of TSR, will be the Director of the new company Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS).

27 November - “Financing Requirements 2011-2014” report
SRG SSR will experience a financing shortfall of CHF 54 million a year on average in the period from 2011 to 2014 with regard to meeting its remit. This is the conclusion of the “Financing Requirements 2011-2014” report submitted to the Federal Council by SRG SSR. The Federal Council must now decide which measures are to be taken on the income and expenditure sides to rectify SRG SSR’s financing problems.

12 December - Credit Suisse Sports Awards
Gymnast Ariella Kaeslin and downhill skier Didier Cuche are named as Sportswoman of the Year and Sportsman of the Year in Basel. 

14 – 19 December - Jeder Rappen zählt!
The unique donation project “Jeder Rappen zählt!” (Every Penny Counts!), organised by DRS 3 and Schweizer Fernsehen in association with the aid charity Glückskette, raises CHF 7,019,284 in the third week of December for the fight against malaria. This total includes around CHF 1 million in direct cash donations from hordes of passers-by on Berne’s Bundesplatz.

16 December - Media convergence in German-speaking Switzerland
The SRG SSR Board of Directors votes in favour of the proposal to plan the merger between Schweizer Radio DRS and Schweizer Fernsehen in more detail. The final decision will be made in June 2010 once the detailed plans are completed. SR DRS and SF will then be merged with effect from 1 January 2011.