JANUARY 26, 2007

Swiss looking for a new broadcaster

The Swiss TV station SRG has decided not to continue with its coverage of Formula 1 because it is not keen on paying the price increase of 6.5% being demanded by the Formula One group. The company, which is funded mainly by radio and television licence fees, says it does not have the money to spend. SRG dominates the Swiss TV scene with channels in French, German, Italian and the local Romansh languages. There are commercial rivals but it is unlikely that these will be able to afford the rights and it may be that the rights will end up being sold to a foreign company who will broadcast into Switzerland.