The commercialization of television in Switzerland : a matter of neighbours

Over time, commercial television has become widespread throughout Europe, with implications for the market's characteristics and structure, and for audiences. Switzerland is a peculiar case, where the national television landscape has not undergone a process of commercialization, even though there are several commercial players operating in the market (mainly originally from neighboring countries). To deepen an understanding of the role of Swiss commercial broadcasters and the reasons for their marginalization, this paper will present the Swiss television market and discuss Swiss media policy and regulation. It will also highlight the consequences of "non-commercialization" and the implications for other television operators in Switzerland, particularly for public service broadcasters.