SRG Online Assessment 2010

The assessment of internet services of public service broadcasters (PSBs), e.g. with regard to regulatory requirements, is a new and methodologically challenging field of research. In recent years many European countries have pursued regulatory reforms that clarify permissible online content and subject it to certain conditions. Within the European Union, for example, member states have been obliged to introduce ex ante assessment tests (public value tests) as a result of the EU Commission’s investigation and decision-making practice on public service financing. This requires PSBs to evaluate whether their offer is covered by the remit and serves the democratic, cultural and social needs of society.

In Switzerland, on the other hand, the SRG charter lays down the conditions for the online activities of the SRG and clarifies what kind of content is permissible. The rules require the content to closely relate to specific broadcasts, allow self-promotion solely with the aim of audience bonding and the setting of external links on a non-commercial basis. In 2009 the Division on Media Change & Innovation developed and applied a new approach for the assessment of the SRG Internet offer and its compliance with regulatory requirements. The project was based on a two-tiered approach that combines content and link analyses for the assessment of the websites of five SRG enterprise units (SF, DRS, TSR, RSR and RSI). The results of the 2009 study indicate that the SRG largely complies with regulations but also that compliance remains unclear for one in ten web-pages.

With the project SRG Online Assessment 2010 the Division on Media Change & Innovation continues the monitoring and assessement of the SRG online offer. It replicates the analysis to show first trends of development and change. The study focuses on the question of the extent to which the SRG online services complies with regulatory requirements. Additionally, it will give insights into the structure and functioning of the websites of five SRG enterprise units, the intensity of electronic linking and the pattern of interconnection with other websites. 

The research project is commissioned by the Swiss regulator BAKOM.

SRG-Online-Small

News

01.03.2011: SRG Online Beobachtung 2010: Schlussbericht veröffentlicht