GT12: "Common Tariff 12" for replay TV
Here you will find answers regarding GT12 and Replay TV advertising in Switzerland.
GT12 - What is it and what is it good for?
The abbreviation GT12 translates to "Common Tariff 12". The Common Tariffs regulate the copyright fees to be paid by Zattoo for protected works such as movies, texts, music, etc. There are some major changes in GT12 this year. To understand them, a brief look at the Swiss TV landscape will help.
In Switzerland, TV viewers have access to an above-average selection of TV programs. In addition, programs can be watched time-delayed, i.e. in replay, up to seven days after they have been broadcasted. Replay TV is becoming increasingly popular and is therefore being used more and more frequently. As a result, many users skip commercials. However, TV stations need the revenues generated by advertising to finance their programs. If this development continues in the coming years, the TV stations see their existence threatened. They also believe that this will endanger program diversity in Switzerland and that in the long term there will only be pay TV.
The new GT12 partial agreement is intended to counteract this development. It is expected to come into force in September 2022.
These are the changes in the new GT12
The new partial agreement of the Common Tariff 12 relates specifically to replay TV, i.e., time-shifted TV. A fee will now be introduced for this. This is intended to compensate broadcasters for their lost advertising revenues. The amount of the fee depends mainly on whether advertising can be skipped by fast-forwarding. In other words, the new GT12 is thus equivalent to an additional fee for commercial-free television. Users who do not wish to pay this fee will in future be shown dynamic commercial breaks that cannot be skipped. For this reason, the media often speak of "forced advertising".
This so-called industry agreement is therefore a compromise that is necessary so that replay TV can still be offered at all. Alternatively, the replay rights would have to be negotiated individually with each broadcaster, which could severely impair the TV experience for customers.
What happens to the additional fees?
The additional revenues from paid Replay TV largely benefit the TV broadcasters that have signed this industry agreement. However, distributors such as Zattoo do not make any additional profits from this advertising.
These following TV-channels are part of GT12:
GT12 and SERAFE - This is the difference
SERAFE AG is the Swiss collection agency for the radio and television levy. It has been collecting the new household levy since January 1, 2019. The household levy is used to finance the public radio and television broadcasters in Switzerland. It must be paid by all households as well as companies.
In contrast, the new partial agreement of the GT12 refers to private TV broadcasters, which finance their programs mainly through advertising revenues and do not benefit from the household levy. They have lost important revenues due to the increasing popularity of replay TV and the associated increase in the number of commercials being fast-forwarded. The new measures are a substitute for this.
SRF and public broadcasting in Germany are not part of the agreement and therefore do not show replay advertising.
GT12 and Zattoo
At Zattoo, subscription prices remain stable and you continue to stream 7 days of replay with Premium and Ultimate. With Zattoo Ultimate you can even skip TV commercials with one click thanks to the new skip button.
More about GT12 and Zattoo