Online content has replaced TV and radio as the most influential form of media in Switzerland for the first time, according to new findings revealed by Publicom. Publicom’s report, titled “Media Monitor Switzerland 2021”, found that many people have moved away from consuming media from large public broadcasters like SRF, instead favouring information from smaller organisations on the internet. 

Print media struggles under competition from online outlets

The survey sought to uncover how diverse the media in Switzerland is and how media outlets affect the "possibility to form opinions freely in Switzerland." To create the study, Publicom analysed 172 different Swiss outlets and 10 corporate groups, along with asking 4.700 people what their preferences in media are. 

According to the data, print media in Switzerland like newspapers and magazines have now slipped to the bottom of the pile when it comes to people’s choice of media. Online media made significant gains in terms of importance compared to last year. 

Many people switching to online editions of mainstream media

However, lots of consumers in Switzerland have not ditched mainstream media altogether - with many choosing to switch to the online versions of SRF and Blick instead of consuming their content via television or radio. At the same time, purely online outlets have also made significant gains in the past year, gaining at the expense of traditional media. 

Overall, these trends are seen by the survey, which was commissioned by the Swiss government, as a positive development for "diversity of viewpoint," as more people now read a greater variety of sources. The report found that regional and national media did not dictate public opinions as much in 2021 - something the survey called a “fundamentally pleasing” development for diversity of opinion in Switzerland.