History
The history of television in Switzerland began in 1939 when the first test transmissions commenced. Regular transmissions started in 1953, at first only one hour a day for five days a week, and only in German: transmissions in French started in 1954 and in Italian only in 1958.
Romansh-speaking Swiss had to wait until 1963 for the first programme in their language, a full decade after regular television transmission were initiated. To this day, there is no dedicated Romansh-language channel; instead the German and Italian channels air a few hours of Romansh programming per day. The 1960s also saw the arrival of television advertising, in 1964, and of colour television, in 1968.
Télévision suisse romande broadcast their first evening programme in colour in 1968. [2] 1968 was also the first year where more than one million Swiss households had a television. [2]
In 1984, the Swiss teletext service, SWISS TXT, was started. In 1993 a fourth SRG SSR channel was created, first named S Plus but in 1995 was renamed Schweiz 4 (Switzerland 4). However, this was short-lived: during its existence the channel constantly suffered low ratings and was hence shut down in 1997. In the same year, as a result, all the SRG SSR subsidiaries started a second channel, and SRF zwei, RTS Deux and RSI La 2 came into existence.
Analogue television was phased out starting July 2006, when TSI (now RSI) began the analogue switchoff. The process continued until January 2008, when the end of analogue broadcasting in Valais and Chablais completed the digital television transition in Switzerland. [3]
In September 2018, SRG SSR announced that it would discontinue over-the-air broadcasting in DVB-T in 2019, citing costs, rather than implement DVB-T2. The services will remain available via IPTV and encrypted free-to-view satellite, which offers all SRG SSR channels in high definition. [4]
Switzerland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 63 times since making its debut at the first contest in 1956, missing only four contests, in 1995, 1999, 2001 and 2003. Switzerland hosted the first contest in 1956 in Lugano, and won it. Switzerland won the contest again in 1988, with the 1989 contest being held in Lausanne.
The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation is the Swiss public broadcasting association, founded in 1931, the holding company of 24 radio and television channels. Headquartered in Bern, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation is a non-profit organisation, funded mainly through radio and television licence fees (79%) and making the remaining income from advertising and sponsorship.
Schweizer Fernsehen was the German-language division of SRG SSR, in charge of production and distribution of television programmes in Switzerland for German-speaking Switzerland. It had its head office in Zürich. Its most viewed programme was Tagesschau (news), daily at 7:30 pm.
Radiotelevisiun Svizra Rumantscha, formerly known as Radio e Televisiun Rumantscha, is a Swiss broadcasting company which offers programming to Romansh-speakers in Switzerland and around the world.
Radiotelevisione svizzera di lingua italiana is a Swiss public broadcasting organisation, part of SRG SSR. RSI handles production and broadcasting of radio and television programs in Italian and Lombard for Switzerland. RSI's administrative headquarters are located in Via Canevascini in Lugano-Besso.
3sat is a free-to-air German-language public service television channel. It is a generalist channel with a cultural focus and is jointly operated by public broadcasters from Germany, Austria (ORF) and Switzerland. The coordinating broadcaster is ZDF, at whose Mainz facility the broadcasting centre with studios for in-house productions is located.
Switzerland participated once in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2004. Radiotelevisione svizzera (RSI), a member organization of the multilingual Swiss Broadcasting Corporation and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), were responsible for the selection process of their participation. The only representative to participate for the nation was Demis Mirarchi with the song "Birichino", which finished in sixteenth place out of eighteen participating entries, achieving a score of four points. Switzerland did not compete in subsequent editions due to financial difficulties.
HD suisse is a former Swiss high-definition television channel operated by the public service broadcaster SRG SSR. This was the 8th channel launched by SRG SSR, and the first Swiss television channel available in high definition.
Switzerland participated at the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song "Il pleut de l'or" written by Michael von der Heide, Pele Loriano and Heike Kospach. The song was performed by Michael von der Heide, who was internally selected by the Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR idée suisse to represent the nation at the 2010 contest in Oslo, Norway. "Il pleut de l'or" was announced as the Swiss entry on 18 December 2009, while the song was presented to the public on 9 January 2010.
Switzerland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song "Unbreakable" written by Gabriel Broggini and Ivan Broggini. The song was performed by the duo Sinplus. The Swiss entry for the 2012 contest in Baku, Azerbaijan was selected through the national final Die grosse Entscheidungs Show 2012, organised by the Swiss German speaking broadcaster Schweizer Fernsehen (SF) and radio station DRS 3 in collaboration with the other broadcasters part of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. SF, DRS 3, the Swiss-French broadcaster Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS) and the Swiss-Italian broadcaster Radiotelevisione svizzera (RSI) each conducted varying selections and a total of fourteen entries were selected to advance to the televised national final—six artists and songs from the SF selection, three from the DRS 3 selection, three from the RTS selection and two from the RSI selection. The fourteen finalists performed during the national final on 10 December 2011 where public voting ultimately selected "Unbreakable" performed by Sinplus as the winner.
Switzerland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song "You and Me" written by Georg Schlunegger, Roman Camenzind and Fred Herrmann. The song was performed by the band Takasa. The Swiss entry for the 2013 contest in Malmö, Sweden was selected through the national final Die grosse Entscheidungs Show 2013, organised by the Swiss German speaking broadcaster Schweizer Fernsehen (SF) in collaboration with the other broadcasters part of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. SF, the Swiss-French broadcaster Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS) and the Swiss-Italian broadcaster Radiotelevisione svizzera (RSI) each conducted varying selections and a total of nine entries were selected to advance to the televised national final—four artists and songs from the SF selection, three from the RTS selection and two from the RSI selection. The nine finalists performed during the national final on 15 December 2012 where public voting ultimately selected "You and Me" performed by Heilsarmee as the winner. The group was renamed as Takasa for the Eurovision Song Contest in order to prevent violating the rules of the competition.
Switzerland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song "Hunter of Stars" written and performed by Sebalter, which is the artistic name of singer Sebastiano Paù-Lessi. The Swiss entry for the 2014 contest in Copenhagen, Denmark was selected through the national final Die grosse Entscheidungs Show 2014, organised by the Swiss German speaking broadcaster Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) in collaboration with the other broadcasters part of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. Artists that were interested in entering the Swiss national final had the opportunity to apply to one of three open selections with defined submission periods organised by SRF together with the Swiss-Romansh broadcaster Radiotelevisiun Svizra Rumantscha (RTR), the Swiss-French broadcaster Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS) and/or the Swiss-Italian broadcaster Radiotelevisione svizzera (RSI). A total of 18 entries were selected to advance to an "Expert Check" round; nine entries were selected from the SRF/RTR selection, six entries were selected from the RTS selection and three entries were selected from the RSI selection. The "Expert Check" was held on 30 November 2013 and involved three/four experts evaluating the live performances of the 18 entries and selecting six entries to advance to the televised national final—three artists and songs from the SRF/RTR candidates, two from the RTS candidates and one from the RSI candidates. The six finalists performed during the national final on 1 February 2014 where a combination of jury voting and public voting ultimately selected "Hunter of Stars" performed by Sebalter as the winner.
Switzerland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Time to Shine" written and performed by Mélanie René. The Swiss entry for the 2015 contest in Vienna, Austria was selected through the national final ESC 2015 – die Entscheidungsshow, organised by the Swiss German speaking broadcaster Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) in collaboration with the other broadcasters part of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. Artists that were interested in entering the Swiss national final had the opportunity to apply to one of three open selections with defined submission periods organised by SRF together with the Swiss-Romansh broadcaster Radiotelevisiun Svizra Rumantscha (RTR), the Swiss-French broadcaster Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS) and/or the Swiss-Italian broadcaster Radiotelevisione svizzera (RSI). A total of 18 entries were selected to advance to an "Expert Check" round; nine entries were selected from the SRF/RTR selection, six entries were selected from the RTS selection and three entries were selected from the RSI selection. The "Expert Check" was held on 7 December 2014 at SRF Studio 5 in Zürich and involved five experts evaluating the live performances of the 18 entries and selecting six entries to advance to the televised national final—three artists and songs from the SRF/RTR candidates, two from the RTS candidates and one from the RSI candidates. The six finalists performed during the national final on 31 January 2015 where a combination of jury voting and public voting ultimately selected "Time to Shine" performed by Mélanie René as the winner.
Switzerland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "The Last of Our Kind" written by Christina Maria Rieder, Mike James, Jeff Dawson and Warne Livesey. The song was performed by Rykka, which is the artistic name of singer Christina Maria Rieder. The Swiss entry for the 2016 contest in Stockholm, Sweden was selected through the national final ESC 2016 – die Entscheidungsshow, organised by the Swiss German speaking broadcaster Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) in collaboration with the other broadcasters part of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. Artists that were interested in entering the Swiss national final had the opportunity to apply to one of three open selections with defined submission periods organised by SRF together with the Swiss-Romansh broadcaster Radiotelevisiun Svizra Rumantscha (RTR), the Swiss-French broadcaster Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS) and/or the Swiss-Italian broadcaster Radiotelevisione svizzera (RSI). A total of 19 entries were selected to advance to an "Expert Check" round; ten entries were selected from the SRF/RTR selection, six entries were selected from the RTS selection and three entries were selected from the RSI selection. The "Expert Check" was held on 6 December 2015 and involved four experts evaluating the live performances of the 19 entries and selecting six entries to advance to the televised national final—three artists and songs from the SRF/RTR candidates, two from the RTS candidates and one from the RSI candidates. The six finalists performed during the national final on 13 February 2016 where a combination of jury voting and public voting ultimately selected "The Last of Our Kind" performed by Rykka as the winner.
Switzerland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Apollo" written by Elias Näslin, Nicolas Günthardt and Alessandra Günthardt. The song was performed by the band Timebelle. The Swiss entry for the 2017 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine was selected through the national final ESC 2017 – die Entscheidungsshow, organised by the Swiss broadcaster Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. Artists that were interested in entering the Swiss national final had the opportunity to apply during a submission period organised by SRG SSR. A total of 21 entries were selected to advance to an "Live Check" round held on 4 December 2016 and involved nineteen experts evaluating the live performances of the 21 entries and selecting six entries to advance to the televised national final. The six finalists performed during the national final on 5 February 2017 where public voting ultimately selected "Apollo" performed by Timebelle as the winner.
Switzerland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song "Stones" written by Corinne "Coco" Gfeller, Stee Gfeller and Laurell Barker. The song was performed by the duo Zibbz. The Swiss entry for the 2018 contest in Lisbon, Portugal was selected through the national final ESC 2018 – die Entscheidungsshow, organised by the Swiss broadcaster Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. Songwriters that were interested in entering the Swiss national final had the opportunity to apply during a submission period organised by SRG SSR. Six entries were selected to advance to the televised national final, and the six finalists performed during the national final on 4 February 2018 where a combination of international jury voting and public voting ultimately selected "Stones" performed by Zibbz as the winner.
Switzerland participated at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "She Got Me" written by Laurell Barker, Frazer Mac, Luca Hänni, Jon Hällgren and Lukas Hällgren. The song was performed by Luca Hänni, who was internally selected by the Swiss broadcaster Swiss Broadcasting Corporation to represent the nation at the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, Israel. "She Got Me" was presented to the public as the Swiss entry on 7 March 2019.
Switzerland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy, with "Boys Do Cry" written by Marius Hügli and Martin Gallop. The song was performed by Marius Bear, which is the artistic name of singer Marius Hügli who was internally selected by the Swiss broadcaster Swiss Broadcasting Corporation to represent the nation at the 2022 contest. "Boys Do Cry" was presented to the public as the Swiss entry on 8 March 2022.
"Boys Do Cry" is a song by Swiss singer Marius Bear which was released as a single on 8 March 2022. The song represented Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy after being internally selected by SRG SSR, Switzerland's broadcaster for the Eurovision Song Contest.
Switzerland is set to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö, Sweden, with "The Code" performed by Nemo. The Swiss broadcaster Swiss Broadcasting Corporation internally selected the country's representative for the contest.
