In terms of mood, they are not on the same wave at the moment, not at all. BRmedia GmbH, a subsidiary of Bayerischer Rundfunk, and the broadcaster Antenne Bayern. BRmedia’s task is, among other things, to market the advertising times of the BR radio stations. In order to attract the interest of potential advertising customers, it published a commissioned study on its own website – which Antenne Bayern was anything but happy about. The study is entitled “Broadcast effects. Why brand advertising is so successful in the public advertising environment” and, in short, is intended to prove that advertising broadcast on BR 1 and BR 3 was better received by around a thousand people surveyed in a listener survey than on Antenne Bayern.
Those responsible for the private broadcaster based in Ismaning reacted promptly and warned BRmedia. Without success. In a civil case before the Munich I Regional Court, Antenne Bayern now asked the subsidiary of the powerful competitor to refrain from making various statements in the presentation of the study because they were “anti-competitive”.
In fact, the introduction to the study’s results is reminiscent of a eulogy on its own behalf: “Visibly higher quality, more trustworthy, more popular, more successful and for buyers (this means advertising customers, editor’s note) More interesting: Brands that advertise in public broadcasting environments demonstrably benefit.” This, it goes on to say, was the result of the BRmedia study, in which the channels BR 1 and BR 3 were compared with Antenne Bayern Both BR stations do not have higher values than Antenne Bayern in every “queried detail”, “but in most and especially in the important areas”.
“You try to present yourself better than you are,” countered lawyer Holger Weimann, who represented Antenne Bayern at the hearing before the regional court on Tuesday. The study “crossed a red line” that represents a “clear, direct attack on the competitor.” This is “extraordinary”. The problem is not only that the study was published on the Internet, but also that the “loud hype” was also brought to attention on social media. “We are surprised that the BR feels this is necessary,” said Weimann.
The chairman, Judge Bertolt Gedeon, also made it clear that the study was vulnerable in many respects. For example, there is an important note in the small print and a “not inconsiderable portion” of the information is “misleading” for those interested in advertising. In addition, “many statements” in the presentation were inadmissible, the judge explained, for example with regard to a text passage in which it says: “A significantly greater benefit is attributed to advertising that is broadcast in the tested BR programs.” Gedeon found that such “adverbial comparatives” cannot be verified.
The representatives of the BR appeared astonished and initially indicated no willingness to cooperate. “The study is what it is,” insisted one of BR’s two lawyers, but then declared that he would attempt to reach an out-of-court agreement with Antenne Bayern about the statements made in the study. In addition, the BR lawyer announced that, if necessary, the study would be taken offline this Wednesday. The court plans to announce a decision on the matter at the beginning of February.