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The Grand Finale Tom Sänger talks about season five of Deutschland sucht den Superstar Germany EUR 100,000 for cyclone victims in Burma Five Bavarian TV Awards for RTL Group companies United Kingdom TalkbackThames picks up Rose d’Or Award France M6, the educational channel the RTL Group intranet week 20 Newsletter 15 15 M May ay 2 200 008 8

The Grand Finale - rtlgroup.com · The Grand Finale m Sänger talks about season five of eutschland sucht den Superstar COVER: The two DSDS finalists: Fady Maalouf (left) and Thomas

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The Grand FinaleTom Sänger talks about season five ofDeutschland sucht den Superstar

Germany

EUR 100,000 for cyclone victims in BurmaFive Bavarian TV Awards for RTL Group companiesUnited Kingdom

TalkbackThames picks up Rose d’Or AwardFrance

M6, the educational channel

the RTL Group intranetweek 20

Newsletter1515 M Mayay 2 2000088

2

The Grand Finalem Sänger talks about season five ofeutschland sucht den Superstar

COVER: The two DSDS finalists: Fady Maalouf (left) and Thomas Godoj.

Season five of the wildly popular talent showDeutschland sucht den Superstar (DSDS), theGerman version of the international hit formatIdols, kicked off on 23 January 2008. The for-mat has been sold to 35 countries since itsinception.

From the beginning, viewers in Germany lovedthe auditions, the recalls and the various livetheme shows. But there were critical voices rai-sed as well, and by the time a candidate had abreakdown at an audition in Cologne, thedebate was in full swing: DSDS is harmful tominors, it was said, and the show’s primary aimis to ridicule people. The comments of jurymember Dieter Bohlen in particular came underfire while other journalists defended him. In theGerman tabloid Bild, Gerhard Zeiler, CEO ofRTL Group, responded: “Dieter Bohlen’s com-ments are about as harmful to minors as popmusic or an Asterix comic.”

“I often felt this discussion was hypocritical andsanctimonious. It seemed to me as if some ofthe critics were simply jumping on the bandwa-gon of knocking something that has made RTLso successful and popular”, Tom Sänger, headof entertainment at RTL Television, said andadded, “Human dignity is a valuable asset. Soit is not a suitable topic for a debate on tastes,where a small number of critics set out to tellthrongs of viewers or the nearly 30,000 peoplewho auditioned what’s good for them and whatisn’t. However, it was also interesting to obser-ve that the critics in turn were criticised for theirdogmatic attitude. Basically, the bottom line for

the season was that DSDS was again a hottopic, with plenty of relevance for our society.”

By now, things have quieted down again – inthat respect at least – because since the recallsand the live shows began, the main focus hasbeen firmly on the singing, the candidates andtheir stories.

Tom Sänger looks forward to next Saturday’sfinale, when a show extravaganza and a sensa-tional sing-off await fans. Finalists Thomas andFady make this the third time in a row that twomen have made it to the finale of the popularshow. The press hazards that this is becausethe fans who call in to vote for the candidatestend to be female – so Linda Teodisiu, 16, lostout last Saturday. “I spent about a seconddebating whether we shouldn’t perhaps chan-ge the rules at short notice and admit threecandidates to the finale because of the highquality,” jokes Tom Sänger, but quickly adds, “Iwould have probably gotten into big troublewith the licensors.”

In all, RTL Television is very happy with how thefifth season is going. Although at 29.3 per centthe average market share among 14- to 49-year-olds is slightly below the previous sea-son’s average, it is still well above the channel’saverage. “Our market shares are, with fewexceptions, very stable, approaching 30 percent among young audiences, and that's inseason five. DSDS is the most popular showseries on German TV among 14- to 49-year-olds. We have every reason to be extremely

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“Success compels usto continue”Next Saturday, 17 May, the fifth season ofDeutschland sucht den Superstar ends withthe final sing-off between Thomas Godoj andFady Maalouf – a good time for us to talk to TomSänger, head of entertainment at RTL Televisionin Cologne, about the show, its secret tosuccess and its future.Germany - 15 May 2008

Tom Sänger

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satisfied, but still, after the finale we will takeour time to review what we could do even bet-ter”, Tom Sänger explained. More and morefans are accessing the RTLnow.de website,where the shows may be viewed free of charge.Clips from the format have been viewed a totalof 50 million times on RTL’s various Internetplatforms.

On 5 April, world-class performer Mariah Careyjoined the remaining candidates to share a fewhelpful hints for their race for the Superstar title.This was the first time an international celebrityappeared on Deutschland sucht den Superstarand coached the candidates.

A few days ago, Mark Medlock, the fourth-sea-son winner, released his latest single SummerLove, taking it straight to No.1 in the Germansingle charts, sending Madonna to the secondplace. This is Medlock’s third number-one pla-cement in the single charts. It remains to beseen whether his successor will be able tomatch this performance.

On Saturday, Fady Maalouf and Thomas Godojwill perform three songs each – and each ofthem will be singing a title written specificallyfor them, to be released as a single followingthe show. And while the winner’s career runs itscourse with a Sony BMG recording contract, a

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DSDS judges: Dieter Bohlen, Anja Lukaseder and Andreas "Bär" Läsker

Mariah Carey

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team of producers, tours and performancesand the rest, RTL Television will already be pre-paring the sixth season. “Success compels usto continue,” says Tom Sänger. “We will reviewthe concept and make more changes than wehave in previous seasons. I firmly believe thatlong-term success depends on systematicallyevolving the concept. A programme brand canrun very long, if you resolutely pay attention toits ongoing evolution, the unpredictability ofevents, and the fact that programming mana-gers must never rest on their laurels, but mustbe critical precisely when things are at theirbest, and ignite the next stage in the develop-ment. We will examine everything, because thatis the only way to take big strides. We alreadyresponded to factual criticism on the issue ofminors in the media during the present season,and have broadcast ‘edited’ reruns in our day-time programming.”

Meanwhile, there are other interesting formatsahead for viewers in the Saturday evening timeslot, as Tom Sänger said: “We are already at anadvanced stage of planning the upcoming sea-son: I believe in the return of family gameshows and strong standalone theme shows toSaturday evening TV. In July and August, wewill present the specific formats to our adverti-sing customers and the media. One thing iscertain: there will be further ‘talent search’shows: Das Supertalent (Got Talent) enters itssecond round, and we're working on theSinging Office format – RTL Group employeestake note.”

But first, on Saturday, 17 May, starting at 20.15,Germany’s new idol will be crowned, but TomSänger refused to comment on his favourite:“I’m not about to reveal his name since I, too,abide by the show’s concept, which is that theviewers decide. I feel they’ve done an excellentjob of that to date, and I’m counting on them todo so again during the finale.”

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The Finalists:

Thomas Godoj:‘King of Rock’“You really rock the stage,”said Dieter Bohlen, commen-ding the 30-year-old musicianduring a theme show. Godojwas born in Rybnik, Poland,

and emigrated to Germany with his family in1986. Godoj no longer works in the field hewas trained for – design draughtsman – pre-ferring to concentrate instead on music andwriting songs. He and his two bands Cure ofSoul and Wink have played a number ofconcerts and received several newcomerawards.

Fady Maalouf:‘Emperor of Soft Sounds’The 29-year-old sang his wayinto listeners’ hearts with hisinterpretation of PatrickSwayze’s She’s Like the Wind.“That performance put you in

the group of favourites,” Dieter Bohlen prai-sed him. Maalouf was born in Lebanon fromwhere, after being hit by shrapnel severaltimes during the civil war, he finally fled toFrance with his family. He studied fashiondesign, worked for a number of designers,speaks five languages fluently, and mostrecently worked in Hamburg.

The show in Facts and figures:

A total of 100,439 people auditioned for all five seasons.

28,290 candidates auditioned for the fifth season alone.

On average, 5.33 million viewers ages 3 and over watched the shows in season five. This translates to a market share of 17.8 per cent.

Among 14- to 49-year-olds, themarket share was 29.3 per cent. On average, 3.39 million young viewers watch the talent show.

Last year's winner Mark Medlockearned gold and platinum records for his debut project Mr. Lonely. His latest single Summer Love entered the German single charts at No.1 this week, bumping Madonna down to No.2. His new album Cloud Dancerwill be released on 30 May.

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Who will be theSupertalent of 2008?Following the high ratings seen last fall forthe first season of Das Supertalent,RTL Television is again looking for Germany’sbiggest entertainment talent.Auditions started on 12 May.Germany - 13 May 2008

Since Whit Monday, 12 May, RTL Television hasbeen calling on talented people to demonstra-te their outstanding abilities in six Germancities. Anyone who hasn’t applied yet can stilldo so at open audition days in Cologne,Hamburg, Munich, Berlin, Frankfurt and Erfurt. Das Supertalent (Got Talent) is a talent showwhere anything is possible. Everyone is given achance to prove their prowess, no matter howbizarre or outlandish their endowment: acro-bats, singers, dancers, fire-eaters, ventrilo-quists and ballet dancers, magicians, pianists,directors of mouse circu-ses, and tiger tamers,preschoolers and pensio-ners, humans and ani-mals, alone or in a group– Das Supertalent has nopre-set restrictions.

As many as six million viewers tuned in to RTLTelevision to watch the finale of the first seasonof Das Supertalent on 3 November, 2007.Ricardo Marinello, a shy young tenor wowedthe judges – and especially the audience – withhis moving rendition of Time to Say Goodbye.They picked the 19-year-old high school stu-dent as the show’s winner, Das Supertalent of2007. Ricardo is using his EUR 100,000 grandprize to pay for a university degree in voiceand has already released his first album,The Beginning.

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Ricardo Marinello, winner of the 2007’s edition

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EUR 100,000 in emergency relief forcyclone victims in BurmaThe ‘Stiftung RTL – Wir helfen Kindern e.V.’ foundation is providing EUR 100,000in emergency aid for the countless victims of Cyclone ‘Nargis’. Germany - 15 May 2008

It was one of the worst natural disasters to hitAsia since the tsunami in winter of 2004.Cyclone ‘Nargis’ swept the coast of Burma,known today as Myanmar, sending waves threemeters high crashing onto its shores and lea-ving 34,000 people dead, more than 30,000missing, and 1.5 million people in desperateneed of help (figures on 14 May 2008).

The ‘Stiftung RTL – Wir helfen Kindern e.V.’foundation has responded by donating 100,000euros in emergency relief funds. Through theWelthungerhilfe, the money will be used to dis-tribute the basic food and sanitary items nee-ded for survival, and to build emergency shel-ters.

Wolfram Kons, who oversees RTL’s charity acti-vities, said: “Just because there are few reportsand pictures from the disaster region, and thegovernment is blocking international aid andcoverage, we must by no means ignore thepeople and especially the children who are suf-fering. Our priority is to act quickly and unbu-reaucratically when such disasters hit. Ourpartners at Welthungerhilfe are already in thehard-hit regions and are now in a position toactually help the victims on the ground.”

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M6,the educational channelBy screening two documentaries on the modernhistory of the Jewish people and reporting indepth on this month’s rightful celebration of thecreation of the State of Israel under David Ben-Gurion in May 1948, M6 is unlocking a chapterof seminal history for its viewers.France - 15 May 2008

M6 is pulling off a tour de force by explaining insimple terms a really complex situation thatunleashes strong emotions in people. All in all,it’s an awesome achievement.

D’Auschwitz à Jérusalem (From Auschwitz toJerusalem) and Israël-Palestine, 60 ans de vio-lence (Israel and Palestine: 60 years of violen-ce) aired during the second part of the eveningon 8 and 11 May respectively. M6 opted torecount these major historical events by tellinga story that focussed on families and indivi-duals, an idea praised for its originality in the 4May edition of the French daily Le Monde.

D’Auschwitz à Jérusalem and Israël-Palestinewere the fruits of several years of research and,thanks to amateur film footage and photossourced in Europe, the Middle East, Russia andthe United States, M6 was able to present vie-

wers with a spellbinding story of men, womenand children who found themselves caught upin a tide of suffering and anguish. To bring his-tory to life and make it more accessible to thepublic, the producers opted mainly to use origi-nal colour images created at the time. Somearchive material was colourised and the mapswere produced in 3D.

M6 is now something of an old hand at probingmajor contemporary issues. In 2005 the chan-nel broadcast Hitler, la folie d'un homme. Thiswas followed in 2006 by Quand l’Algérie étaitfrançaise (When Algeria Was French) and in2007 by Staline, le tyran rouge (Stalin, the RedTyrant). M6 also acquired the rights to thisarchive footage for school broadcasts to giveteachers the free use of the two documentariesin classrooms to show them to their pupils.

8D’Auschwitz à Jérusalem

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RTL Interactive continues to expandits mobile portalGerman mobile phone users can now find even more information on programmesaired by RTL Television. In addition, Yahoo! OneSearch, the mobile online searchengine, is now an integral part of the service.Germany - 00 May 2008

The expansion of RTL Television’s mobile por-tal is centred around RTL Television’s strongprogramme brands. For instance, from now on,the mobile page of the daily soap Gute Zeiten,schlechte Zeiten (GZSZ) will be available onli-ne. At the GZSZ mobile address fans of theseries will find out all they want to know abouttheir favourite stars, get a sneak preview of thenext episode and gain access to extensiveimage galleries. There are also plenty of newfeatures in the portal’s sports section,whose new Formula 1 live ticker willinform motor racing fans in real time aboutwhat’s happening on the circuit. Footballfans, too, can always be up to date simplyby looking up the live results ofBundesliga games. And in the gameaccompanying the TV show Einer gegenHundert quiz fans can test their ownknowledge directly on their mobile phone.Moreover, use of the portal’s services isfree, so the only charges users will have topay are those levied by their mobile ope-rator for the respective data transfers.

Another new feature is the integration intoRTL’s mobile phone portal of Yahoo!OneSearch. The two main advantages ofthis innovative search engine are that ithas been optimised for display on mobilephone screens and can also evaluateresults locally. For example, anyone tryingto find out where a certain film is beingshown will be given the programmes ofcinemas near them.

Robert Fahle, Head of Mobile Media at RTLInteractive, said: “The ongoing development ofRTL’s mobile portal will make it the free gate-way par excellence to the mobile Web, a placewhere everyone can receive extensive serviceson all the relevant topics, including news, wea-ther, music, sport, stars and TV. Furthermore,the integrated search engine Yahoo!OneSearch serves as a springboard to anyother mobile website.”

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check out

mobil.rtl.de

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Five BavarianTV Awards forRTL Group companiesThree German RTL Group companies –Teamworx, Phoenix Film and RTL Television –came away with prizes at the 2008 Bavarian TVAwards. The winners were Alexandra Neldel,Katharina Wackernagel, Axel Milberg, ThomasPräkelt and Hape Kerkeling.Germany - 14 May 2008

Alexandra Neldel won the “Best Actress in aSeries or Miniseries” award for her performan-ce in the crime series Unschuldig (Innocent)produced by Teamworx for ProSieben. Neldelplays Anna Winter, a lawyer whose team reo-pens spectacular cases of innocently convictedpeople and tries to catch the real culprits byunusual means.

Axel Milberg received the Best Actor in thecategorie “Series and Miniseries” for his appe-reance in the ZDF series Doktor Martin. DoktorMartin is produced by Phoenix Film.

Katharina Wackernagel won an award in the“TV Movies” category for various performancesincluding her role in the Teamworx productionMein Mörder kommt zurück (ZDF; My murderercomes back), a psychodrama inwhich she plays a young womanwho, after testifying against organi-sed crime, is forced to begin a newlife through the witness-protectionprogramme. Earlier, the TV Movie hadwon a special award for best screen-play and audience prize of the rea-ders’ jury at the WiesbadenFernsehKrimi Festival in 2008, andwas nominated for the 2008 AdolfGrimme Award.

In the category “Information programmes”,Thomas Präkelt received an award as BestProducer for the RTL Television format DieArbeitsbeschaffer.

Hape Kerkeling won a prize for the showKerkeling liest – Ich bin dann mal weg(Kerkeling reads – Right, I’m Off Then) whichwas broadcast on RTL Television. The judgescommended him for reliably striking the rightnote in talking with the audience about his pil-grimage to Santiago (St. James’ Way), withoutever descending into silliness.

The Bavarian TV Award has been awardedannually since 1989 by the Bavarian stategovernment for outstanding achievements inGerman television.

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Katharina Wackernagel in Mein Mörder kommt zurück

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FremantleMediaAustralia scores atthe Logie AwardsFremantleMedia Australia’s The Choir of HardKnocks won “Most Outstanding Factual Series”and Stephen Curry picked up the award for“Most Outstanding Actor” at the Logies.Australia - 14 May 2008

The Choir of Hard Knocks, an original formatconceived and developed by FremantleMediaAustralia (FMA)’s Director of DevelopmentJason Stephens, follows top tenor and singingcoach Jonathon Welch as he forms a new andunlikely choir consisting of members ofMelbourne’s homeless and disadvantagedcommunity. First shown on ABC in May 2007,the programme charts the choir’s ups anddowns from recruitment to first rehearsal

through to a gala launch performance sixmonths later.

Also receiving recognition at the Logies wasFMA’s critically acclaimed drama The King. Itsstar, Stephen Curry, was named MostOutstanding Actor for his performance.

The Logies are one of Australia’s most impor-tant TV-awards given away by the TV-magazineTV Week.

TalkbackThames picks up Rose d’Or AwardTalkbackThames’ The IT Crowd was named Best Sitcom at this year’s prestigiousinternational Rose d'Or Awards, held in Lucerne, Switzerland, on Tuesday.United Kingdom - 13 May 2008

The series beat off stiff competition from allover Europe, including UK shows Gavin &Stacey and The Mighty Boosh.

The IT Crowd is set in the London offices ofReynholm Industries, which is full of glamorousgo-getters and high-flying executives. Whiletheir beautiful colleagues work upstairs in poshand spacious surroundings, the IT department– Jen, Roy and Moss – lurk below in a dingybasement, scorned by their co-workers asgeeky losers. The show focuses on the highjinks of the socially inept IT trio as they deal

with the onslaught of tech issues and deman-ding co-workers. “Have you tried turning it offand on again?” and “Are you sure it's pluggedin?” are common cries from the depths ofReynholm Industries as Jen, Roy and Mossstruggle for acceptance and a moment ofpeace from the never-ending demands of thecompany.

Earlier this year, Graham Lineham won the BestComedy Writer Award at the Royal TelevisionSociety Programme Awards. The series alsoreceived an International Emmy nomination.

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Special Screenings at the UN NatureConservation Conference in BonnBUND – the German chapter of Friends of the Earth International and Germany’slargest conservation organisation – and Universum Film are hosting two screeningsof the movie Unsere Erde at the UN Nature Conservation Conference in Bonn. Germany - 14 May 2008

At 19.30 on 23 May and 27 May, there will betwo special screenings of Unsere Erde (Earth)in Bonn, followed by a panel discussion. Anumber of international guests have been invi-ted to the discussions, including various politi-cians, the Chairman of BUND and the film’sproducers. Guests in the audience will includerepresentatives of several chapters of Friendsof the Earth international (BUND’s parent orga-nisation), among them representatives fromColombia, Paraguay, Denmark, Swaziland,Costa Rica, France, Papua-New Guinea, SierraLeone and Japan.

Unsere Erde, Europe’s most successful naturedocumentary ever, has attracted 3.4 million vie-wers to date, and has done a great deal towaken the ecological consciousness of manypeople, who now wish to become active: “Thefilm is a call to action, to get involved in protec-ting what you’ve just finished admiring,”confirms BUND CEO Dr. Gerhard Timm. Some5,000 representatives from all over the worldwill come together in Bonn for the 9th UNConference to Preserve Biological Diversity,which will be held in Bonn from 19 May to 30May, 2008.

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A ratings highWednesday evening couldn’t have gone better for RTL Television. Raus aus den Schulden(Get out of Debt) with Peter Zwegat hit a new ratings high, and RTL Television’s share ofthe daily viewer market was far above that of the competition as well.Germany - 9 May 2008

Ticket giveaway for Bon Jovi’s concert The French-speaking Belgian radio station is giving away two tickets to American rockgroup Bon Jovi’s concert on 14 June 2008 at King Baudouin Stadium, the Brussels leg ofthe group’s The Lost Highway Tour. To be in with a chance of winning, listeners just needto make a film about the city of Brussels, showing the places, people and landmarks thatgive the capital its charm. Belgium - 13 May 2008

NBC picks up FremantleMedia Enterprises’ MerlinFremantleMedia Enterprises has announced a landmark deal with the leading USbroadcaster, NBC, which has acquired the prestigious new family drama series Merlinfor its winter primetime line-up.United Kingdom - 14 May 2008

Creating a children’s paradiseDuring May and June, the children’s and sports channel Club RTL will invite youngBelgians aged between 2 and 12 years of age to come and enjoy the Club des Enfantskids’ club, organising a range of fun cultural activities outdoors.Belgium - 15 May 2008

A unique teletext football quiz in the NetherlandsDuring the play-off game between RKC Waalwijk and ADO Den Haag for a place in theDutch equivalent of the Premier League, for the first time in the Netherlands, the teletextservice RTL Text is offering viewers a unique opportunity to test their knowledge of‘the beautiful game’. The Netherlands - 15 May 2008

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People

Marc Schröder appointedManaging Director ofRTL InteractiveGermany - 9 May 2008

On 15 August 2008, Marc Schröder (37) willtake over from Johannes Züll as ManagingDirector of RTL Interactive, giving him operatio-nal responsibility for RTL’s online and mobileactivities as well as its value-added services.

He will also be managing the subsidiaries RTLEnterprises and RTL Games and, as a memberof the management team, he will contribute tomapping out Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland’sstrategic corporate development.

Marc Schröder is joining Mediengruppe RTLDeutschland after six years at DeutscheTelekom. He has held the position of SectorManager there since February 2007, and tookcare of international product management forthe landline provider.

After studying industrial engineering inKarlsruhe and visiting MIT as a researcher,Marc Schröder began his career at the BostonConsulting Group in Munich and Copenhagenin October 1995. In October 1999, he becameHead of Corporate Development at RTLTelevision, managing the development of RTLNewmedia’s (now RTL Interactive) businessactivities and monitoring progress in his role asDirector New Business until 2002.

Anke Schäferkordt, CEO of RTL Television,commented: “I’m delighted to welcome MarcSchröder to RTL Interactive’s managementteam. His proven expertise in Internet businessand digital platforms will definitely be valuable,as will his thorough knowledge ofMediengruppe RTL Deutschland, gained duringhis previous employment here. He will be res-ponsible for the strategic and operational ele-ments of further developing RTL’s successfulbrands and offers on all digital platforms, bothnow and in the future.”

Marc Schröder added: “Broadband, new plat-forms and business models have all made itonto the mass market. The ever-changingworld of digital media is more challenging nowthan ever before, but it also offers TV operatorsa wealth of opportunities. In my new role asManaging Director of RTL interactive and Headof Strategic Corporate Development forMediengruppe RTL Deutschland, I will workwith my colleagues at RTL and its subsidiariesto boost Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland’sonline and digital offer and systematically deve-lop RTL’s digital strategy. The experience I gai-ned at Deutsche Telekom will be very helpful.”

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Marc Schröder

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People

New appointment andnew structure at R-TimeHungary - 13 May 2008

R-Time, the largest media sales house inHungary, changed both its structure and itsmanagement in May. Gabriella Vidus has beenappointed Executive Director of R-Time andCommercial Director of RTL Klub.

The former Executive Director of R-Time, SteveVarcoe, will continue working for RTL Klub as aconsultant.

R-Time also revamped its structure: as from May,the different departments will be controlled bytheir respective directors. Account Director PálBíró, Strategic Director Krisztina Némethy andSales Directors Gergely Dudás and ZsófiaDemeter (RTL Klub, cable channels and onlineactivities) are R-Time’s new top managers. Thistransformation of the company and rejuvenation

of the brand will be followed by an intensive com-munication campaign.

“We develop constantly; a lot of our plans shouldjust grow familiar with our clients, like the co-branded sponsorship”, Gabriella Vidus said. “Itbasically means associating two brands with thesame show both of which build and strengtheneach other in a way that their common brandcharacteristic is in the centre of communication.”

Gabriella Vidus (32) graduated as a marketingeconomist from Budapest Business School andthe University of Economy in 2000. She startedher career in 1997 at SBS-owned TV2, before joi-ning RTL Klub in 2000. Since R-Time Sales andMarketing was established in 2004, she has beenthe company’s Deputy Executive Director.

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Gabriella Vidus

Jacques Santer

People

Jacques Santer’sappointment asChairman of the Boardof CLT-UFA renewed Luxembourg - 15 May 2008

The Board of Directors of CLT-UFA, a subsidia-ry of RTL Group, on 14 May renewed JacquesSanter's appointment as Chairman of theBoard of CLT-UFA for another one-year period.

Jacques Santer, former Prime Minister of theLuxembourg Government (1984–1995) and

President of the European Commission(1995–1999), has been a member of the Boardof Directors of CLT-UFA since 2004 and itschairman since May 2004. He has also been anindependent, non-executive member of theRTL Group Board of Directors since December2004.

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