Luxembourg

The International Herald Tribune portrays Gerhard Zeiler

France

Groupe M6 publishes first-quarter revenues

Belgium

RTL-TVI’s new access prime time

Spain

Ponle Freno launches initiativeto boost safety distances on Spanish roads

week 18

5 May 2011

“They want surprises”Why Deutschland sucht den Superstar is so incredibly popular

the RTL Group intranetweek 18

Luxembourg

The International Herald Tribune portrays Gerhard Zeiler

France

Groupe M6 publishes first-quarter revenues

Belgium

RTL-TVI’s new access prime time

Spain

Ponle Freno launches initiativeto boost safety distances on Spanish roads

week 18

5 May 2011

“They want surprises”Why Deutschland sucht den Superstar is so incredibly popular

Cover: Dieter Bohlen, judge on Deutschland sucht den Superstar

2

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For many years now, talent shows have been among the greatest audience magnets worldwide. What makes them so popular?Dieter Bohlen: Talent shows are not popular just because they are talent shows. But ours on RTL Television are successful. I believe that these days, TV works only if you get the emo-tions flowing, and here we cover the whole range from tears and happiness, to schadenfreude and cringing in embarrassment. I try to introduce new elements into these formats from one season to the next because I’m convinced it’s very impor-tant to change things. A Mercedes-Benz of today looks different from a model of 20 years ago, af-ter all. If you land a success, you can’t just keep duplicating it, or it becomes boring.

How do the shows in Germany differ from those in other countries? What gives them a specifically German flavour?Dieter Bohlen: I think if we were to do Idols just like in America we’d get roughly the same ratings as Popstars does here in Germany – a 16 or 17 per cent audience share among young viewers. But our average ratings in the younger demographics are well over 30 per cent with both Deutschland sucht den Superstar and Das Supertalent. The reason is that we divide opinion, we entertain, and we don’t shy away from conflict. We put on a good Saturday evening show for the whole family. This wouldn’t work by giving them the lowest common denominator. I’ve spent the past ten years working in the TV business and I think we know exactly what the audience wants from us. And they don’t want boring – they want surprises.

Sarah Engels is now a contestant in the final despite having being voted out by the audi-ence at the beginning. She was reinstated to the show when another contestant resigned for health reasons. How would you explain her getting so far now? Tom Sänger: Vocally Sarah was always in the forefront, even in the eyes of the jury. Her initial difficulty was in dealing with the pressure, which keeps getting bigger for contestants of course, especially once they make it into the top 10. Anyone who watched the semi-finals could see that Sarah has been working on herself and how she comes across to others. And that’s exactly what the audience wants to see – contestants who are not perfect, but are capable of developing. Sarah worked hard, struggled, got kicked out and returned. Then she used her chance to work on her dream of making it in music and never gave up. The viewers appreciate that.

Loads of action In the run-up to the finale of Deutschland sucht den Superstar, Backstage talked to Dieter Bohlen, head judge on the show, and Tom Sänger, Head of Entertainment at RTL Television.Germany - 5 May 2011

Tom Sänger, Head of Entertainment at RTL Television

Sarah Engels and Pietro Lombardo are the two finalists of Deutschland sucht den Superstar

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To what extent do the judges’ comments influence the outcome of the competition?Dieter Bohlen: Well, I don’t think people really care what the judges say when they cast their vote. Unless I say something. I’m always right, guys! (laughs)

You get a lot of criticism for your role on the juries. Do you smile and shrug it off or does it annoy you sometimes? Dieter Bohlen: No, everyone knows envy is the greatest form of recognition, and the more the others get worked up, the better. Then I know I’ve done everything right. It’s even been suggested that I have people write my comments. That’s nonsense. I come up with all these celebrated one-liners myself. People watching on Saturday night want to have a bit of a laugh, too. Besides, I also respond to each contestant individually. If someone needs my protection, I’ll protect them. If someone needs my help, I’ll help them. I love grannies anyway and children are great too – and they see my protective side right from the start. But on Deutschland sucht den Superstar you often get people who are just begging to be taken down a notch or two. So that’s what they get. And again, all of this shouldn’t be so deadly serious. After all, the show’s title means “Germany searches for a superstar” – well, I never promised I’d find one (laughs).

But you do have hopes?Dieter Bohlen: Seriously: our Supertalent winner Michael Hirte has sold 1.3 million CDs. Mark Medlock, the winner of season four of Idols in Germany, has had five number one hits. If you compare that to America in relative terms, we’ve been about as successful – so we really have nothing to be ashamed of.

So if we were to make a point of it, what is ultimately more important, the talent or the story behind the talent?Dieter Bohlen: I think the story is very important. But we can only offer people the story. The question is always: how will people react to it? If people think “yeah, a hard-luck story, but the guy’s really disgusting or unpleasant”, it won’t work. The audience immediately see whether something is real. When Michael Hirte got up on stage, people saw he was 100 per cent real. If it weren’t, you could stage it any way you want and it still wouldn’t work.

In season 8, the state media authority banned 16-year-old Sebastian Würth from appearing after 22:00 – he, too, was a favourite. What is

your take on this rule? How will you deal with it in future seasons? Tom Sänger: We don’t intend to change, that is,

increase the minimum age of 16. We will also continue to abide by the requirements of the youth occupational safety regulations. We will announce whether we plan to raise the maxi-mum age, and what we are going to do in 2012, live during the finals on Saturday.

Looking back, how pleased are you with season 8 of Deutschland sucht den Superstar? Tom Sänger: We have every reason to be very pleased. It has been and still is – with the final yet ahead – a great and intense season for us as the people behind the scenes. And when I listen to the public discourse about it, it has been so for the viewers too. We had fantastic contest-

“I’m always right, guys!”Dieter Bohlen

Dieter Bohlen entering the studio

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ants and have become even broader and more contemporary in the choice of music. We change details every season, and continue to develop Deutschland sucht den Superstar with a lot of passion – no season is like the previous ones. We have pursued new approaches in production, starting with the recall in the paradise setting of the Maldives, to the dramatic and musically extremely elaborate editing, to fantastic stage productions that rival any shows put on by inter-national artists. So we are all the more pleased that these efforts by the whole team have gone down so well with the viewers, have moved and captivated them. The current season has been very successful so far, with an average 6.32 million viewers aged 3 and over and an excellent 32.2 per cent share of the 14 to 49 viewer market before the final.

Do you already have some ideas for season 9? Tom Sänger: We have a lot of ideas, and will be announcing some of them in next Saturday’s final. Everything else will be done in good time, which we will use to plan an exciting new sea-son for next year. One thing is already certain, though: Deutschland sucht den Superstar will continue to provide new inspiration in its 9th season and constitute the state-of-the-art in German shows. What remains important is that we continue to evolve along with viewers’ tastes. That’s the only way for Deutschland sucht den Superstar to stay close to the people.

Dieter Bohlen, the “Pop Titan”, entering the studio like a boxer

Dieter BohlenDieter Bohlen knows the music business like no other. With over 30 years of experience as a producer and artist, he has sold more than 160 million records. In 2002, he became a judge on Deutschland sucht den Superstar (Idols), and of the original judges, is the only one remaining. Since 2007, he has also been a juror on Das Supertalent (Got Talent) and has played a major role in the popularity of talent shows in Germany.

Tom SängerTom Sänger has headed RTL Television’s Entertainment Show & Daytime department since 2002. In this role, he is also Executive Producer of Deutschland sucht den Superstar and is also responsible for shows such as Das Supertalent and Let’s Dance. Sänger began his career in 1994 as a news researcher at Vox before working for RTL II as Head of Programme Coordination / Programme Planning from October 1994 to October 2000. He then joined RTL Television as Head of the Daytime department, where his

responsibilities included developing Das Jugendgericht and other court

shows before he became Head of Entertainment in 2002.

Watch the finale of

Deutschland sucht

den Superstar on 7 May

at 20:15

on RTL Television

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The article reflects how RTL Group is “still pulling big audiences and advertising revenue”, despite the fact that television was declared dead by “some trendy Internet types” already a few years ago. Referring to the Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award, media editor Eric Pfanner writes: “If there were a television talent show to crown a ‘Mr. TV Europe,’ Gerhard Zeiler would be a natural.” But Zeiler does not claim the title for himself and is quoted: “There is no such thing. That doesn’t exist. The competition is not a European one. It is a local one.”

To explain the history of RTL and make it more tangible for readers worldwide, Eric Pfanner describes: “RTL is a descendant of Radio Luxembourg, which gave many Europeans their first taste of commercial radio in the 1930s. Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones wrote in his biography that it was on Radio Luxembourg that he first heard Elvis Presley’s Heartbreak Hotel.”

Gerhard Zeiler is portrayed as a manager who “continues to champion mass-market, commercially friendly entertainment.” Formats like The X Factor and the Idol and Got Talent franchises are described as being a backbone of many of RTL Groups channels.Consequently, the headline of the article says “European bet on mass-market TV pays off”. Gerhard Zeiler is said to watch almost every new drama from the United States, as well as any important new show in Europe.“I always wanted to be programme director,” Gerhard Zeiler is quoted, joking: “Nobody has let me do that so far.”

At the end of the article, after referring to the sale of Five in the UK and the acquisition of Alpha in Greece, Pfanner explains Zeiler’s strategy of geographical growth: “He has been investing in faster-growing markets in Central and Eastern Europe, and is setting up a joint venture with Reliance Broadcast Network of India to operate television channels in that country.”

In terms of online media, the article says: “As sources of online video proliferate and more and more mainstream movies and television programs are made available, Mr. Zeiler said, consumers will continue to look to traditional channel ‘brands’ to help them sort through the options.” That view is shared by some analysts: “What sounded conservative a few years ago is actually the way the digital media world is going,” the article quotes Daniel Knapp, an analyst at the research firm Screen Digest. “Amid the whole panic that the linear TV experience would fragment and fall apart, Gerhard Zeiler realized that TV would still be able to bring mass audiences in front of a single screen.”

“I always wanted to be programme director”This week, The New York Times and its global edition, The International Herald Tribune, ran an extensive feature on Gerhard Zeiler, CEO of RTL Group.Luxembourg - 5 May 2011Gerhard Zeiler in The International Herald Tribune

Read the full article in

The International Herald

Tribune of 2 May 2011.

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Grupo Antena 3’s net revenue for the first three months of the year 2011 was EUR 203.8 million – a 5.6 per cent improvement over the EUR 192.9 million generated in the first quarter of 2010. First-quarter EBITDA increased by 16.2 per cent to EUR 29.1 million (Q1/2010: EUR 25.0 million). Net income totalled EUR 19.6 million – up from EUR 15.9 million in the first three months of 2010.

Antena 3 clearly outperformed the Spanish TV advertising market in the first quarter of 2011: while the overall TV advertising market was up 1 per cent compared to Q1/2010, Antena 3’s net ad sales grew by 5.7 per cent year on year. Thus, the TV channel was able to increase its share of the advertising market by 1.5 percentage points to 30.2 per cent.

Confirming the momentum triggered by the recovery in the ad sales market in 2010, Groupe M6 generated EUR 194.9 million in advertising revenues from M6, the digital channels and online sites.

However, Groupe M6’s non-advertising revenues were down 18.8 per cent, due to a particularly tough comparison base and the seasonality of some activities.

At the end of March 2011, the digital channels’ revenues (channel advertising revenues and distribution revenues) were up 8.4 per cent. This growth was mainly driven by W9, which achieved an average total audience share of 3.3 per cent over the period, and 4.2 per cent in its commer-cial target group, thus reinforcing its position as the leading DTT channel in this target group.

After 18.0 per cent growth during the first three months of 2010, Diversification and Audiovisual rights revenues were down 20.4 per cent in Q1/2011, due to a very tough base effect. In the first quarter of 2011, Diversification and Audiovisual rights did not benefit from the same conditions and seasonality they did in 2010, driven by the success of Twilight 2 in video for Audiovisual rights and the participation of the Football Club des Girondins de Bordeaux in the Uefa Champion’s League. However, Interactive activities continued their positive development during the first quarter of 2011.

Growing profitsGrupo Antena 3 published its financials for the first quarter of 2011. Revenue, operating profit and net result increased significantly year-on-year.Spain - 29 April 2011

Groupe M6 publishes first-quarter revenues In the first quarter of 2011, the Groupe M6 increased its advertising revenues by 8.8 per cent to EUR 194.9 million, while consolidated revenues were down to EUR 342.7 million.France - 4 May 2011

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In France, the government is currently thinking about launching a call for tender for additional digital channels, the so-called “bonus channels.” If this is done today, in the audiovisual market as it stands now, Groupe M6 believes there is a risk of imbalance to the entire sector as the current advertising market is not in a position to finance new channels, short of waiting for the complete halt to advertising on France Télévisions 2016. In any event, Groupe M6 is ready to reply to calls for tenders by the public authorities.

“It would be equitable for Groupe M6 to obtain two new authorisations as TF1 and Canal Plus have six terrestrial channels, and France Télévisions has five, while our group has only four,” said Thomas Valentin, Deputy Chairman of the Groupe M6 Management Board in the 28 April 2011 edition of Le Figaro. Wiki TV and M6 Famille will be free DTT channels – two ambitious projects as Groupe M6, which is ready to invest EUR 150 million per year, aims to have these channels make it into the top five on DTTV.

Thomas Valentin sketched out the two new channels’ editorial lines: “Wiki TV belongs to a new generation of channels. It’s a general-interest channel that targets a wide audience. Its content will be easily identifiable thanks to the magazine shows and documentaries that will be of prime concern to French viewers. Wiki TV will be a participative channel. In the era of ultra connexion, we want to make this channel a place of exchange and communication that allows viewers’ experiences to be exchanged through

the screen. Our idea is to construct, show, tell and pass on the testimonies and experiences of people through a new generation of authors, directors and producers who are digital native and who cultivate new forms of writing.”

As for the aptly named M6 Famille, it will be the channel that gathers the family around the television to be entertained, to play and to learn together. “In an era where the individual screen is widespread, we want to offer a channel that can be shared. We are committed not to broad-cast any content that is prohibited to viewers under 12 or under 16,” added Thomas Valentin. When Le Figaro raised the question of the risk of cannibalisation that could make new general-in-terest channels run back to already-established brands, the argument was swept aside by the Deputy Chairman of the Management Board: “On the contrary, we have the conviction that to succeed with a free national channel, it must be a general-interest channel with its own unique colour. Our ambition is to create a family of chan-nels, with each channel readily identified by its new and exclusive programmes.”

Concepts for new DTT channelsIn an interview with the French daily Le Figaro, Thomas Valentin spoke about the possible allocation of two bonus channels: Wiki TV and M6 Famille.France - 29 April 2011

Thomas Valentin

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In each episode of Gepest (Bullied), Peter van der Vorst tells one bullying victim’s story. What are the victim’s memories of that time (in school)? When did the bullying start? Who bullied them? Why were they victimised? How did this terrible time affect their later life? Besides the victims, van der Vorst also meets with experts on the topic as well as teachers, parents, partners and siblings and asks them what they remember, wether they interfered and how the victims have changed.

Van der Vorst also visits the erstwhile tormen-tors and asks them: why did they participate in the bullying? Have they any idea of the effects of their bullying? At the end of each episode, the victim has an opportunity to confront one of their tormentors in person, and thereby perhaps finally leave the experience behind them for good.

RTL 4 hopes the new format will draw attention to the issue of bullying and its devastating implications for the victims and for society. Gepest will air Thursdays at 21:30 on RTL 4, starting 5 May.

Peter van der Vorst presents GepestSchoolyard or workplace bullying happens across all countries, cultures and age groups. In a new show called Gepest, Peter van der Vorst helps people who were tormented for a long time and still suffer from the effects today.Netherlands - 5 May 2011

Peter van der Vorst

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On 21 March, the public channels of RTBF overhauled their news slots whereas, a few days later, RTL-TVI revamped the sets of its access prime-time news magazine programmes.

Stéphane Rosenblatt, Director of RTL Belgium’s television channels, explained that the news department’s management was banking partly on the new presenters’ complementarity and pluralism and partly on the improvements to the sets.

“If one deems that a stress test needed to be passed in the last four weeks, following major changes by both groups – RTL Belgium and RTBF – in the 18:30 to 20:00 time slot,” he estimated, “I can tell you that we succeeded very well.”

While the public broadcaster polished up its midday and evening news programme schedules, RTL Belgium preferred to put new credits and studios in place. The decision was made “over eight months ago”, proving that RTL Belgium does not wait for the competition to make a move before questioning itself or making changes.

Stéphane Rosenblatt eagerly insisted on the fact that “change for change’s sake is not the objective” at RTL Belgium: the clarity of the programme schedule and the permanent points of reference that are familiar to viewers are very important. “Our viewers are attached to their beacons. Generally, between 16:30 and 20:30, you have a schedule on RTL-TVI that is highly visible, with programmes firmly established. Changes always raise anxiety and people don’t like that very much.”

In conclusion, Stéphane Rosenblatt sees this news renaissance in a positive fashion: “it pushes us to outdo ourselves and to constantly re-invent ourselves.”

“RTL-TVI is proud to have passed its stress test” In two interviews on RTL Belgium’s website RTL.be, Stéphane Rosenblatt, talked about the latest transformations in how the news is handled by the French-language Belgian channels. Belgium - 2 May 2011

Stéphane Rosenblatt

RTL.be

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The citadel of Namur, one of Europe’s largest fortresses of olden times, roared with the sound of hope on Sunday 1 May 2011. The great Télévie Rally proved once again to be a big success for the organisers, with 20,000 people attending the event.

An impressive crowd showed up to admire and cheer on the vintage cars and motorcycles and to attend the many concerts that were held. In all, there were 2,500 motorcyclists, 750 vintage and souped-up cars and 50 bicycles that answered the call.

Jean-François Guillin, Télévie Rally coordi-nator, comments: “A big thanks to all the people who took part in this event held in glorious sunshine – the motorcyclists, of course, the fans of vintage and souped-up cars and the many families who gathered at this magnificent site at the citadel of Namur. We also owe this success to the excellent cooperation of the city of Namur, to certain enterprises such as the public transit companies, which played an active role, at no charge, as well as the 300 volunteers. The RTL team of the Télévie Rally are set to beat the record again next year on 15 April 2012.”

The Télévie Rally beats all records The Télévie mobilises large numbers of people who do not hesitate to lend their support in the fight against leukaemia. This year, the Télévie Rally was held in Namur and drew a record crowd.Belgium - 3 May 2011

During the event, many concerts were organised...

...attracting 20,000 people to attend the Télévie Rally in Namur

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In the US, France and Japan the roads have distinctive lines showing the ‘safety distance’ drivers should observe when on motorways, dual carriageways (divided highways) or when entering tunnels and exiting city centres. This measure has proven successful in preventing many accidents. On 3 May 2011, Ponle Freno, Grupo Antena 3’s road safety initiative, launched a new campaign advocating the introduction of such signage in Spain.

The campaign, which will be featured on all of the group’s TV channels and radio stations via spots, seeks to mobilise the government and encourage the Ministry of Public Works and the administrations in charge of the roads to clearly and visibly mark with paint safety lines on Span-ish roads. As demonstrated by the American, French and Japanese authorities, these signs prevent collisions and can save thousands of lives.

The campaign was inspired by the results of a survey Ponle Freno recently carried out on its website PonleFreno.com. They indicated that 95 per cent of respondents feel the safety distance signs are a necessary measure, while 96.3 per cent admitted to feeling unsafe and nervous when the vehicle behind them doesn’t keep a minimum distance.

On the launch day at 15:00, the Antena 3 No-ticias news ran a brief report on the measure while Onda Cero and Europa FM started the on-air campaign at 14:00. In the coming weeks, Grupo Antena 3 will mobilise all of its TV, radio and Internet media to extensively communicate the issue and build awareness for it.

Safety distance signage for accident preventionPonle Freno launched a new campaign aimed at getting the government to clearly signal proper safety distances along Spain’s roads, a measure that has proven to reduce accidents.Spain - 4 May 2011

Example of painted safety lines on roads

For more information, see:

PonleFreno.com

What is your secret?

On 2 May, 15 candidates moved

into the ‘Big Brother’ house – at first

30 candidates entered the studio with

masks before the final 15 candidates were

announced and revealed their faces. In

the 11th season of ‘Big Brother’ entitled

‘The Secret’, every single candidate has

his own secret which must be preserved

at all times. 12.4 per cent of the viewers

aged 14 to 49 tuned in to the

first show on RTL II.

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M6 still the leading channel in access prime timeM6 confirmed its number one position in access prime time in April 2011, with 600,000 more viewers in the 19:45 to 20:30 time slot year-on-year – with a total audience share of 10.8 per cent, the channel had its best monthly performance since September 2010. France - 4 May 2011

Super-talents wantedOpen auditions for the new season of Das Supertalent began last weekend. The new series is scheduled to air in autumn. Germany - 2 May 2011

Stressed out, injured or even harassed at work?In its tradition of service to its listeners, RTL Radio in France devoted its programming on 2 May to the theme of “Well-being at Work” (“Bien-vivre au Travail”), in partnership with FNATH, an association for people with lifelong injuries. France - 2 May 2011

The German TV market in AprilIn April, Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland’s channels collectively reached an audience share of 35.7 per cent of among 14- to 49-year-old viewers in Germany. This put them 6.7 percentage points ahead of the ProSiebenSat1 channels, which scored 29.0 per cent of the market. Germany - 3 May 2011

Best April since 1998In April, RTL Nederland’s channels scored a total audience share of 34.7 per cent in their target group of viewers aged 20 to 49, confirming the group’s position as the clear market leader. With an audience share of 20 per cent among shoppers aged 20 to 49, RTL 4 scored its best audience share since 1998.Netherlands - 3 May 2011

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The quest continues The second season of the UFA Lab produced series Rail Adventures is now available on Eurail.com and its Facebook profile.Germany - 4 May 2011

Verbotene Liebe makes dreams come true At the beginning of May, the team behind the daily soap Verbotene Liebe donated EUR 5,000 to ProMädchen and invited 12 girls to visit the set of the daily soap as part of the ‘Grundy UFA hilft’ initiative.Germany - 5 May 2011

Halftime for the online who dunit Wer rettet Dina Foxx? The online community is enthusiastically participating in the cross-media Internet mystery following the broadcast of Teamworx-produced Wer rettet Dina Foxx? on ZDF on 20 April 2011.Germany - 5 May 2011

UFA Cinema films Jesus Loves MeEnd of April 2011 shooting began in Cologne on the new UFA Cinema production Jesus Loves Me (working title), Florian David Fitz’s highly anticipated directorial debut. Germany - 3 May 2011

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