From zero to hero

30 April 2009
week
18
From zero to hero
Christoph Mainusch on RTL Televizija’s fifth anniversary
Belgium / Luxembourg
Belgium
Télévie 2009 collects more
than EUR 8 million
RTL Belgium organising
the Fêtes de Wallonie
Germany
United Kingdom
Girls’ Day in Cologne
FremantleMedia and MySpace
produce Freak
week
18
COVER:
Montage with Christoph Mainusch, Chief Executive Officer of RTL Televizija
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week 18
“We started with ten
computers and ten
employees”
Christoph Mainusch, CEO of RTL Televizija
Back in 2004, many said ‘mission impossible’,
but RTL Televizija and its programming were
established in record time. Today RTL Televizija
covers about 96 per cent of Croatia’s territory
with its signal and has been the leader in prime
time and all-day broadcasting almost from the
start.
Gerhard Zeiler, CEO of RTL Group, says
“RTL Televizija has become synonymous with
entertaining, informative and innovative
Croatian TV. We at RTL Group congratulate our
Croatian colleagues on building such a powerful TV channel from scratch, taking it from
start-up to top speed in such a short space of
time.”
A successful combination of licensed programmes adapted for the domestic market, local
production, and foreign programmes were the
key to the success of RTL Televizija. The
channel was a trendsetter from the beginning:
with the launch of Big Brother, RTL Televizija
sparked the success story of reality shows and
introduced additional innovation by setting up
the first daily soap in Croatia: Zabranjena ljubav. One of the world’s greatest talent shows,
Idols, made its Croatian debut on RTL Televizija
under the name Hrvatska trazi zvijezdu.
On 30 April 2004, RTL Televizija started
broadcasting on the frequency formerly owned
by HTV 3. In the run-up up to the anniversary
Backstage spoke to Christoph Mainusch about
the first five years.
Croatia - 23 April 2009
By the end of 2006, its second full year of
operation, RTL Televizija had achieved remarkable results. Not only had it become the clear
market leader in daytime and prime time broadcasting to the vital 18 to 49 year old viewer
group, it had also broken even financially.
By the end of 2008 – in addition to entertainment programming – RTL Televizija had
secured the leading position in information
programmes as well. The broadcaster
therefore opened up correspondent centres in
five Croatian cities, to provide the maximum
possible amount of up-to-date information right
from the spot. RTL Televizija achieved the
highest transmission and production standards
with its broadcast of the World Handball Cup
2009 which was the biggest sports event
in Croatia’s history.
On 30 April 2009, RTL Televizija celebrates its
fifth anniversary, and a success story in the
truest sense of the word – a good time to talk
with
Christoph
Mainusch,
CEO
of
RTL Televizija, about the past five years.
How did you personally experience the starting phase of RTL Televizija five years ago?
The story began in 2003 when the Croatian
Parliament decided to privatise HTV 3, one of
the three public channels. The consortium led
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The 21st World Handball Championship was the biggest sports event in Croatia’s history – broadcast on RTL Televizija
by RTL Group was awarded the concession
after having gone through the public tender
process during which it convinced the authorities that it had the best concept. RTL Televizija
first went on air on 30 April 2004 and became
the market leader in the territory almost from
day one. We started with ten computers and
ten employees. It was quite a challenging
green-field operation and certainly one of the
best experiences in my professional life.
Apart from the programme and production
aspects, we have influenced changes in
Croatia’s media legislation, especially the Law
on Electronic Media. RTL Televizija is advocating the implementation of the EU best practice
with respect to advertising on the public TV
broadcaster, which is one of the biggest
problems of the Croatian media market, since
this has placed commercial televisions in a very
unfavourable position.
RTL was not an unknown brand since some
households already had access to the German
channel RTL Television on cable or via satellite.
When we took over the frequency of HTV 3, we
were already pre-set as channel number three
on all remote controls when we started. That
helped as well.
We are very confident that the local media
authorities will recognise our suggestions
regarding the process of digitisation. These
suggestions relate mainly to the decrease of
advertising allowed on the public broadcaster
and an equal treatment of all broadcasters in
the digital world. We will follow a multi-channel
strategy, whereas HTV needs to stay within its
public mandate by offering new content.
Today, RTL Televizija is one of the strongest
and most recognised brands in Croatia. Last
year we were awarded the status of a
Superbrand, as one of the leading 100 brands
in Croatia.
How did the Croatian TV market develop
within the last five years?
The TV landscape has changed significantly
since we arrived on the Croatian market. Before
the launch of RTL Televizija, the Croatian TV
market was dominated by the public broadcaster HTV. We have set new programming trends.
Daily talk-shows, daily soaps, US series in
prime time, big entertainment shows and docu
soaps – these are all new genres we brought
into the market.
What is RTL Televizija’s general philosophy
concerning programming and formats?
At the beginning we were perceived as an international, and not as a local broadcaster. This
has changed in the meantime; we have
developed a clear positioning of the station and
a strong brand. Our most recent success was
the broadcast of the Handball World
Championship which further promoted our
positive image. As the home broadcaster of
this sports event, for the final match we achieved the highest ratings of an individual
programme since the beginning of ratings
measurement in Croatia in 2003. According to
research conducted by the IHF and the
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Sportfive agency, the World Handball
Championship in Croatia was watched by as
many as 293 million viewers all over the world.
Additionally, we have introduced the local
versions of the most successful international
formats like Big Brother, Idols, Beat the Host or
Farmer wants a Wife, as well as top foreign
licensed programmes. The top ten US prime
time series on the market are all with
RTL Televizija. Our news and magazine programme has also set new standards in the market. Last fall our news outperformed the main
news of the public broadcaster in terms of
audience share. We also introduced a new way
of scheduling which was not that well
developed before we came to the market.
Logo of the Croatian version of Idols
RTL Televizija reached break-even just two
years after its launch. What is the secret to
your success?
Creativity in programming is one side of our
success, cost efficiency and a good sales
concept the other. Obviously we somehow
combined these three factors properly. To have
succeeded in breaking even in our second full
year, one year ahead of our original plan, makes
us proud, especially as we are operating in a
relatively small market.
How are you going to celebrate the
anniversary?
Last Sunday we introduced an on-air campaign
to celebrate our fifth anniversary. On our birthday on 30 April we will launch our new
corporate identity as well. All of our local shows
will refer to our anniversary. Internally, we will
celebrate without big parties, but with a good
deal of happiness.
Antonija Blace was candidate in season one of Big Brother and
then became one of RTL Televizija’s presenters
What was your greatest success with RTL
Televizija?
It was definitely the Men’s World Handball
Championship and the five seasons of Big
Brother. The last one in fall of 2008 took place
in Thailand. Both projects were quite challenging for us.
What are your favourite shows on
RTL Televizija?
Idols and Beat the Host. These shows are
currently the most talked-about.
Lorena Nosic, presenter of Farmer wants a Wife
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What are the advantages of being part of
a major European entertainment company?
Being able to learn from each other. The TV
tastes of European audiences are very similar.
A while ago, you launched RTL plus. What
are you planning for the future? Are you
going to build a Croatian family of channels?
In March 2008, RTL Televizija launched
RTL Plus, the first IPTV channel aired exclusively on T-Com’s IPTV platform. It’s a secondchance viewing channel that further exploits
week 18
our programme brands. It has been a good test
for the additional distribution of our content at
an early stage of a digital world. Digitisation is
certainly one of the challenges ahead. Over the
next couple of years the Croatian market will be
digitised and the viewers will be able to choose
between up to 32 national programmes. For us,
this means that we will need to pursue a
multi-channel strategy.
Croatia’s Next Top Model
The three most-watched programmes on RTL Televizija
(among young viewers aged 18 to 49)
Handball World Cup
Final game: France vs. Croatia – 1 February 2009
Audience share: 81.3 per cent
Big Brother, Final of the first season
26 December 2004
Audience share: 79.9 per cent
Football qualification for the European Championship
England vs. Croatia – 21 November 2007
Audience share: 74.9 per cent
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Télévie 2009 gives life
a chance to win!
The luxembourgish presenter Dan Spogen and
Télévie coordinator Cécile Hemmen
The funds collected in Télévie’s 21 years of
existence have now surpassed the symbolic
EUR 100 million mark, with the entire amount
being turned over to scientific research in the
relentless battle against cancer.
Belgium / Luxembourg - 28 April 2009
On Saturday evening 25 April, the 2009 edition
of Télévie ended in general jubilation on
RTL-TVI in Belgium and RTL Télé Lëtzebuerg in
the Grand Duchy. Organised each year to
collect funds for scientific research into
leukaemia and cancer in children and adults,
the Télévie programme in Belgium took place
at Namur-Expo and at the Kirchberg studios in
Luxembourg. Belgians and Luxembourgers
alike rallied in numbers to add their contributions to the total, with everyone performing at
their own level and according to their means.
The 21st edition of Télévie ended with a new
record for donation pledges and the counter
proudly read EUR 8,162,543, of which
EUR 1,219,767 alone came from the Grand
Duchy of Luxembourg. In total, EUR
100,713,360 were collected since 1989 and the
total amount was turned over to the National
Scientific Research Fund (FNRS). These donations make it possible for a hundred scientists
to work full time in cancer research.
In Luxembourg, the entire team of researchers
from the Cancer Laboratory of Molecular and
Cellular Biology (LBMCC) at Kirchberg
Hospital, led by Dr. Marc Diederich, were there
to lend a hand by working at the call centre.
Television viewers became emotional when
Vanessa Calcagno, the local winner in Wanns
de eppes kanns (Got Talent) sang the sublime
Nessun Dorma from Puccini’s celebrated opera
Turandot: a highly charged moment symbolic
of this 2009 edition of Télévie.
Philippe Delusinne presents the total amount
raised by Télévie 2009
Last Friday 24 April, RTL Group hosted its fifth
consecutive annual Télévie Challenge at the
Group’s Corporate Centre in Luxembourg
Kirchberg. Between noon and 20:00, staff from
the Corporate Centre and some celebrity
guests pedalled as hard as they could on the
training bikes in the company’s fitness centre.
At 20:00, the Télévie Challenge was completed.
The
participants
clocked
up
for
8,826 kilometres. For each kilometre
completed on these fitness bikes, the company
pays EUR 5.00 towards Télévie summing up to
an amount of EUR 44,130. RTL Group rounded
up this sum to a final donation of EUR 50,000.
Finally, two sponsors were giving additional
EUR 1,485 (Elco) and EUR 1,188 (Sales Lentz).
Last year, 400 highly motivated staff and
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friends of Télévie clocked up a grand total of
9,644 km, which converted into EUR 43,398.
RTL Group then generously rounded up that
figure to EUR 50,000.
Elmar Heggen, Chief Financial Officer and
Head of the Corporate Centre of RTL Group,
said: “Today’s worrying economic environment
has in no way diminished RTL Group’s enthusiasm for the Télévie appeal. The company
took a strong social stand by pledging to fight
a grand and noble cause: combating cancer
and helping those suffering from the disease
not to fall into despair. During the 21 years of
Télévie’s existence, scientific research has
achieved several major breakthroughs in the
treatment of cancer. This single fact undoubtedly provides the best possible justification for
RTL Group’s commitment.
Romain Mannelli (left), Executive Vice President Corporate HR of
RTL Group, and Elmar Heggen, Chief Financial Officer and Head
of the Corporate Centre of RTL Group, presenting the final sum
Participants of the 5th annual Télévie Challenge
Vanessa Calcagno
Visit:
Télévie in a few figures:
m
roup.co
g
l
t
r
.
e
i
Telev
and
.rtl.lu
Televie
The chain of solidarity that characterises Télévie was put in place by RTL-TVI in
Belgium in 1989 and by RTL Lëtzebuerg in 2001. Since 1989, tens of thousands of
people, including TV presenters, journalists, artists, researchers and anonymous
volunteers, have all played their part to raise money for research into cancer, and
leukaemia in particular. The EUR 100,713,360 amassed since the launch of Télévie has
enabled more than 1,200 grants to be awarded to researchers from the National Scientific
Research Fund (FRS-FNRS). All that money is gone into basic and clinical research.
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Up close and personal
First impressions of RTL Television’s news studio
On ‘Girls’ Day 2009’ 35 girls took a look
behind the scenes of RTL Television and
RTL Interactive.
Germany - 28 April 2009
Jürgen Lieder, Head of the central control
room, began by explaining to 32 girls how RTL
Television broadcasts its programmes and was
quickly able to draw out his initially shy visitors.
After this short introduction, Nicole Janning
from the HR department explained the different
career paths available at Mediengruppe RTL
Deutschland. The girls then received a firsthand account from Trainees Melanie Reitzig (IT
specialist in systems integration) and Susanne
Feller (image/sound media designer) of how it
is to get started in the media business. They
were eventually joined by news presenter Ulrike
von der Groeben, who talked about life as a
sports presenter.
RTL Interactive also hosted a ‘Girls’ Day’,
during which three girls from the theatre/media
class at a grammar school in Cologne got a
behind-the-scenes look at the company’s
workings. After following the big editorial
meeting with great interest, Luzy, Lina and
Jennifa themselves wrote an announcement for
RTL-Teletext. They then proceeded to the
Unter uns set, where the three girls watched a
cameraman at work. As one highlight of their
day, they met the remaining DSDS candidates,
who happened to be in the Web studio for a live
chat.
Finally, Jürgen Lieder took the girls on a tour of
the Production and Technology departments.
On their way through the building, the group
met moderators Ilka Eßmüller, Frauke Ludowig
and Peter Kloeppel. Lieder led the girls on a
tour of the studio, the editing, control room,
and makeup departments and finally the
RTL Aktuell editorial desk.
Girls’ Day is a day on which girls are
given a chance to take a closer look at
professions which are typically dominated by males. It is held in many
European countries including Germany,
Luxembourg and the Netherlands, in
some cases even on the same day
across several countries.
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Congratulations to
Laurent Blanc’s players
Last Saturday the Girondins de Bordeaux,
owned by Groupe M6, won the 15th League Cup
in a scathing 4-0 match against Vannes. It’s
the third time they win this trophy, the same
number of times as the PSG team.
France - 30 April 2009
On the field in the Stade de France, in an
atmosphere that was highly charged but where
fair play ruled, the Girondins de Bordeaux were
a success in their exploit. For the first time in
the history of a League Cup final, a goal was
scored after just three minutes of play. The
second goal followed seven minutes later and
a third with the head by Yoan Gouffran shortly
after. Although Vannes never gave up, the
Bordeaux team remained the master of the
situation. In the 29th minute, just before the
break, Gourcuff scored the fourth goal of the
evening, a huge advance, while the teams were
returning to the dressing rooms. The second
part of the match was tense but the score
remained unchanged.
Laurent Blanc, Girondins de Bordeaux Coach
Rest time was short-lived, however, because
yesterday evening the Girondins de Bordeaux
disputed a decisive League 1 match against
Rennes that ended in a score of 3 to 2 for
Bordeaux. Classified for the moment as number 2, the Girondins have only 5 matches left to
play. They have every chance to qualify for the
UEFA Champions League or even to win the
French Championship. In the sports press,
Nicolas de Tavernost, Chairman of the
Management Board of Groupe M6, said, “We
took over the club in 1999 (Ed. note: June
1999, just after Bordeaux’s last championship
title). We were champion then. If we could be
champion again ten years later, that would be a
nice shareholder’s gift.”
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A new online drama
FremantleMedia and MySpace have unveiled details of an exciting new online
scripted drama, entitled Freak.
United Kingdom - 27 April 2009
Due to air on MySpace UK this summer, the
format is part of a multi-territory deal that will
see additional versions rolled out in the future.
The UK series will launch with Red Bull and
Tampax as brand partners.
Developed by FMX, Freak will run as a thirteenweek fully interactive experience including
eight weeks of high-definition video drama. The
official Freak MySpace profile will host two
video episodes a week, which allow the central
plot to unfold while other interactive content is
made available on the characters’ own profiles.
Claire Tavernier, Senior Executive Vice
President, FMX at FremantleMedia, said:
“While this is FMX’s first project with MySpace
UK, FremantleMedia’s production and enterprises divisions have already produced a number
of highly successful original new media
projects with MySpace in the United States,
Germany and Australia. We are delighted to be
partnering with them again for the UK launch
and future global roll-out of this uniquely
innovative scripted series.”
Featuring a talented young cast, this edgy,
teenage coming-of-age story will provide
viewers with a completely new level of control,
allowing them to be part of the creative process
by choosing the music, becoming a member of
the cast and helping to shape the storyline.
Once the series starts the audience will also be
able to interact with the characters by giving
fashion, music and love advice and ultimately
influence their decisions – bringing fans closer
to the central characters than ever before.
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German cinema goes international
Universal Pictures International will exclusively distribute UFA Cinema titles in
Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Focus Features International and UFA Cinema
form strategic partnership to co-finance and distribute German films.
Germany - 24 April 2009
Focus Features International (FFI), Universal
Pictures International (UPI) and German film
production and distribution house UFA Cinema
announced a new strategic partnership
between the three companies which will see
UPI become the exclusive theatrical and home
entertainment distributor for UFA Cinema
productions in German-speaking territories.
And, under a separate agreement, FFI will
partner with UFA on key co-productions
identified for the global marketplace. FFI will
also have an option to handle international
sales on selected UFA Cinema titles.
All UFA titles will be distributed theatrically by
UPI in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and
on home video via Universal Pictures
International Entertainment under the UFA
Cinema label. A minimum of six to eight films
per year is expected to flow through the deal
over the next three years.
UFA Cinema’s CEO Thomas Peter Friedl says:
“We are really looking forward to this new
partnership with Universal Pictures. The
German team has already created milestones
in terms of the extensive bandwidth of different
genres and types of movies they’ve distributed
over the years. This gives UFA a great foundation for the distribution of our wide portfolio of
German and English language films. Universal
Pictures and Focus Features International are
ideal partners for us because they have such
strength and expertise in the German and international marketplace. Their globally minded
business approach, production partnerships
and filmmaker relationships worldwide make
them unique amongst the US studios. We’re
sure they are the right team to build our
company with and are really looking forward to
working with them in this new venture.”
Thomas Peter Friedl
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Highest honours
Nico Hofmann
Nico Hofmann, CEO of Teamworx, has won the
highest honour awarded by the German federal
state of Baden-Württemberg for his efforts as a
writer, director and producer.
Germany - 27 April 2009
On 25 April, Baden-Württemberg’s Prime
Minister Günther Oettinger presented the
medal “as a token of grateful appreciation for
outstanding services rendered to the state of
Baden-Württemberg and its population”
at a ceremony held in Mannheim Castle.
Nico Hofmann, born in Heidelberg in 1959 and
raised in Mannheim, is a Producer and Director
of sophisticated, well-crafted films that tell
extraordinary stories. Since 1995, Nico
Hofmann has served as Professor and Chair of
the Baden-Württemberg Film Academy’s
‘Scenic Film’ department, which he jointly
established with Albrecht Ade.
The Medal of Merit of the state of
Baden-Württemberg is given out by the state’s
prime minister in recognition of services that
enhance the common welfare, especially in the
political, social, cultural and economic arena.
Past recipients include the publisher Hubert
Burda, Federal Minister Annette Schavan, Silvia
Queen of Sweden, the former SWR Director
Peter Voss, and Henry Kissinger.
Baden-Württemberg’s Prime Minister Günther Oettinger (left)
and Nico Hofmann
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“We’ve become an
institution in Belgium”
Philippe Delusinne
Philippe Delusinne, CEO of RTL Belgium, is
very pleased that his group has won the bid to
organise the Fêtes de Wallonie. In an exclusive
interview with Backstage, he revealed his pride
in having won the contract.
“It’s something that is very important to us. You
should know that the Fêtes de Wallonie, which
is celebrated in September, is the biggest and
most popular event in the region and that traditionally the festivities have been covered by the
public broadcaster RTBF.” In fact, the Collège
de la Ville de Namur decided last Tuesday to
entrust RTL Belgium with organising and
promoting the Fêtes de Wallonie 2009.
Philippe Delusinne congratulates his team and
praises the particularly well-presented project,
the reason for which he was selected by the
Collège de la Ville de Namur. He will thus be
required to organise, run and ensure media
coverage of the event, and for this multidisciplinary work, RTL Belgium decided to put
together their project team with IP Event.
Once again, the concept of proximity that is
“the cornerstone of our strategy,” according to
Philippe Delusinne, has just demonstrated its
validity: “RTL Belgium has a calling to reach its
audiences, even when they are not in front of
their television or radio,”. The company has
demonstrated this many times, notably, for
example, when the group succeeds in rallying
The 2009 edition of the Fêtes de Wallonie, the
most symbolic and popular event in Wallonia,
will be organised by RTL Belgium.
Belgium - 29 April 2009
about 100,000 people for its Télévie “rallye”.
It is no trivial matter that, among other things,
RTL Belgium is the structural partner of the
Spiroudôme, the large covered stadium, and
of Standard, Belgium’s French-community
football team.
For Philippe Delusinne, the awarding of the
contract of the Fêtes de Wallonie shows true
recognition of the RTL brand name in Belgium
and what it personifies in the eyes of French
speaking Belgians: “It shows us to what extent
we represent an institution,” he confides. In
fact, there are many events organised under
the unifying label of RTL. As mentioned earlier,
the concept of proximity is, “a foundation stone
that greatly surpasses the television and radio
framework. We are involved in people’s lives as
much during festive and sporting events as
during more serious events like the fight
against cancer, as personified by the Télévie
initiative,” concludes Philippe Delusinne.
With the Fêtes de Wallonie, RTL Belgium will
proudly wear the colours of its “proximity”,
which it holds so dear. And although the group
has its own celebrities in the house, its only star
remains its audience. These are not hollow
words, as the decision of the Collège de la Ville
de Namur has proven in writing, granting
RTL Belgium the organisation of a event that is
so wildly adored and appreciated by the
Belgians.
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April Awards
The IT Crowd
The production company Talkback Thames
scored five trophies at the Digital Spy Reality
TV Awards earlier this month. The X Factor
alone reaped four of them: Best Reality Show,
Best Judge (Cheryl Cole), Best Moment (for the
duet by Alexandra Burke and Beyoncé) and
Most Memorable Exit. Meanwhile, Britain’s Got
Talent won the Favourite Reality Contestant
award for the 2008 season’s winner, George
Sampson.
On 26 April, Talkback Thames swept up an
impressive four awards at the Bafta Television
Awards. The Bill won the Continuing Drama
award for the first time, beating some of the
UK’s most popular programmes – Eastenders,
Casualty and Emmerdale. The X Factor took
home the Entertainment award for the third
time, defeating The Sunday Night Project,
Harry Hill’s TV Burp and Talkback Thames’ own
QI. The IT Crowd won the Situation Comedy
award in a strong category also featuring
Outnumbered, Peep Show and The
Inbetweeners. The Shooting of Thomas
Hurndall’s Stephen Dillane won a well
deserved Bafta for Best Actor after a career
spanning 24 years, beating off competition
from Jason Issacs, Ken Stott and Ben
Whishaw.
Cameraman Holly Fink won a Romy for Best
Camera this year for his work on the
(also award-winning) Teamworx production
Mogadishu. The Romy, given out in 20 categories, is regarded as one of the foremost TV
awards in the German-speaking countries.
April brought a shower of awards and
nominations for RTL Group companies,
including Bafta TV Awards, a Romy and
prizes at the Eyes & Ears Trailer Festival.
Luxembourg - 30 April 2009
The first Eyes & Ears trailer festival resulted in
six awards for RTL Television, while RTL II and
N-TV won a prize each. Awards were presented
in 14 categories for the following genres: Trailer,
Promotional Spot, Promotion Campaign,
Merchandising & Ambient Promotion, Online
Promotion,
Interactive
Promotion
and
Cross-Media Campaign. RTL Television won
prizes for its two spots promoting ‘Sports 2008’
and Das Supertalent. Bauer sucht Frau was
named Best Cross-Media Campaign and
Domino Day and 7 Zwerge won Best Promotion
Campaign awards. A trophy also went to the
‘mega-insert’ for 7 Zwerge as best
Merchandising & Ambient Promotion. RTL II
and the creative agency Opium Effect jointly
accepted an award in the Event category, for
the opener for The Dome. N-TV’s 15th anniversary campaign won the award for Best
Cross-Media Campaign in News & Information.
The
Fachverband
Außenwerbung
e.V.
(Out-of-Home Advertising Association) hosted
its Billboard & Media Grand Prix for the
16th time on 22 April, presenting awards for
Most Creative Out-of-Home Advertising.
The RTL II campaign to kick off the series
Californication and Dexter prevailed over
numerous contestants to win the coveted
“PlakaDiva 2009” in gold and was thus judged
to be the year’s Best Ambient Media.
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gett
fit
Well-Being
eat
rightt
be
healthy
althy
at RTL Group
week 18
A Model of Excellence
for health and well-being
On Tuesday 28 April 2009, RTL Group was
awarded the Model of Excellence prize at
the 6th European Conference on Promoting
Workplace Health in Perugia, Italy.
Luxembourg - 30 April 2009
300 participants from 25 European countries
attended the conference, which focused on
lifestyle-related workplace health promotion
and addressed topics such as smoking prevention, healthy eating, physical activity and stress
management. For each category, a keynote
presentation was given, followed by case
studies of the Model of Excellence winners.
In 2007, RTL Group was recognised in
Luxembourg as a leader in acting for its
employees’ health and well-being, winning the
Healthy
Workplace
Award
from
the
Luxembourgish Ministry of Health.
Romain Mannelli, Executive Vice President
Corporate Human Resources, says: “I am
delighted that RTL Group has received
recognition for its health and well-being
programme. Since 2000, we generously
invested in football, volleyball and fitness
facilities for staff and have undertaken
numerous initiatives to promote employee
health and well-being. We are proud to have
received recognition for our efforts, which we
see as both an incentive and an obligation to
keep developing our programme in the future.”
At the awards ceremony, from the almost 1,400
companies that filled out the company’s health
assessment, 100 winners were announced.
Alongside RTL Group, other companies that
demonstrated excellence in improving the
health and well-being of their employees
included: BASF (Germany), Procter & Gamble
(Belgium), Unilever (Hungary), Mars (UK),
Volkswagen (Germany) and Accor Services
(France).
Well Being Brochure
16
the RTL Group intranet
week 18
The King of Pop returns
RTL Radio France is the partner radio station for the Michael Jackson concerts
in London.
France - 24 April 2009
Books for the little ones
For the second year in a row Fundación Antena 3 gave out 2,500 books to children in
hospitals on World Book Day, 23 April.
Spain - 27 April 2009
Big party in the Netherlands
RTL 4 broadcasted a special edition of Ik Hou Van Holland to celebrate the country’s
traditional Koninginnedag (Queen’s Day) on 29 April. The highlight of the Radio 538
Koninginnefeest on Museumplein (Museum Square) in Amsterdam will be the appearance
of the candidates still in the running on The X Factor, on 30 April.
Netherlands - 29 April 2009
Heading for the Philippines
For the first time in the Philippines, audiences got to see FremantleMedia’s worldwide
hit format Hole in the Wall – with an audience share of 28 per cent.
Singapore - 29 April 2009
Season’s best ratings for Big Brother
The daily update on 27 April not only achieved a market share well above the channel’s
average, but also scored the best ratings since the start of the season in December 2008:
9.8 per cent in the 14 to 49 years old demographic.
Germany - 29 April 2009
New and exclusive content
With more than a 35 per cent advance over the second placed general-interest radio site
and 2,253,000 unique visitors in March 2009, RTL.fr is once again the leader among
French radio Web sites.
France - 30 April 2009
17
the RTL Group intranet
week 18
People
Restructuring of the Interactive
management division
Germany - 28 April 2009
Frank Herold (left) and Klaus Nadler (right)
IP Deutschland’s Interactive management
division, newly created on 1 January 2009, has
been restructured. Frank Herold, 39, now
heads the sales directorate. Effective 1 May
Klaus Nadler, 41, will become Director of
Operations.
In addition to the regional sales offices, Herold
is also responsible for project management and
the new Key Account Management division.
Klaus Nadler will supervise the second directorate. In his role as Director of Operations, the
Ad Management and Product Management
teams report directly to him, as do the Strategy,
Acquisition and Processes divisions.
Both Directors report directly to Paul Mudter,
Managing Director of IP Deutschland
Interactive, who says he looks forward to working closely with the two industry experts:
“We’ve set ambitious goals for the Interactive
division. In Frank Herold, who has already been
with IP for two years and who helped shape the
Online division, and the online and telecommunications pro Klaus Nadler, we have two
experts on the team who will certainly ensure
we achieve our growth targets.”
The appointment of the Directors fixes the
second level of management, directly below
the Managing Director.
18
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