provocative. informative. entertaining.

week 40 / 1 October 2015
PROVOCATIVE. INFORMATIVE.
ENTERTAINING.
How RTL Television intends to captivate viewers
with established hit shows and brand new programmes
Luxembourg
North America
Luxembourg / Belgium
IP Network and RTL Group
publish the Television
International Key Facts
2015
BroadbandTV is now
the second largest
MCN in the world
Radio Lëtzebuerg and
Radio Contact Belgium
fighting against poverty
week 40 / 1 October 2015
PROVOCATIVE. INFORMATIVE.
ENTERTAINING.
How RTL Television intends to captivate viewers
with established hit shows and brand new programmes
Luxembourg
North America
Luxembourg / Belgium
IP Network and RTL Group
publish the Television
International Key Facts
2015
BroadbandTV is now
the second largest
MCN in the world
Radio Lëtzebuerg and
Radio Contact Belgium
fighting against poverty
Cover
Frank Hoffmann at the Curio Haus in Hamburg
Publisher
RTL Group
45, Bd Pierre Frieden
L-1543 Luxembourg
Editor, Design, Production
RTL Group
Corporate Communications & Marketing
before yo
ink
up
Th
t
rin
backstage.rtlgroup.com
backstage.rtlgroup.fr
backstage.rtlgroup.de
QUICK VIEW
“TV is at the heart of
the video world.”
RTL Group / IP Network
p.11 – 14
“We don’t want viewers
to feel excluded.”
RTL Group
p.4–10
Now the world’s
second biggest
BroadbandTV
p.15
Together for
Radio Everyone
Radio Lëtzebuerg/
Radio Contact
p.16
A night at
the Olympia
for RTL2’s
20th birthday
RTL 2
p.17
SHORT
NEWS
p.19
Big Picture
p.18
PEOPLE
p.20 – 23
RTL Television unveiled
its programme schedule
for the 2015/16 TV
season.
“WE DON’T WANT
ANY VIEWERS TO
FEEL EXCLUDED.”
Germany – 1 October 2015
RTL Television
A good mix of established hit shows and new programmes – Click to watch how RTL Television sees itself
4
© RTL / Willi Weber
Die Turnschuhgiganten
© RTL
Further Hoffmann described Costa Concordia,
as a “highly emotional” film about the cruise ship
catastrophe in January 2012.
© RTL / Wolfgang Ennenbach
It is 24 September 2015, and we are at the Curio
Haus in Hamburg, where Frank Hoffmann, Managing
Director Programming at RTL Television, is looking
forward to presenting the new programmes in
the schedule to an invited audience of nearly 100
journalists and photographers. RTL Television is on
a mission to provoke, inform and entertain. “That’s
precisely how we see RTL Television. We don’t want
any viewers to feel excluded, which probably makes
us the German broadcaster reaching the broadest
demographic”, Frank Hoffmann said to greet his
guests. Naturally, he also came armed with some
exciting new highlights to unveil in the programme
schedule.
Costa Concordia
All four productions will be accompanied by their
own documentary providing fascinating background
information for RTL Television’s viewers. “We also
want our fiction broadcasts to become real events,
while maintaining our journalistic approach”,
Hoffmann added. He also gave a brief taste of the
new three-part filmed adaptation of the Winnetou
story, Karl May’s classic German saga about Native
Americans, which RTL Television intends to air at
the end of 2016.
© RTL / Nik Konietzny
In the fiction genre, RTL Television has high hopes
that its main focus on Germany’s recent history will
attract and engage the viewers. Accordingly the
new schedule includes not only the event movie
Starfighter – Sie wollten den Himmel erobern, which
tells the story of the Starfighter affair and will air on
12 November 2015, but also the already
internationally lauded spy series Deutschland 83.
The first two episodes of the UFA Fiction series were
shown right after the programme screening.
© RTL / Nikola Petrovic, RatPack
Starfighter – Sie wollten den Himmel erobern
Winnetou
Deutschland 83
In Die Turnschuhgiganten, RTL Television tells the
story of the Dassler brothers, who split up their
company after a squabble and went on to create the
world-beating brands Adidas and Puma.
Hoffmann announced that RTL Television will again
be staging a number of live sporting events, which
he described as “the lifeblood of free-to-air TV” and
“the ultimate challenge”. “We have established a
reputation for staging major sporting events”, Frank
Hoffmann commented. “Our broadcasts of the
Euro 2016 and 2018 World Cup qualifiers perfectly
complement our heavyweight boxing matches and
Formula One racing, which has recently regained
popularity”, he went on, “and we will continue to offer
exclusive Grand Prix coverage on free-to-air TV for
the next two years”.
Next >
5
© RTL / Stefan Gregorowius
Star chef Christian Rach
Plenty of new shows will come on air on
RTL Television: Ninja Warrior, due to start airing
soon on RTL Television, will see contestants take
on the “toughest obstacle course ever built”, and
the new line-up’s Die große Hypnoseshow will be
a German adaptation of the hit ITV hypnosis game
show You’re back in the room. Petrol heads will have
a treat in store, too: RTL Television will produce
Top Gear Deutschland – Die Show, presented by the
duo Panagiota Petridou (from Vox’s Biete Rostlaube,
suche Traumauto) and Matthias Malmedie (from
RTL 2’s Grip – Das Automagazin).
Star chef Christian Rach, at the moment on air with
Rach Undercover, 21:15 on Mondays, is also being
given another show on RTL Television, called Rach
sucht: Deutschlands Lieblingsrestaurant, in which
he embarks on a quest to find Germany’s favourite
restaurant. This programme will start airing in 2016.
RTL Television’s new schedule also includes plenty
of fresh, new comedy. In Die Reisechecker, Let’s
Dance juror Joachim Llambi investigates the high
point of people’s year, their holiday, giving viewers a
humorous reality check. What were holidaymakers
promised and how well did reality match up to their
expectations?
© RTL / Lars Schröder
© RTL / bigSmile
Click to watch the highlights of the fiction
and the sporting events
Die Puppenstars
Meanwhile, Hoffmann described Die Puppenstars,
the first ever German TV show whose stars are all
puppets (and of course their puppet masters!) as
“the perfect show for the whole family”, whereas
500 Questions was billed as probably the toughest
quiz show ever, with the contestants having to find
500 answers covering an incredibly wide array of
subjects, without any assistance, ‘safety levels’ or
multiple choice alternatives to help them.
Mirja Boes
In Der Nächste, bitte! Mirjas Sprechstunde, comedian
Mirja Boes wholeheartedly embraces the notion that
laughter is the best medicine by poking fun at the
medical profession, while adopting an undeniably
critical, investigative and above all entertaining
approach. Mirja can also be seen on Mirjas wilde
13, which airs every Friday, mischievously reviewing
the previous week’s most curious news items.
Next >
6
In Bülents große Überraschungsshow, Bülent
Ceylan will combine his personal brand of comedy
with the element of surprise, ambushing viewers
with a little help from some celebrity guests.
Click to watch the new highlights on RTL Television
© RTL
In the news segment, new episodes of Günter
Wallraff’s undercover investigation show Team
Wallraff – Reporter Undercover, scheduled to air in
2016, are guaranteed to cause a buzz.
Before then, on 1 October 2015, a new true crime
report magazine called Stern Crime – Wahre
Verbrechen, spotlighting real-life cases viewed
from some very different points of view, starts on
RTL Television. For the making of this programme,
RTL Television is cooperating with Gruner + Jahr,
which started publishing an identically titled printed
version in magazine form in June 2015.
Next >
7
© RTL / Frank W. Hempel
New cooperation and a new network of foreign correspondents, but the same chief
correspondent
Maik Meuser, Presenter of RTL Nachtjournal
The focus of RTL Television’s news coverage is on even greater commitment to investigative journalism. Since July
2015, the evening news show RTL Nachtjournal has been collaborating with a team of investigative journalists
at Correctiv. The new season will also see RTL Nachtjournal’s Maik Meuser presenting the findings of in-depth
investigative reporting on highly charged and complex political, economic, cultural or sport-related issues.
© RTL / Suzy Stoeckl
Meanwhile, Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland’s
network of foreign correspondents is set to expand
over the next few months, the turbulent current
world situation prompting RTL Television to open
both a new Southern and Southeastern European
Office and an office in Beijing. The media group’s
channels will also once again be represented
by fixed correspondents in both Brussels, the
‘capital of Europe’, and Moscow. At the same
time, the contract of Chief Foreign Correspondent
Antonia Rados has been extended for another
three years. In addition to her current reports, she
will also produce up-to-date reports from crisis-hit
areas. One of the new series of reports planned,
Die neuen Fronten Europas, will cover new fronts
that have opened up on our continent.
Antonia Rados
Next >
8
© RTL / Morris Mac Matzen
“Any series must be about something that, for whatever reason, ‘speaks’ to a lot of
people, in our case meaning several million viewers”
Frank Hoffmann, Managing Director Programming at RTL Television
On the sidelines of the press conference in Hamburg presenting RTL Television’s new programme schedule,
Backstage snagged an exclusive interview with Frank Hoffmann.
Which factors do you think have made Deutschland 83 such an international success, and
what impact do you hope its airing on RTL Television this autumn will have?
We’re hoping that this top-notch production will really grab our existing viewers and attract a few new ones to
RTL Television! It’s an exciting tale from our very own recent history here in Germany, brilliantly adapted and could
potentially appeal not only to history fans, but to a far broader audience. From my standpoint, I can only make
a limited assessment of the reasons for the programme’s international success. Perhaps it’s a bit like the 2006
World Cup, when our team played a different kind of soccer very effectively and, by doing so, won people’s heartfelt
support. The subject matter of Deutschland 83 and, to an even greater extent, the way the programme was made,
stands out as being markedly different from what international viewers have associated with German series in the
past.
The growing fragmentation of television is making it increasingly harder for large channels
to reach large audiences. So will future programme schedules have major highlights, and
if so, what kinds of formats will they be?
Large-scale shows and live events constitute our supreme challenge – and when I say “our” I mean television
in general, but RTL Television in particular. Real landmark events in the sporting calendar, whether football or
heavyweight boxing, enable us to regularly reach audiences in excess of ten million viewers. Shows like
Das Supertalent or Let´s Dance are the most successful in our market, even if the audiences they attract are
somewhat smaller than they were just a few years ago. In the fiction segment, too, our theme nights are ‘events’.
For instance, a film dramatisation of the Starfighter affair in mid-November will be followed by a broadcast of our
very own documentary on the actual events that took place, complemented by interviews with actual witnesses
of what happened. We will follow a similar programming strategy when we launch Deutschland 83, following the
broadcast of back-to-back introductory episodes with a documentary, also featuring Peter Kloeppel and produced
by Info Network.
Next >
9
The press frequently invokes a new ‘Golden Age of television’, as typified by ambitious
series like Breaking Bad or House of Cards. What do you think it takes for a series to
achieve widespread success, rather than just find a niche audience?
Great subject matter. Any series must be about something that, for whatever reason, ‘speaks’ to a lot of people, in
our case meaning several million viewers. We hit upon the idea of Deutschland 83 after talking about Germany’s
baby boomers, people born during years when our country had a very high birth rate, and asked ourselves what
viewers of that age might find moving? That’s how we ended up choosing the programme’s subject matter, which
we then placed in the hands of an excellent cast and a first-class production team.
More and more, RTL Group is investing in the online video segment. For instance,
RTL Television has already produced web series leaning on Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten
(GZSZ). Is RTL thinking of banking even more heavily on online video?
Our daily series with their young audiences are predestined to have certain strands of their storyline carried over
onto the web and developed there. We first started doing this back in 2007, with Unter uns, and carried out similar
experiments with GZSZ and Alles was zählt. We are determined to reach and hook our target groups wherever they
happen to be, so online video is becoming increasingly important. And this segment includes not only TV content
that ends up being given an extended lease of life on the Internet, but also original Web-based content that is only
available online. Our new information and entertainment portal, RTL Next, aimed particularly at young users by
focussing on highly emotive issues as well as especially useful topics, which are thus suitable for sharing, will be
launched in just a few days’ time. For us, this service will be ‘maximally mobile’, presenting a mix of videos and
TV content produced specially for RTL Next. Teams at Info Network and RTL Interactive are working very closely
together on this project, which is just one of many.
Is RTL Television also going to continue investing in fiction, whether series or films?
© RTL / Morris Mac Matzen
We most definitely are. Producing our own fiction may be very expensive, but it also has some unbeatable
advantages, because if the results prove successful they can make our programme schedule really stand out by
giving it an unmistakeable outline. This is becoming more and more important for brands like ours, faced with the
growing mass of video portals. Our Group has taken the strategic decision to invest more in its own content, and
not only in fiction. By doing this, we are investing in attractive rights that we can exploit on all platforms ourselves,
in either a linear or non-linear fashion.
Frank Hoffmann at the Curio Haus in Hamburg
10
“TV IS AT THE HEART OF THE VIDEO WORLD.”
RTL Group / IP Network
IP Network and RTL Group have published the
2015 edition of Television International Key
Facts, a television yearbook and interactive
database, which covers 35 European countries
as well as Brazil, China, Japan and the United
States.
Luxembourg – 29 September 2015
This year’s edition focuses on the theme “TV is at the heart of the video
world.” Despite the evolution of content watching in the digital age, TV
is still the audience favourite and the digital revolution presents TV with
exciting new challenges in terms of content, audience measurement
and advertising.
In 2014 the average viewing time in Europe continued to rise:
up three minutes for all individuals
In Europe, the average daily viewing time increased
by three minutes to reach three hours, 57 minutes*.
This constitutes the highest viewing time ever
recorded in Television International Key Facts.
Worldwide TV viewing is more or less stable at
three hours, 13 minutes daily. European viewing
time is above the global average, while North
America and the Middle East watch even more
TV at four hours, 37 minutes and four hours,
29 minutes daily respectively.
European prime time – Monday to Friday at
approximately 21:15 – attracts 276 million viewers.
The highest TV consumption in 2014 was measured
in Romania for the third year in a row with five hours,
40 minutes daily on average. The highest
year-on-year
increase
was
surveyed
in
Poland: plus 13 minutes compared with 2013
figures, for a total viewing time of four hours,
20 minutes.
In Germany, the viewing time was stable at three hours,
41 minutes; France and the United Kingdom
both reached the same figure. The viewing time
increased by three minutes in South Belgium,
(reaching three hours, 53 minutes) and by four
minutes in North Belgium (reaching three hours,
21 minutes).
Next >
11
Live events continue to attract large
audiences
The final of the Fifa World Cup in
Brazil
achieved
the
highest-ever
TV reach in Germany, with almost
35 million Germans glued to their TV sets,
resulting in a market share of 86 per cent
(excluding all viewers outside their homes).
Every year, major national events attract
the biggest audiences: in 2014 the annual
Spring Festival celebrations in China
was watched by 210 million viewers
and the Super Bowl was watched by
113 million US Americans.
Equipment: New devices are increasingly
common in today’s househoulds
In Europe, smartphone penetration rose
to 67 per cent (2013: 53 per cent). In
Denmark, Finland and Estonia, the rate
already achieved the 100 per cent mark.
Programming trends: Innovations and social experiments
Fiction: two trends have established themselves in drama series.
Local series and productions are increasingly popular like
Deutschland 83 (RTL Television), Broadchurch (ITV) and Refugiados
(Antena 3). Dark and disturbing productions, often based on true
events, are multiplying all around the world: e.g. The Missing (UK)
and Under Suspicion (Spain). Historical themes are also increasingly
popular.
Televised social experiments are flourishing. People are thrown into
unusual situations, often without any prize money to win: e.g. Ja
Jan (Belgium), Klædt af (Denmark) and 10,000 BC (UK), a BBC
production.
Technical innovations in the documentary sector have
revived the genre. Thanks to 3D, 4K or 8K pictures,
programmes about nature and the animal kingdom
have had a new lease on life.
Entertainment constantly renews itself. While
the historically strong talent and reality formats
(Got Talent, Your Face Sounds Familiar, The Voice)
keep attracting very large audiences, unusual,
weird and funny new concepts have been brought
to existence in productions such as Popster, Skin Wars,
Man v Fly, Wild Things and Labor Games.
Please click here to order a copy
of Television International Key Facts,
Next >
12
THE EDITORIAL TO THE TELEVISION INTERNATIONAL KEY FACTS 2015
BY RTL GROUP’S CO-CEOS ANKE SCHÄFERKORDT AND GUILLAUME DE POSCH
The winners in the digital age
No longer can anyone doubt the power of television,
even in this digital age of total choice. No medium
touches people, brings people together, or triggers as
much food for conversation as TV does. Taking centre
stage in people’s lives, today’s television isn’t limited
just to the TV set any more, which brings a wealth of
opportunities… and some challenges.
Linear television remains by far the most popular of
all media, attracting 237 minutes of viewing a day
in Europe in 2014, up four minutes year-on-year,
according to Eurodata. Unlike other media, TV thrives
alongside the internet, and benefits from its various
new means of consumption. At the Financial Times
Digital Media 2015 conference, Martin Sorrell, CEO of
WPP, said: “The conventional wisdom is that television
viewing is dropping – it isn’t. If you aggregate all the
screens, it’s probably still continuing to grow. Young
people do watch television...but they watch it on
different screens.” Going digital facilitates viewing and
prompts users – young and old – to spend even more
time in front of a screen. In the digital age, there are
two winners: TV and online video. And the marriage
between TV and digital looks promising, even though it
is perhaps only in its honeymoon period.
With the ever increasing pace of change in our
industry, RTL Group has invested in multi-channel
networks with leading positions in key verticals,
such as fashion and beauty (StyleHaul), gaming or
kids (BroadbandTV). With over 9 billion online video
views a month, RTL Group is now the world’s fourth
largest operator in online video. Always at the forefront
of technology, in July 2014 we acquired a majority
stake in SpotXchange (today: SpotX), one of the global
leaders for programmatic online video advertising.
The measurement issue
Nevertheless, the change in viewing patterns brings
with it some major challenges. For advertisingfinanced content, the key question is: How do you
measure, and ultimately monetise, out-of-home,
second-screen, third-screen and other alternative
viewing habits? For the American author and essayist
Michael Wolff, writing in The Hollywood Reporter
in May 2015: “Television has simply outgrown the
Nielsen measurement system, it has become a
much broader notion, much harder to capture and
to measure and, in the transformation, a much richer
and influential business.” Reports from the annual
spring ‘upfront’ presentations in the United States
were talking about “signs of upheaval” or “a sense of
urgency” as advertisers crave for better multiscreen
measurement and targeting.
Next >
13
This unresolved metrics problem will need to be
addressed in the near future. Big Data Analytics,
as suggested by Horst Stipp from the Advertising
Research Foundation in this edition, could be one of
the solutions. But we see progress: in April 2015, the
German TV Audience Research Association announced
the integration of YouTube into its research system.
The first results should be available in 2015.
New advertising opportunities
So what does this mean for advertisers? Well, more
potential for targeting and reaching consumers,
especially if they use programmatic which offer
audience-tailored advertising. And with digital video
ad spending forecast to increase by 30 per cent in
2015 according to eMarketer, online video advertising
has its best days ahead.
As Ender Analysis recently pointed out: “Digital is
wonderful at many things, but its weaknesses are the
very things that are TV’s strengths.” The TV screen
remains the best medium to reach mass audiences.
A lot of mobile activities simply cannot be monetised
yet, as a 30-second spot is not compatible with shortform video consumption. Also, as Thinkbox found out
in its study Screen Life: TV advertising everywhere,
the longer the viewing, the better the ad recall, and,
maybe surprisingly to some, ad break multi-screeners
have similar levels of recall.
In this golden age of TV, we strongly believe in
having our own exclusive formats, shown only on our
channels. That’s why we invest in development, and
start our own initiatives. We are already relying on this
strategy, but we want to pursue it more aggressively.
Therefore, finding the new hits – large and small –
is a joint priority, both for our broadcasters and for
FremantleMedia. A good example is the Cold-Warinspired, gripping drama Deutschland 83, a coproduction between FremantleMedia company UFA
Fiction and RTL Television, which became the first
German-language series ever to have aired on a
major US network, and which has to date been sold in
Scandinavia and France.
The 2015 edition of Television International Key Facts
will provide you with many useful facts and figures, and
inform you of new trends, observed and researched
by international media experts. We hope it will be as
informative and as captivating as today’s television.
Google, Facebook and similar have understood this.
They are “selling themselves as the industry they are
fighting to disrupt,” observed The Financial Times. In
February 2015, Facebook was just the latest digital
media company to turn to TV for brand-building.
Content is king
Linear or non-linear, ultimately what viewers are
looking for is a good story. As a result, an undeniable
shift has taken place, from cinema to TV. Big names
want to be on television as this is where unique,
gripping and creative storylines are found. The irony
is, that “there’s more good stuff on TV than I have time
to watch,” as viewers said to David Poltrack, Chief
Research Officer, CBS Corporation.
14
NOW THE WORLD’S SECOND BIGGEST
BroadbandTV
According to the latest statistics on SocialBlade,
BroadbandTV (BBTV) is now the second largest
multi-channel network (MCN) in the world. This
follows significant growth since September last
year where BBTV has been the fastest growing
major MCN*.
North America – 25 September 2015
Shahrzad Rafati,
Founder and CEO, BroadbandTV
* According to ComScore’s latest USA
(11 months: September 2014 to August 2015)
and Worldwide (10 months: September 2014
to July 2015) YouTube Partner Support Report
for both unique and desktop views, BBTV is the
fastest growing among all major global MCNs
** According to ComScore’s latest Worldwide
YouTube Partner Support report, BBTV has
grown by 80 per cent, or on average 10 per cent
month over month, in terms of worldwide desktop
views over period September 2014 to July 2015
(10 months)
On average, BBTV has been growing by ten per cent month over
month**, compared to two per cent growth from its nearest competitor.
This accolade is highlighted by both ComScore’s USA and Worldwide
YouTube Partner Support reports, for both unique and desktop views.
BBTV now boasts over 37,000 content partners, achieving 5.7 billion
monthly views. H1/15 was the strongest half in its history, achieving
1.8 billion new views. Since December 2014, BBTV has more than
doubled its impression base.
“Our strategy to build strong online brands, with the most engaged
communities, powered by the best tech and services in the market
has paid off,” comments Shahrzad Rafati, Founder and CEO,
BroadbandTV. “We’re building the future of entertainment and
we’re doing so by delivering the most engaged and powerful media
experience for millennials around the world. Despite our scale and
hyper growth this year, the foundation is set for 2016 to be another
record-breaking year for the business and the industry.”
BBTV’s content creators span a number of key media brands including:
TGN, the most engaged gaming network on YouTube; Opposition, the
largest hip-hop music network; number one Electronic Dance Music
(EDM) network, Wimsic, in addition to HooplaKidz, Outspeak and
Windfall.
According to the media trade Tubefilter.com, BroadbandTV’s channel partner RCLBeauty101
tops the charts as the most subscribed YouTube channel worldwide in August 2015. Overall,
three of the top five positions are taken by channel partners of the RTL Digital Hub.
20-year-old Rachel Levin gained more than 700,000 subscribers in August, overtaking
the former top-channel PewDiePie in the worldwide charts who gathered 609,146 new
subscribers. Spot number three is taken by Fernanfloo with 607,080 new subscribers,
another channel partner of BroadbandTV; followed by Divimove’s Elrubius with 574,514
new subscribers.
In August, BroadbandTV had six channel partners in the Top 100, StyleHaul five channels
and Divimove two channels – bringing the total number of RTL Digital Hub channels in the
Top 100 to 13.
Click here for more information
Tubefilter Charts is a new weekly rankings column from Tubefilter with data provided by
OpenSlate. It is a top number ranking of YouTube channels based on statistics collected
within a given timeframe.
15
#RTLGivesBack
TOGETHER FOR RADIO EVERYONE
Radio Lëtzebuerg / Radio Contact
Radio Lëtzebuerg and Radio Contact Belgium
have joined the Radio Everyone project, a new
United Nations Millennium Development Goals
initiative to raise awareness about the 17 goals
for fighting poverty.
Luxembourg / Belgium – 28 September 2015
On 25 September 2015, the United Nations launched a new set of
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), aimed at eradicating extreme
poverty and improving global conditions by 2030. Radio Lëtzebuerg and
Radio Contact in Belgium are taking part in one of the many initiatives
created to raise awareness of the goals: the ‘Radio Everyone project’.
Radio Everyone is part of the broader Project Everyone. Its mission
is to reach every single person worldwide within seven days, through
media, whether via TV, radio, the internet, print, or mobile media.
Project Everyone was launched by filmmaker and campaigner Richard
Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Love Actually) and a founder of
the British charity Comic Relief. In addition to this, Central Park hosted
on 26 September a concert, curated by Chris Martin and organised by
Global Citizen where Ed Sheeran, Coldplay and Pearl Jam headlined,
among others.
Watch the Global Citizen festival here
For more information about
the Global Goals initiative, visit:
www.globalcitizen.org/en
Radio Lëtzebuerg, launched its campaign on Friday 25 September,
by covering the concert and transforming itself into Radio Everyone
for a week (from 26 September to 2 October), as well as informing
its listeners with content related to the MDGs. Many VIPs have
been interviewed: on Saturday 26 September, the Prime Minister of
Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel, was on air from New York and talked about
the importance of the Goals, while Romain Schneider, the Luxembourg
Minister of Development, explained their background. Other interviews
involved members of NGOs in Luxembourg that are committed to
achieving the goals. On Wednesday 29 September, Jean Feyder,
Luxembourg’s former UN Ambassador in Geneva and author of the
book Mordshunger, was a guest on Radio Lëtzebuerg, explaining the
main causes of hunger in the world and what must be done about it.
Young people from Luxembourg will also be interviewed throughout
the week to find out how they think life will be in 2030 and also remind
politicians about the goals they promised to achieve by that year. Read
more here.
Similarly, Radio Contact in Belgium started the support week on
Monday 28 September, kicking it off with the Good Morning Show and
explaining the Radio Everyone initiative. Editorial mornings will then be
broadcast twice a day for the whole week, and listeners will interact on
different programmes to discuss the goals and the concert in Central
Park. To stay updated, all news and information on the coverage will be
posted on Radio Contact Belgium social networks.
16
A NIGHT AT THE OLYMPIA
FOR RTL2’S 20TH BIRTHDAY
RTL 2
It’s not every day that you turn
20! To celebrate the event, the
radio station hold a “very, very
private concert” on the Olympia’s
legendary stage in Paris on
Wednesday 30 September.
France – 30 September 2015
Five major artists from the rock/pop scene played
at the event: Calegro, Selah Sue, Zazie, Raphaël
and Cats on Trees. As with all of the events
organised for its 20th anniversary, RTL2 did not
sell any tickets for this unique concert. Instead,
all of the seats were given away to listeners.
2,000 places were available to win on RTL2 and
RTL2.fr.
For the occasion, RTL2 put together a special day
of programming from the legendary stage at the
Olympia with Stéphanie Renouvin and Grégory
Ascher. From 16:30, RTL2 was broadcasting
from the Olympia with live coverage of the
event and from behind the scenes. Until 19:30,
Grégory Ascher reported on the preparations and
rehearsals, then during the concert (from 20:00
to 23:00), Carole Vega shared her experiences
backstage with listeners.
Alongside this, RTL2.fr broadcast the concert both live and through
images, gave the internet audience an immersive experience with
access to exclusive content. Louise Ekland presented an exclusive
follow-up from behind the scenes. In addition to the video, the RTL2.fr
timeline gave its users, listeners and viewers the opportunity to leave
their commentary on the evening with the hash-tag #OlympiaRTL2, to
contribute to the rich experience of the live performance, to post and/
or view photos from the event or even access articles about the artists.
RTL2 continued to pursue its innovative strategy in the universe of
music radio with this truly three-dimensional event launched on the
occasion of its 20th anniversary.
17
The king of soaps
is a quarter of
a century old
On 1 October 2015, Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden
(Good times, bad times) celebrates its 25th birthday.
RTL 4 will celebrate this special milestone in Dutch
television history with a double episode produced in
Ireland.
SHORT NEWS
1/1
More entertainment
Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland
Die Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland teams up with Eventim,
Europe’s market leader in the live entertainment and ticketing:
RTL Interactive offers its users the chance to purchase tickets
of all Eventim-Live-Events directly in the online shop of RTL Tickets.
Germany – 28 September 2015
An interesting read
SpotX
SpotX’s latest white paper is the third in a series that examines
programmatic TV and how industry stakeholders can position
themselves to reap the benefits of this emerging technology.
It can be downloaded here for free.
North America – 29 September 2015
Welcome!
N-TV
N-TV launches its new Arabic video offer Marhaba – Ankommen in
Deutschland. Presenter Constantin Schreiber speaks in Arabic to the
refugees and immigrants. He explains the life in Germany and gives
practical advice.
Germany – 29 September 2015
Cooperation in e-health
RTL Ventures
RTL Ventures and KPN Ventures join forces to fund start-ups in the
field of e-health. Both parties aim to jointly accelerate and increase
the growth of e-health products, services and applications.
The Netherlands – 30 September 2015
19
PEOPLE
BUILDING FURTHER
EXPERTISE
FremantleMedia International
United kingdom – 29 September 2015
To provide senior business support and expertise to
the global sales operation, strengthen sales in the
emerging markets and ramp up scripted and non-scripted
acquisitions in the US and internationally, Jens Richter,
CEO of FremantleMedia International (FMI) has confirmed
a number of new appointments.
Jennifer Barrett joins the business as SVP, Legal and
Business Affairs. She will report jointly to FMI’s COO,
Bob McCourt and FremantleMedia’s General Counsel,
Robin Chalmers and will lead and manage FMI’s legal
and business affairs team, overseeing the acquisition of
rights for FremantleMedia’s in-house teams and those of
third party producers, as well as overseeing matters of
corporate governance, risk management and compliance
with law, policy and regulation. Barrett joins FMI from
the BBC where she most recently held the post of Head
of L&BA, Factual and Daytime. She has extensive
experience in international distribution, co-production
and co-financing, having worked at Universal Pictures
International Entertainment, Australia’s ABC, the UK Film
Council, BBC Films and Zenith Media, amongst others.
Furthering Richter’s plans to strengthen the emerging
markets, Natalia Sterlikova has been appointed as
Director Sales, Central & Eastern Europe, Russia & CIS.
Based in Berlin, and reporting to Maximilian Bolenius,
Senior VP Sales & Distribution, German speaking Europe,
Central & Eastern Europe, Russia & CIS, Sterlikova will be
responsible for continuing to grow FMI’s business in the
region, maximising sales and pre-sales of all FMI content
with traditional broadcasters and emerging platforms
and giving additional focus and attention to this territory.
A native Russian speaker, she joins FMI from All3Media
International where she was Senior Sales Executive,
responsible for expanding the business in Central &
Eastern Europe. The hire follows the recent announcement
of Amaç Erol Us as Sales Director in FMI’s Dubai office
where he is responsible for exploring tape distribution and
format growth opportunities across the Middle East, Africa,
Greece, Cyprus, Malta and Turkey.
Natalia Sterlikova
Amaç Erol Us
Next >
20
As part of his plan to bolster acquisitions for FMI,
Jens Richter has separated responsibility for scripted and
non-scripted activity in the US, announcing the promotion
of Sam Harowitz and Hayley Dickson who become VP,
Scripted Acquisitions and SVP, Head of Non-Scripted
Global Acquisitions and Development respectively. As
VP Scripted Acquisitions, Sam Harowitz will work closely
with FremantleMedia North America`s (FMNA) scripted
department and the UK-based Global Drama team, as
well as third party producers in North America, to identify
and secure content for distribution or development by the
FMI sales teams. As SVP Head of Non-Scripted Global
Acquisitions and Development, Hayley Dickson will do the
same for non-scripted content and will have an expanded
remit, which sees her take a more strategic role overseeing
the acquisition and development of non-scripted content
globally. She will work closely with London-based Director
of Non-Scripted, Angela Neillis, who retains her UK focus
in order to assess and exploit opportunities within this
highly competitive market.
Speaking of the appointments, Jens Richter says:
“Today’s announcement will play a key role in furthering
FMI’s new strategy. Broadening our capability in
co-financing and co-producing sits at the heart of our
plans, and Jennifer brings a fantastic combination of
senior level expertise and fresh perspective and insight
in this area. Natalia and Amaç have both demonstrated
strong track records in identifying and capitalising on
sales opportunities in the increasingly important emerging
markets, while a more strategically-focused remit for
Hayley and Sam, combined with their passion and drive for
acquisitions, will deliver a diverse and enhanced content
catalogue.”
Sam Harowitz
Hayley Dickson
Jens Richter
21
PEOPLE
APPOINTMENTS
WITHIN THE MANAGEMENT OF
COMMUNICATION AND BRANDING
RTL Radio
France – 30 September 2015
Florence Jammes
Benoît Fitoussi
Florence Jammes, 36, is appointed as Director of
Partnerships and Public Relations at RTL Radio France,
IP France and RTL Net. In addition to her role directing
public relations, which she has held since 2009, she will
be responsible for the negotiation and the undertaking
of culture and sport partnerships for RTL, IP and RTL
Net. She will report to Sophie Déroulède, Director of
Communication and Branding at RTL Radio in France.
She is replacing Jacques Benloulou, who is leaving the
group.
Benoît Fitoussi, 39, is becoming the Director of Musical
Partnerships at the RTL Radio division. Whilst continuing
to manage all partnerships for RTL 2 and Fun Radio
alongside Marie Fugier, he will also be responsible for the
negotiation and implementation of musical partnerships
with RTL Radio. He will exercise this responsibility in
direct connection with the programming and musical
management at the three stations. He will report to
Christophe Boccard, Director of Communication and
Branding at Fun Radio and RTL 2.
Next >
22
Yannick Lemaire
Camille Moulène
Yannick Lemaire, 45, is appointed Director of the Press
Office and Editorial Partnerships at the RTL Radio division.
Director of Press Relations and Media Partnerships at
RTL since 2006, he is expanding his roles within the three
stations (RTL, RTL 2, Fun Radio) as well as with the digital
activities of the group (RTL Net) and IP France. He will
report to Sophie Déroulède.
Camille Moulène, 35, is joining the new press office at
the Radio division as Radio RTL Press Officer, alongside
Geneviève Badiou, Gersende Facchini and Marjorie Preux.
She will report to Yannick Lemaire. Camille Moulène will
continue to deal more specifically with the activities at Fun
Radio and RTL 2 in the role defined by Tristan Jurgensen,
Director General of RTL 2 and Fun Radio.
23
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