week 25 - RTL Group

21 June 2012
week
Getting viewers
involved
Social TV: How viewers connect with their favourite shows
through social networks
Germany
France
Anke Schäferkordt
at the Medienforum NRW
Nicolas de Tavernost
on balancing the TV landscape
RTL – Wir helfen Kindern
supports children’s centre
in Krefeld
M6 is France’s favourite
channel for the second
consecutive year
25
week 25
Cover:
© onoky - Fotolia.com
Montage with content from Deutschland sucht den Superstar and the RTL Inside App
2
week 25
“Boosting viewer loyalty
with new content”
Marc Schröder
Viewers love to watch television live, with friends
or family. Watching TV with others remains part
of our social fabric. Backstage explains how
Social TV enhances this experience to a larger
group.
Germany / The Netherlands / France - 21 June 2012
Since the early days of television, people have
always talked about what’s happening on the
screen. Research has repeatedly shown that,
through this interaction, viewers become more
emotionally involved with what’s on, whether
it’s drama, sport, news or entertainment. The
TV still takes centre stage in most living rooms,
with screens becoming larger and larger, and
image quality constantly improving, most
recently through high definition and 3D.
With the advent of applications for smartphones
and tablet PCs, mobile TV is also rapidly
growing
in
popularity.
Likewise,
the
simultaneous use of TV and internet is growing.
Laptops and other devices serve as a ‘second
screen’. This second screen may be used to
search for news, biographies, ingredients,
pictures,
background
detail,
backstage
interviews – anything prompted by the TV
content. Or it might be used for an online
transaction triggered by a magazine show or
a TV ad. In 2011, Deloitte’s Edinburgh Study
TV+ said: “Television programmes have long
been the topic of a country’s conversations.
They are, not surprisingly, the theme for many
conversations on social networks.”
Marc
Schröder,
Managing
Director
RTL Interactive, says: “At the end of February,
we launched Germany’s first channel app,
RTL Inside. It links TV-synchronous added
information with video and social TV options.
We are already using the second screen, taking
advantage of the possibilities of simultaneous
interactivity to get viewers more closely involved,
across a variety of formats.”
The RTL Inside App on smartphone
For instance, users can access additional
information about characters in RTL series,
or the playlists of songs (for example on
Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten), or the
collected
videos
of
candidates
on
Deutschland sucht den Superstarduring a
given show. Furthermore, the app lets viewers
use the “Check In” feature to automatically
let their friends on social networks know
what they’re watching on RTL Television at the
moment, and even select where they wish to
publish this information. It also lets them share
their thoughts on the shows directly and live
with their friends in the RTL Community and/or
in social networks like Twitter and Facebook as
they’re watching TV.
3
week 25
In Berlin – Tag und Nacht, the actors sometimes can be seen with a camcorder...
Says Schröder: “With around half a million
downloads, RTL Inside got off to an excellent
start. But we feel that ongoing usage is even
more important than the high download figures.
Here, we are blazing the trail with as many as
1.7 million mobile video views a month already,
generated solely via this new app.”
RTL Interactive uses social networks to
channel traffic to its websites and platforms.
The posts are non-exclusive teasers and link
to the channel’s portals from the Fan pages.
In all, the company publishes fan pages for
26 RTL Television and 8 Vox formats, plus
several on presenters, and the portals
Wetter.de, Vip.de, Kochbar.de, Sport.de,
Frauenzimmer.de and Clipfish.de – around 60
sites in all. The most popular Facebook page in
its portfolio is that of the daily series Gute Zeiten,
Schlechte Zeiten – it is outperformed only by
the pages for the ProSieben formats Galileo
(1.1 million) and TV Total (1.04 million) and
RTL II’s Berlin – Tag und Nacht, which with nearly
2 million fans is the most popular fan page of any
German TV format.
Despite the broadcasts of football’s European
Championships in June, RTL II’s Berlin – Tag
und Nacht once again achieved record ratings,
attracting 13.7 per cent of the 14 to 49 age
group – more than twice the channel’s average
audience share of 6.4 per cent in the same
target group in May 2012. In the second week of
June 2012 approximately 4.3 million episodes of
Berlin – Tag und Nacht were viewed on RTL II
Now – another new record.
But audience engagement goes far beyond
the actual broadcast on television. Every
day thousands of new fans are added to the
...the videos’s shot are later posted on Facebook
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week 25
Demographic structure of Berlin – Tag und Nacht fans on Facebook
50.3
male
30.3
19.8
19.6
female
69.7
6.2
14
year-old
and younger
15-19
year-old
20-24
year-old
25-29
year-old
2.0
2.1
30-34
year-old
35-49
year-old
Source: RTL II Medienforschung – Sample: 8,690 users – Study conducted on Facebook
Facebook fan page. At last count, more than
200,000 users were talking about the format
online. The presentation of the Facebook profile is part of its special attraction. The series
revolves around the adventures of a group
of Berlin flatmates, and the entries on the
Berlin – Tag und Nacht Facebook page are
written as if by one of the protagonists. This kind
of ‘authenticity’ brings the audience even closer
to the format.
and intensify the audience’s involvement and
experience, again through social network
platforms and the use of mobile or online
‘second screen’ – the X Factor heartbeat app
and the Voice Of Holland coaching app are
good examples. One gives extra information,
the other encourages participation. Both are
examples of relevant additions to the show.”
RTL Nederland is exploiting the advantages of
social networks as one of many ways to reach
audiences and thereby extend the ‘shelf life’
of formats – before and after the broadcast.
The company calls this the ‘total experience’.
Matthias Scholten, Content Director at
RTL Nederland, says: “The audience wants
more involvement, and there’s also a lot more
competition for advertisers’ money – and the
advertisers know this.”
The total experience is the answer. The start
of the experience may be six to eight weeks
before a show airs, when, as well as the normal
promotions, social network groups and websites
are set up linking to the show, its hosts, judges,
contestants, auditions, and clips of early
material. The fans begin to chat and share the
news and material, becoming willing marketers
for the show. “Then we have the show itself,”
says Matthias Scholten, “and we deepen
Matthias Scholten
5
week 25
After the show, RTL Nederland maintains
the momentum by keeping the audience
engaged through attractions such as DVDs,
events, concerts, apparel – whatever is
appropriate – so retaining them as credible
marketers for the start of the next
experience. “There’s a unique bond with
viewers,” says Scholten, “we’re no longer the
big corporate RTL but a party they can join, an
experience they can be part of, a brand they are
happy to be an ambassador for.”
In France, the app “M6 for I-Pad” offers viewers
not only live streaming of the channel M6,
24 hours a day, but also its catch-up service
M6 Replay and M6 Bonus (comprising
highlights and glimpses behind the scenes of
programmes).
Additionally,
viewers
can
exchange their views on a specific show
directly through the app with the “M6 Talk”
feature. The app has been available to I-Phone
and I-Pod touch users since 29 September
2010 and to I-Pad users since 19 October 2010,
and had already chalked up one major
achievement by passing the landmark
figure of 1 million downloads early in 2011.
Interaction related to the various programmes is
increasingly taking place on additional devices
while watching them on TV. In the US, this kind
of parallel usage is already quite common, and
in Germany too, one in four people already uses
another device while they are watching TV, as
reported in the Funkanalyse Bayern survey
presented at the Social TV Summit in June.
Among 14- to 19-year-olds, 41 per cent of
viewers are online while watching TV at least
once a day.
The number of comments posted about TV shows
on Twitter, Facebook and other social platforms
grew 146 per cent from April 2011 to April 2012,
Mark Ghuneim, CEO of Trendrr, which tracks
social network trends in television, told the USA
Today in May 2012. Greg Kahn, Executive Vice
President of ad-buying firm Optimedia, told the
paper he’d much rather have his ads in a show
with 2 million active online followers, compared
to a show with little online social interaction.
The M6 Talk feature
In fact, the volume of television-related
discussions on social networks is so high that
Twitter publishes a specific index of the most
popular television-related tweets. In another
study, digital research company E-Marketer
in the US found that 43 per cent of internetusing adults have gone online or used social
networks to engage with TV programming. It also
confirmed that viewers are using Facebook and
Twitter to comment about shows before, during
and after they air, and that Twitter was emerging
as the leader for ‘socialising’ about TV. To quote
the CEO of Twitter: “When Glee starts in the US,
the tweets for Glee shoot up. People feel like
they have to watch the show while it’s going on
because the community is tweeting about it.”
In effect, social networks are creating the ‘water
cooler’ moment in real time, rather than at work
the next day. “So parallel usage is not hurting
television, as many had feared,” concludes Marc
Schröder. “Quite the opposite: our Social TV App
boosts viewer loyalty, offers new content and an
additional option for monetisation.”
6
week 25
“Creating a 24/7 experience”
Three questions – three answers about the importance of
Social TV with Jochen Starke, Managing Director of RTL II.
How important is the integration of social networks for
formats like Berlin – Tag & Nacht?
That has been an important building block for us from the
beginning, and still is. Berlin – Tag & Nacht caters to a young,
internet-savvy audience, so integrating the social networks is
a key contributor to its success. To what extent social network
activities are integrated into a story depends very much on the genre
and the storyline of the format. Not all formats lend themselves to this.
Short production lead times and close co-ordination with the production firm
are the basicprerequisites for a successful integration.
Jochen Starke
In the case of Berlin – Tag & Nacht we have successfully managed this. The Online, Press and
Marketing departments were involved in developing the format right from the beginning. The
Facebook profile is part of the story and is integrated in the action. The protagonists contribute
in the person of their characters, to make the flat-share come to life online as well. The TV story
continues seamlessly on Facebook, creating a 24/7 experience for viewers.
With currently over 1.86 million Facebook fans, we were able to create an ideal communication
and fan platform for building brand loyalty, which in turn has a positive impact on the TV ratings
and the video views on RTL II Now.
How can a winning format presentation be made to work in social networks?
Clearly not all TV formats are suited for establishing a presence in the social networks. The format
has to be somewhat long-lived– one-off programmes make no sense for a brand presence in
social networks, since it takes time to build communities. Also, there has to be a ‘need to discuss’
– having a certain measure of controversial issues affects interactivity and dialogue in the social
networks.
And then the site also has to be entertaining, of course: pictures and videos that tie into the show,
providing a real added value and food for conversation, are a must. Facebook pages for shows
that provide a service to viewers also make sense on Facebook. Ideally, there should interaction
between the Facebook community and the editors, as is the case with Berlin – Tag & Nacht.
Generally speaking, how important will it be to have a second-screen presence in future?
The latest surveys confirm the increase in parallel media usage – not just among young viewers.
This is a phenomenon observed across all age groups. The increasing spread of smartphones
and tablets will further accelerate this trend. So it is all the more important for broadcasters to
showcase their programme brands on all the relevant channels. We are at the very beginning of
a rapid development which we at RTL II see as an opportunity.
7
week 25
Transformation to
digital, regulation and
copyright
The discussion panel moderated by TV journalist Leo Busch and
publicist Werner Lauff - © ralphsondermann.com
The 24th Medienforum NRW with the slogan:
‘Splendid new media world: linked, open,
mobile’ kicked off with the by-now traditional
media summit. Following a welcoming speech
by Jürgen Brautmeier, Director of the NRW
State Media Authority, and words of welcome by
Jürgen Roters, Mayor of the city of Cologne,
NRW’s State Prime Minister Hannelore Kraft
gave a keynote on media policy. Against the
backdrop of the coalition agreement, which was
being signed that same day in Dusseldorf, she
stressed the importance of media policy for
the state of NRW its government, while also
outlining her government’s major media policy
positions and goals – among other things with
regard to ancillary copyrights and regulation in
the broadcasting and media sectors.
The Medienforum NRW media congress hosted
by the German federal state of North RhineWestphalia kicked off with a keynote by
Hannelore Kraft and a discussion panel featuring
top-notch experts – including Anke Schäferkordt,
CEO of Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland.
Germany - 19 June 2012
This was followed by a discussion panel
moderated by TV journalist Leo Busch and
publicist Werner Lauff. Participants included
Anke Schäferkordt and ARD Chairwoman and
Director of the WDR Monika Piel, ZDF Director
Thomas Bellut, Helmut Heinen, President of
the National Association of German Newspaper
Publishers, and Jürgen Doetz, Chairman of
Germany’s Association of Private Broadcasters
and Telemedia.
The discussion panel focused on the issues
of regulation, the relationship between
technology and content providers, and the
protection
of
copyrights.
Schäferkordt
emphasised that network operators must offer
non-discriminatory access – especially if they
themselves are content providers. She also
pointed to the discrepancy between the digital
reality and the fact that “regulation is still firmly
rooted in the analogue age.” With a view to
ancillary copyrights, she called on politicians
to make a clear commitment to the creative
industry. After all, the billions invested in TV
programming need to be protected by
copyrights, too.
Referring to RTL Television’s latest ratings,
Schäferkordt reported that the broadcaster had
regarded the monthly audience shares of at times
over 20 per cent with a healthy portion of realism
even during the two record years. In a digitised
media world with increasing fragmentation, such
ratings cannot be sustained. With regard to
Scripted Reality, she pointed out that viewers are
quite capable – as recently confirmed yet again
by a Forsa survey – of distinguishing between
fictional stories and reality on TV.
Hannelore Kraft - © Uwe Völkner
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week 25
Jürgen Roters, Jürgen Doetz, Thomas Bellut, Monika Piel, Helmut Heinen, Anke Schäferkordt, Leo Busch, Werner Lauff,
Hannelore Kraft, Richard Allen and Jürgen Brautmeier (from left to right) - © ralphsondermann.com
She emphasised the importance of striking
a balance between popular programming
and innovation, and announced the advent of
numerous new programmes on RTL Television
in the upcoming season, including show, fiction,
real life and reportage formats, saying that they
would be presented in detail at RTL Television’s
press conference on programming in August.
Asked whether RTL Television, as speculated
in press earlier, is currently looking for a
Programming Director, she said that this is not
the case. However, of course long term the
company will have to consider how the tasks
will be divided up. Having said that, she
pointed out that even now, she is able to
successfully delegate them all, albeit not to a
single Programming Director, but amongst the
entire team.
Schäferkordt dismissed the notion that
television would be displaced by the internet, as
invoked by earlier discussion panels, citing the
TV usage that has been measured. Instead, she
said the two platforms complement each other,
and this fact is reflected at Mediengruppe RTL
Deutschland with the variety of services offered
by RTL Interactive.
The opening event of Medienforum NRW ended
with a presentation by Richard Allan, Director of
Policy Europe at Facebook, which followed the
discussion panel.
9
week 25
“Giving hours of happiness”
The ‘RTL – Wir helfen Kindern’ foundation is supporting the extension of the Stups
children’s centre in Krefeld with a donation of over €1 million.
Germany - 15 June 2012
Karin Meinke of the Red Cross’s sisterhood (left) with Andrea Berg and Wolfram Kons
“Stups is a very special children’s centre,” says
the project’s mentor Andrea Berg. “It makes
life liveable for the children in need and their
families. Stups offers 24/7 assistance for every
imaginable problem.“
Thanks to a donation in the amount of €1,196,789
from ‘RTL – Wir helfen Kindern’, the centre can
now proceed with building and expanding its
facilities for disadvantaged children and their
families. Schlager (German pop) star Andrea
Berg, a native of Krefeld, has been committed
to the projects of the German Red Cross’s
sisterhood for many years. In 2011, she helped
to raise funds for building the children’s centre
as a ‘RTL – Wir helfen Kindern’ mentor, and
personally donated €100,000 from the proceeds
of her latest album, Abenteuer. Says Berg:
“I am delighted that I was able to help get this
unique centre off the ground. And thanks to the
generous help of ‘RTL – Wir helfen Kindern’ and
RTL Television’s viewers, we will be able to give
the gift of many hours of happiness.“
RTL Charity Director Wolfram Kons comments:
“We are absolutely sure that every Cent is being
put to good use here and join our mentor Andrea
Berg in looking forward to the inauguration of
the children’s centre. We couldn’t ask for a more
wonderful, ideal mentor than Andrea Berg, who
is both a trained children’s nurse and a dedicated
celebrity.“
The Stups children’s centre is scheduled to
open in early October, at which point it will
ensure full-service care for children and their
families, whether they are healthy, ill or have
disabilities. The children will be able to spend
time playing and doing fun things with their
peers, and can spend nights at the centre. They
will have professional childcare at all times. The
facility is planned as a building complex with
rooms for relaxing, treatments, playing, exercise
and meeting, with child-friendly furnishings and
beautiful outdoor landscaping.
10
week 25
Maintaining the balance
of the TV ecosystem
Nicolas de Tavernost
“Only banning advertising before 20:00
would make it possible to fund the six new
DTT channels in December,” said de Tavernost,
calling for the total abolition of advertising
on public service channels. The government
is considering the abolition of the current
advertising ban on France Télévisions after
20:00, which has been worrying the executives
of French broadcasting groups, including
the Chairman of the Management Board of
Groupe M6.
He said the advertising slots covered by the ban
are equivalent to about €200 million in revenue,
which the new channels didn’t benefit much
from because “this revenue is absorbed by the
commercial channels,” while “in the meantime
the number of channels has quadrupled in
seven years.” With the launch of new digital DTT
channels in December, the French audiovisual
landscape will count 25 free-to-air channels.
De Tavernost also believes that the market for
television advertising “might enter a downward
trend again in 2012: May was bad, and we are
cautious about the second half of the year.”
In an interview with Le Monde, Nicolas
de Tavernost, Chairman of the Management
Board of Groupe M6, spoke about advertising on
France Télévisions as well as the sale of Direct 8
and Direct Star to Canal Plus.
France - 18 June 2012
Regarding the acquisition of Direct 8 and
Direct Star by Canal Plus, which the competition authority must decide upon by the end of
July, de Tavernost said he did not welcome it as
“this transaction threatens the balance that has
prevailed in television for 25 years: the entire
ecosystem is based on separate markets for
free-to-air and pay television.” He feels that the
market for free-to-air TV is a very competitive
one with limited resources. If the acquisition is
authorised he calls for “this to be accompanied
by very stringent measures, ensuring free-to-air
and pay TV are kept separate from each other,
especially at the level of broadcasting rights
as the same programmes are shown both on
free-to-air and pay TV.”
11
week 25
At the top of the podium again
According to the results of the 2012 edition of the major survey TV Notes 2012
organised by Puremedias.com, the free daily general newspaper 20 minutes and
RTL Radio, M6 is France’s favourite channel for the second consecutive year.
France - 20 June 2012
Along with this highly coveted title, RTL Group’s
French channel won three other categories: for a
foreign series, with the Desperate Housewives of
Wisteria Lane, for the best reality-TV series, with
Top Chef, the cooking contest for professionals,
and for the best society magazine, with Enquête
Exclusive presented by Bernard de la Villardière.
Nicolas de Tavernost, Chairman of the Executive
Board of Groupe M6, explained these results on
the Puremedias.com website. “It’s recognition
for the choice of programmes that were made
and for the continued investment in them.”
He went on to say that, in order to attract the
French viewers, M6 focuses on certain values,
especially, “positive values, the values of
generosity and solidarity that correspond well
to the programmes that are put on the air.” He
added that, “People want authenticity, and to
recognise themselves in the programmes. It is
certain that people need programmes in which
they can find what they feel.”
Desperate Housewives
Top Chef 2011
The survey was carried out by Puremedias.com,
20 Minutes and RTL Radio from 11 to 17 June
2012. It covered 16 categories and offered up
to 25 suggestions. There were 344,571 votes
registered.
Enquête Exclusive
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week 25
M6 mobile has the profile
M6 Mobile by Orange has just launched the latest component of the ad campaign for
its mobile phone product targeting young people.
France - 15 June 2012
Booking a gig on Cartoon Network USA
FremantleMedia Enterprises signed a new distribution deal with Cartoon Network,
for the US broadcast rights to the animated comedy series Grojband.
United Kingdom - 15 June 2012
RTL-TVI unwraps its summer schedule
RTL-TVI shines this summer with humour, sport and all-new shows.
Belgium - 18 June 2012
Series workshop for film students
Students of Baden-Württemberg’s Film Academy visited the Potsdam-Babelsberg
production and studio grounds for a week to take a series workshop hosted by Grundy
UFA.
Germany - 18 June 2012
A colourful summer
M6 presents its summer viewing schedule with the slogan “Toutes les couleurs de
l’été” (All the colours of summer), featuring love, family life, laughter, news, discovery,
sport and suspense.
France - 19 June 2012
14
week 25
2012 et vous: the reference
The news website 2012etvous.fr launched by RTL Radio in France, M6 and MSN in
May 2011 in view of the French Presidential election was a hit with Internet users.
France - 20 June 2012
Cinema for everyone, without exception
SND, the film distribution subsidiary of Groupe M6, rallies to make cinema more
accessible to the hearing-impaired. All films distributed in cinemas from now on
will come with adapted subtitling (subtitling of dialogue and description of ambient
sound).
France - 21 June 2012
Building awareness, together
Grundy UFA is joining forces with Germany’s Federal Ministry of Health to raise public
awareness about Alzheimer’s, beyond the storyline of the daily soap Verbotene Liebe.
Germany - 21 June 2012
Berlin student wins this year’s RTL media awards
for integration
The winners of this year’s ‘Com.mit Awards for Integration’ recently accepted their
prizes in Berlin. 17-year-old Thabea-Christin Schulz of Berlin won 1st prize in the
student category of the RTL Media Awards. Claas Relotius and Mareike Müller from
the Hamburg Media School won the Com.mit Award in the Young Journalists category.
Germany - 21 June 2012
15
week 25
People
Oliver Herrgesell to leave RTL Group
Luxembourg - 20 June 2012
Oliver Herrgesell
RTL Group announced that Oliver Herrgesell
(49), Executive Vice President, Corporate
Communications, Public Affairs & Marketing
and Chairman of the Corporate Responsibility
Council, will be leaving RTL Group by mutual
consent.
Oliver Herrgesell joined RTL Group in January
2006. He built and managed an integrated
department
for
internal
and
external
communications, and handled Public Affairs
tasks on EU level as well as in various EU
member states. He was responsible for editing
and producing a number of print publications,
films and new media tools, which collectively
won more than 50 international awards. He
was also in charge of international trade
marketing campaigns, served as the Group’s
Environmental Chief Officer (ECO), and founded
a Corporate History department.
RTL Group Co-CEOs Anke Schäferkordt and
Guillaume de Posch commented: “On behalf of
RTL Group, we thank Oliver Herrgesell for the
services he has rendered to the Group. Over
the last six years, he has been a key member of
RTL Group’s senior management team and
has run his department with great efficiency,
remarkable leadership skills and to a very high
standard of service for all of our internal and
external audiences. We wish him all the best in
his future endeavours.”
Oliver
Herrgesell
commented:
“Working
with such an excellent team has been a great
experience. The CEO changeover at RTL Group
is an opportunity for me to do something new
and I look forward to staying in touch with my
many colleagues and friends at RTL Group in
the future.”
16
week 25
People
Catherine Schöfer
France - 15 June 2012
Catherine Schöfer
Catherine Schöfer has been named Deputy
Managing Director of 6ter, Groupe M6’s new
free-to-air DTT HD channel.
Schöfer will also remain Deputy MD of Téva,
a post she has held since 2006. A graduate of
the School of Economics and Social Sciences
(ESSEC) with a degree in law and audiovisual
communication administration (DESS), Schöfer
began her career as head of co-productions and
acquisitions at Europe Images (1991-1995).
Like the five other new channels authorised by
the CSA, from 12 December 2012, 6ter will be
available on all cable networks, satellite and
ADSL as well as terrestrial broadcasting in
Paris, Bordeaux, Marseilles, Bayonne, Auxerre,
Sens and Troyes, an area that represents nearly
60 per cent of the French population.
Nationwide coverage will be achieved two years
from now.
In 1995 she joined Groupe M6, where she was in
charge of purchasing services and acquisitions
until 1997. From 1997 to 2002 she was Deputy
Commercial Affairs Director for acquisitions. In
2002 she was promoted to Deputy Director of
Acquisitions, a position she held until 2006.
17
week 25
People
A great voice of football has been
extinguished
France - 18 June 2012
Thierry Roland
Often called ‘Mr. Football’ or ‘the encyclopaedia
of football’, the commentator Thierry Roland
died on the night of 15/16 June 2012, aged 74.
Passionate about football, the journalist was
the kind of celebrity that entered everybody’s
living room. Indeed, in a career that spanned
nearly 60 years, he commented on more than
1,300 games, including 13 World Cups and nine
European Championships. Following the
announcement of his death, many personalities
from the world of sports but not only paid
tribute to a man who was not only popular but
also controversial for his verbal excesses and
colourful outbursts. Francois Hollande, said he
was “sad” to hear the news. “I know he rejoiced
again last night at France’s victory, a team he
followed in 13 World Cups and commentated on
with his strong voice for 50 years”, said the head
of state in a statement.
Nicolas de Tavernost, Chairman of the
Management Board of Groupe M6, said:
“I am very proud of the fact that he was able to
continuing practicing this profession with us in
recent years, since 2004, to continue to devote
himself to his inspiring, all-consuming passion
for football.” On 16 June 2012, M6 broadcast
a special programme about Roland, and Paris
Première altered its schedule that day to honour
his memory.
Thierry Roland joined Groupe M6 in 2004 after
the European Championships, and commented
on numerous competitions broadcast by the
Group. Euro 2012 was to have seen the return
of the legendary duo he formed with Jean-Michel
Larqué on TF1 for 20 years. Larqué told BFM
Télévision: “He was looking forward to reform
the tandem. He left without it happening. The
saddest thing is that I could have given him his
final moment of joy.”
18
week 25
People
Zara Curtis
Australia - 19 June 2012
FremantleMedia Australia (FMA) appoints
Zara Curtis as General Manager of its
pioneering content creation division, Spring.
Curtis joins Spring in mid-July from News Life
Media where she was Commercial Director, and
brings to the new role her more than 18 years
of experience in media, brand marketing, digital
and advertising sales. Prior to News Life Media,
where she spent almost two years, Curtis was
at ACP for more than 10 years, during which
time she held a number of senior sales positions
and was responsible for driving record revenue
growth across the company’s renowned stable
of women’s magazines.
Regional CEO – Australia and Asia Pacific,
FremantleMedia, Ian Hogg said: “Zara’s track
record in the media industry, and especially in
the magazine sector, is second to none. Her
depth of experience in building and managing
relationships with agencies and clients will be
invaluable for Spring’s development, as will her
flair as a future-thinker.”
Launched in September 2011, Spring is a
world-first initiative for FremantleMedia, and
was created to work with Australasia’s leading
brands, agencies and broadcasters to produce
innovative and affordable content solutions
including advertiser-funded projects and
multi-platform iterations. With the full support
and commitment of FremantleMedia, Spring
operates as a stand-alone division of FMA. Its
offering includes servicing the off-peak demands
of the free-to-air networks; producing content
for the digital channels and the expanding
array of subscription channels; and working
with agencies and their brands to offer
intelligent,
integrated
content
solutions
across the broadcast as well as the
burgeoning digital platforms. Spring also
works with FremantleMedia Enterprises, the
brand extension arm of FremantleMedia, to
enhance brand opportunities for clients.
Hogg said that under Curtis’s leadership, Spring’s
success story will move to the next stage of
its development, building on the very strong
commercial relationships it has established
with its customer base, while also exploring
numerous avenues for further growth in the
digital space.
“With access to some of the best TV production
and digital talent in the country, Spring is
uniquely positioned for success,” Curtis said.
“I’m really excited about driving the multiple
business models Spring can offer and working
with Australia’s foremost TV producers, media
agencies and media companies,” she said.
19
week 25
People
Laurent Bazin
Laurent Bazin
and Vincent Parizot
France - 21 June 2012
At the end of the summer, Laurent Bazin
will be the host of the major news session
RTL Matin. He will replace Vincent Parizot, who
will co-host the midday news session RTL Midi
with Elizabeth Martichoux.
These appointments were made at the
decision of RTL Radio’s Chairman of the Board
Christopher Baldelli and at the suggestion of
News Director Jacques Esnous.
Laurent Bazin started his career at RTL Radio
in 1987 as a reporter, replacing the
correspondent in the North. From 1990 to
2001, he was a special correspondent at TF1,
a correspondent in Washington (92/93) and
the Jerusalem bureau chief (97/99). In 1999,
Laurent Bazin joined LCI and presented the talk
show Question d’actu. This was followed by a
series of postings as a journalist and host on
radio and television. In June 2010,
Laurent Bazin returned to RTL Radio to
co-host RTL Midi with Élizabeth Martichoux.
Christopher Baldelli is very pleased about
this appointment. “Throughout his career and
for two seasons on RTL Radio, Laurent Bazin
has demonstrated his talent in hosting major
news programmes. An experienced journalist,
he knows exactly how to combine news,
explanation and friendliness – essential
qualities in a morning radio show presenter.
Jacques Enous and I have complete faith that
he will successfully rise to this new challenge.”
Vincent Parizot and Elizabeth Martichoux
One of the most popular voices in radio, Vincent
Parizot was handed the reins of RTL Radio’s
morning show in 2008. He began his radio
career in the city of his birth at the age of
18, on the Orléans FM station. He joined
Europe 1 in 1986, after winning the Lauga prize,
a contest held by the station that awarded him a
three-month contract. Vincent Parizot went on to
work for 21 years at Europe 1. In 2007, he left to
join RTL Radio as an associate editor and host
of the programme RTL Soir.
For Christopher Baldelli, “Midday is a very
important
crossroads
of
news
and
interactivity. After the 45-minute news
broadcast, which paints a full picture of current
events, is a long dialogue session with
our listeners. The new team formed by
Vincent Parizot and Elizabeth Martichoux
reflects this programme: rigorous, energetic,
warm, and always attentive to our listeners’
expectations
20
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