week 26 - RTL Group · Celebrities galore RTL Television and N-TV hosted the first joint Summer...

Celebrities galoreRTL Television and N-TV hosted the firstjoint Summer Party in Berlin

Belgium

China revealed on Bel RTL United Kingdom

New documentary formats for FiveGermany

Strong debut for Doctor’s DiaryLuxembourg

The Tour de France in 16:9 format

the RTL Group intranetweek 26

Newsletter2626 J Jununee 20200808

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Celebrities galoreRTL Television and N-TV hosted the firstjoint Summer Party in Berlin

Belgium

China revealed on Bel RTL United Kingdom

New documentary formats for FiveGermany

Strong debut for Doctor’s DiaryLuxembourg

The Tour de France in 16:9 format

COVER: Peter Kloeppel, Angela Merkel and Anke Schäferkordt (from left to right)In the background you can see an impression from the Summer Party in Berlin (Photo montage)

Some 600 guests from politics, business,society and the media accepted RTL Televisionand N-TV’s invitation to their first joint SummerParty in Berlin on Wednesday evening. Theevening’s most illustrious visitor wasGermany’s chancellor Angela Merkel, who tooktime out from her busy appointment calendarto stop by the Berlin studio for over an hour ofanimated conversations with the broadcasters’senior executives. RTL Television’s CEO AnkeSchäferkordt, RTL Television editors in chiefPeter Kloeppel and Michael Wulf, N-TV mana-ging director Hans Demmel and Berlin StudioDirector Peter Kleim (Info Network) gave thechancellor and all other guests a red-carpetreception.

A flurry of photographers and camera teamsaccompanied Berlin’s and Germany’s VIPs asthey crossed the red carpet into the site of thefestivities. Guests included various TV presen-ters and actors, along with high-ranking politi-cians like Dirk Niebel (FDP secretary general),Guido Westerwelle (FDP chairman), HorstSeehofer (Federal Minister of Food, Agricultureand Consumer Protection), Wolfgang Tiefensee(Federal Minister of Transport, Building andUrban Affairs), Bernd Naumann (State CulturalMinister), Ronald Pofalla (CDU secretary gene-ral), Hubertus Heil (SPD secretary general),Reinhard Bütikofer (chairman Bündnis 90 / DieGrünen), Ulrich Wilhelm (government spokes-man) and Erwin Huber (CSU chairman).

Due to the large attendance expected, theBerlin studio on Schiffbauerdamm had beenextended by a large cluster of tents, with anopen-air area in the middle, where cool drinksand hot delicacies awaited guests as theyenjoyed the pleasant cool of a gorgeous early-summer evening.

In her welcome speech, Schäferkordt emphasi-zed the special importance of the channel’smain news programme RTL Aktuell, especiallyamong young TV audiences, reporting that thenews channel N-TV has as many as six millionviewers a day, including a very high proportionof decision makers. The Berlin studio is “abackbone of Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland’spolitical coverage.” RTL Television’s CEO tookthe opportunity to present Info Network, thelatest addition to Mediengruppe RTLDeutschland, to her guests. Schäferkordt poin-ted out that employees at the Berlin studiowere the first to switch to the production subsi-diary as part of the ongoing business transition.


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Relaxed atmosphere,animated conversationsAt the Summer Party jointly hosted by RTLTelevision and N-TV in Berlin, MediengruppeRTL Deutschland presented its recently establi-shed subsidiary, Info Network. Its managersspoke to Backstage, revealing the rationale andstrategy behind the establishment of InfoNetwork.Germany - 26 June 2008

Info Network is the newly founded pro-duction company for news and magazineformats within Mediengruppe RTLDeutschland. The company produces thefootage for the news programme on RTLTelevision, Vox and N-TV, as well asmagazine shows like Die 10, Prominent!and Formel Exclusiv. Beyond its corebusiness, Info Network develops newcontent and pilots for Mediengruppe RTLDeutschland and also provides servicessuch as sales of video content.

Info Network took up operations on 1February 2008 and is being expandedgradually. Michael Wulf serves as mana-ging director of Info Network GmbH, withDirk Rauser acting as his deputy. InfoNetwork is a wholly owned subsidiary ofMediengruppe RTL Deutschland.

Angela Merkel (left) and Anke Schäferkordt


RTL and N-TV’s have just hosted their firstjoint Summer Party in Berlin ? What wereyour impressions? Peter Kloeppel: I think the premiere was a veryfortuitous combination of a relaxed atmosphe-re and animated conversations against thebackdrop of a beautiful summer’s day. Thepositive response to the Summer Party showedus that the combined strength of RTL and N-TVis very well received by the powers that be inpolitics and business.

You took the Summer Party as an opportu-nity to present Info Network, MediengruppeRTL Deutschland’s new news and magazinesubsidiary. What is the latest on the step-by-step establishment of the business? Michael Wulf: In the past few months the firstfew editorial desks at N-TV and RTL Televisionwere integrated in Info Network: the Berlin stu-dio, the Landesstudio Süd in Munich, as well asthe foreign correspondence bureaus inMoscow and Jerusalem. In the months ahead,other departments will gradually follow, and the

move to Cologne-Deutz in summer 2009 willcomplete the establishment of the company.

What responsibilities and departments willbe handled by Info Network in the future?Michael Wulf: The Info Network will graduallycome to bundle RTL Television’s news andmagazine editorial desks as well as sharedcentral editorial desks and support functions ofRTL Television and N-TV step by step. Thenational and international external studios arealso affiliated with the new company. The cen-tral editorial desks such as the Newsdesk willhandle the planning and production of contentthat can be used across various channels. Thiswill intensify the joint production and use ofcontent, both between RTL’s various editorialdesks and between RTL Television and N-TV,Vox, Super RTL and RTL II. However, the res-pective channels and editorial desks will conti-nue to bear the editorial responsibility for theirbroadcasts and their distinct programming pro-files.

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Hans Demmel, Peter Kleim, Peter Kloeppel, Michael Wulf Peter Kloeppel with Hubertus Heil (SPD, left) and Dirk Niebel (FDP, right)

Ronald Pofalla (CDU) with Peter Kloeppel and Peter KleimIsa Gräfin von Hardenberg and Laurenz Meyer (CDU)


One goal of the Info Network is to sell theproduced content on to third parties, forexample to newspapers’ Web sites. How isthe business developing? Michael Wulf: Our customer pool is growingsteadily. We’re happy with how things havebeen developing so far.

The Berlin studio played a trailblazing role,since this is where the RTL Television andN-TV editorial desks have already been inte-grated into the Info Network since February.What have your first experiences been like? Peter Kleim: They’ve been good – and this isnot such a big change for us: ever since ourcolleagues from N-TV’s parliament editorialoffice moved in three and a half years ago,we’ve worked together very closely in our offi-ces, across the various channels.

What are the advantages, and what challen-ges did you face? Peter Kleim: The advantages are that theresearch and the shooting can be better coor-dinated and duplication of work can be avoi-ded. In the past, the colleagues were part ofdifferent broadcasters or of different editorialdesks, now they form a team in Berlin.Nevertheless, it is essential that the correspon-dents retain an affinity with their old editorialteams – that they continue to identify with RTLAktuell or N-TV and do their work with a pas-sion. After all, we don’t want anything to chan-ge for the viewers.

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Anke Schäferkordt welcoming the guests

RTL Television stars Peter Zwegat and Birgit Schrowange

Angela Merkel in conversation with Laurenz Meyer and Peter Kloeppel


China revealedBelgian French-language radio station Bel RTLbroadcasts its two evening news programmeson 23 and 27 June live from China.Belgium - 24 June 2008

Monday 23 June’s edition of Bel RTL soir (from18:00 to 19:00) examined how Belgians viewChina, which will be hosting the OlympicGames this summer. The presenters BarbaraMertens and Pascal Vrebos interviewed Jean-Michel Saive, who is a member of Belgian’sOlympic table tennis team, and welcomed ahost of studio guests including DominiqueDemees, Amnesty International’s China/Tibetcoordinator, Samia Patsalides, the leader of aCatholic University of Louvain mission to Asia,and various Chinese who, after studying inBelgium, decided to settle down there.

Bel RTL’s listeners will have another treat instore between 18:00 and 19:30 on Friday, 27June, when Barbara Mertens and PascalVrebos will present a very special programmelive from the Belgian Embassy in Beijing thatwill be devoted mainly to showing how Chinahas opened up culturally and economicallysince the days of Chairman Mao.

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Beijing 2008

Pascal Vrebos (left) and Barbara Mertens


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A whole range of newdocumentary formatsFive wants to continue strengthening its rangeof non-fiction entertainment and has thereforecommissioned a range of new factual formats,comprising series and one-off programmes.United Kingdom - 24 June 2008

Factual entertainment, commonly referred to as‘docutainment’, is currently one of the hottrends in international TV, providing entertai-ning, informative programmes that don’t tell fic-tional tales, but rather focus on stories featu-ring real-life characters, such as people withunusual professions, exceptional abilities orsimply moving life stories.

Sue Davidson, Five’s Commissioning Editor,Factual, responsible for the genre, said:“Factual formats have always been successfulon Five, and I’m glad we’ll continue to have astrong slate of fresh projects in this genre, offe-ring viewers both new programmes and suc-cessfully established formats”.

Here’s a run-down of the new projects in storefor Five’s viewers:

Highland Emergency is a 30-part observationaldocumentary series based on unprecedentedaccess to the emergency services in theHighlands of Scotland. In that beautiful, butinhospitable landscape cameras accompanylocal ski patrols, coastguard and emergencyservices as undertake bold rescues on land,sea and mountains in all weathers.

The four-part series My Strange Brain docu-ments the lives of people with rare brain disor-ders, ranging from Alien Hand Syndrome,which makes people’s hands behave indepen-dently of their will, to Foreign LanguageSyndrome, which causes people to suddenlyspout a foreign language.

Desperately Seeking The Perfect Birth presentsthree women with very different views aboutwhat constitutes a perfect birth. The documen-

tary will show whether or not their preconcei-ved ideas actually tally with reality.

Climbing The Giants follows adventurer GuyGrieve, who travels to Australia to climb one ofthe world’s tallest trees.

The documentary tentatively entitled Lifesavers999 reveals the logistics that make it possibleto get organs from their donors to their reci-pients in the shortest possible time.

The three-part series Army Chefs will give vie-wers an unusual insight into life in the BritishArmy, presenting the unsung heroes who feedBritain’s soldiers, serving up anything from sim-ple canteen fare to meals fit for royalty.

In addition to all these programmes, Five hasannounced a new season of the hit seriesExtraordinary People. All in all, the channel has12 new programmes lined up, including one onthe tallest man in the world, a 36-year-oldUkrainian who will only survive if doctors suc-ceed in stopping his constant growth. The for-mat Robochick and the Bionic Boy also takesup a medical theme, telling the stories of twopatients treated using new bionic methods. TheRainman Twins (working title) showcases theremarkable lives of the autistic savant twins Floand Kay Lyman, discovered by TV presenterDave Wagner, who amassed footage of themover a 15-year period. Outlaw Births explores‘freebirthing’, the controversial childbirth invol-ving mothers giving birth at home, without anymedical assistance or midwife present. Thedocumentary follows three women from themoment they opt to ‘freebirth’ to the actualdelivery of their babies.

Perfect Birth


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Sales offer successfully established In the upcoming booking season, IP Deutschland will again sell airtime on RTLTelevision, Vox, Super RTL and N-TV using the sales offer introduced last year.Germany - 25 June 2008

An interim stocktaking for the 2008 bookingseason indicates that the new ad sales offerhas been successfully established. It meets themarket’s need for planning calculability whilestill providing flexibility. At the same time it faci-litates the greatest possible transparency. Themarket appreciates both the clarity of the sys-tem and the consistently good performance ofthe IP portfolio.

Martin Krapf, Managing Director of IPDeutschland, said: “The feedback we’ve beengetting from the marketplace bears out ourapproach: our marketing products meet theneeds of both customers and agencies, thesales offer is well understood on both sides.After months of talking about models, we’refinally talking about performance again, andabout how we can help advertising customersreach their marketing objectives!”

IP Deutschland’s prices remain stable: the costper mille has merely been adjusted to reflectinflation.

These ratings don’t need doctoring Doctor’s Diary – Männer sind die beste Medizin, RTL Television’s humorous newseries featuring Diana Amft as a female doctor caught between her medical careerand a chaotic love-life, attracted an audience in the millions on Monday evening from20.15.Germany - 25 June 2008

The first of the two back-to-back episodesdrew 2.72 million viewers, and a 16.3 percentshare of the young target market. The secondpart, which started at 21.15, bested this perfor-mance by attracting 3.14 million viewers. 18percent of 14- to 49-year-olds made it the eve-ning’s most-watched prime-time programmeamong young demographics.

Doctor’s Diary is all about the life of Dr.Gretchen Haase (Diana Amft), a young physi-cian who needs a clear head to survive in herresponsible job. But Cupid’s caprices, pro-blems with her figure, and her colleagues allcontrive to make sure her life remains tho-roughly chaotic. The attractive blonde finds

herself being pursued both by the ward’s bigmacho Dr. Marc Meier (Florian David Fitz, ofMeine verrückte türkische Hochzeit – My CrazyTurkish Wedding fame) and by the mysteriousDr. Mehdi Kaan (Kai Schumann, Toter Mann –Dead Man).

Doctor's Diary is a Polyphon Film- undFernsehgesellschaft production. GrimmeAward winner Bora Dagtekin (Türkisch fürAnfänger – Turkish for Beginners) supplied theconcept and headwriting.


Strength clout on theWebMondadori France is teaming up with M6Publicité by allowing the latter to take care ofits 13 websites.France - 26 June 2008

With more than 2.5 million unique visitors everymonth, Mondadori France is revealing the fullextent of its ambitions on digital markets: natu-rally on the Internet, but also vis-à-vis mobileapplications, Audiotel hosting and the syndica-tion of content. Allowing M6 Publicité to sell theadvertising on their websites is a logical exten-sion of the steps Mondadori France has takensince the start of the year to boost its techno-logical and marketing capabilities and enhanceits presence online.

The inclusion of these 13 new media websites,all of which are powerful and highly popularbrands, is further boosting M6 Publicité’s clouton the Web, especially with respect to groupsof female Internet users and youngsters inte-rested in cars. It also confirms the advertisingsales house’s desire to build up a top range ofmedia that sets new standards in the market-place.

M6 Publicité already has a strong Internet pre-sence, with websites attracting 10.3 million uni-que visitors in May 2008, but now it is enhan-cing its presence and boosting its expertise asan Internet media advertiser, responsible foralmost 50 websites whose editorial richnessprovides an ideal backdrop for the implementa-tion of effective media strategies. By marketingMondadori’s websites, Groupe M6 is showing astrong desire to handle the ad sales for othercompanies’ websites, a trend begun with RTLRadio France’s websites early in 2008.Mondadori’s websites ideally complement themedia portals run by M6 Publicité, which alrea-dy markets various TV and radio websites.

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www.autojournal.fr

As from 1 July 2008, M6 Publicité will beresponsible for the Mondadori Digitalwebsites:www.bibamagazine.frwww.canalstars.frwww.closermag.frwww.fhm.frwww.guidetele.comwww.pleinevie.frwww.telepoche.frwww.telestar.frwww.topsante.com,www.addxonline.com,www.autojournal.fr,www.autojournal4x4.fr www.sportauto.fr.


The Tour de France in16:9 format!Using leading-edge technology, RTL TéléLëtzebuerg will be running a first ‘live’ test ofits new wide-screen 16:9 film format beforelaunching it in September 2008.Luxembourg - 26 June 2008

At the end of the summer, RTL Télé Lëtzebuergwill take a major step forward by broadcastingits programmes in the new 16:9 format. Thelaunch of this format, which will replace its 4:3predecessor, is scheduled for 15 September2008.

However, starting on 5 July 2008, viewers willhave a sneak preview of the new format whenRTL Télé Lëtzebuerg’s coverageof that TV event par excellence,the Tour de France, affordsaudiences in Luxembourg a firstglimpse of the new viewing qua-lity awaiting them. Accordingly,every day starting at 15:00, allthe stages of the Tour will bebroadcast live in 16:9 format.Commentating on the Tour willbe Marcel Gilles and othermembers of RTL TéléLëtzebuerg's sports team.

In another first, the various stages of the Tourwill also be streamed on the website www.rtl.lu,where Internet users mad about cycling will findall the intermediate results and rankings, pho-tos and interviews as well as the coveragebroadcast on radio and TV.

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Into the FutureSuper RTL wins the ‘Visions for Leadership Award 2008’, for having the most innovativebusiness model in the media sector.Germany - 20 June 2008

Women viewers had a date with M6 on Wednesday eveningOn Wednesday evening, M6 was the most popular channel among housewives aged under50 thanks to hitherto unshown episodes of its French series Cellule Identité, which gave itan audience share of 22.1 per cent.France - 20 June 2008

Do people keep secrets actually? At 20:00 on Monday, 30 June, M6 will be launching its summer saga, a new French dailysoap comprising 80 22-minute episodes.France- 24 June 2008

Farmers pull in viewers in their drovesOn Monday evening, M6 was the leader in overall audience terms thanks to the launch ofseason three of L’amour est dans le pré.France - 25 June 2008


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To Promote Ross Antony The full-service merchandising and licensing agency now counts the vastly popular enter-tainer Ross Antony among its clients.Germany - 26 June 2008

TT Assen liveOn Friday 27 and Saturday 28 June, RTL GP on RTL 7 will cover the Netherlands' biggestone-day sporting event: the Assen TT Circuit. Just like last year, this Moto GP promises tobe a tremendously exciting race.The Netherlands - 26 June 2008

Gold and bronze awards for RTL II campaignsRTL II landed two awards at this year’s PROMAX / BDA International Conference in NewYork, the world’s top annual event for professionals working in TV design, marketing andpromotion. Germany - 25 June 2008


People

Natasha Kaplinsky’smaternity leave coverannouncedUnited Kingdom - 24 June 2008

The famous presenter Natasha Kaplinsky hasbeen the face of Five News since February2008. When she takes her maternity leave laterthis year, her colleagues Matt Barbet and IslaTraquair will cover for her.

As RTL Group’s British broadcaster announcedlast Friday, the two interim Five News anchorswill share Natasha Kaplinsky’s job, presentingthe main news on alternate days.

Matt Barbet (31) came to Five in October 2007after spending four years as one of the mainpresenters at BBC London. Isla Traquair hasbeen on the Five News team since February2008, after working as a reporter and presenterat ITV News.

David Kermode, Editor of Five News, said:“Matt and Isla are the ‘Young Turks’ of TV news– they are a dynamic duo who represent all thatis great about Five News.”

Natasha Kaplinsky added: “Matt and Isla aretwo of the brightest stars of the programmealready and it’s great to see them getting therecognition they deserve. I’m absolutely thrilledfor them.”

Since Kaplinsky took over as anchor of Five’s17.30 and 19.00 news in February 2008, vie-wership has increased by an impressive 50 per-cent.

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Natasha Kaplinsky

Isla Traquair (left) and Matt Barbet

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